HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES

Evening Star, Issue 21640, 8 February 1934, Page 11

HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES

THE LAKE OF FIRE The possibility of an eruption in Kilauea—Hawaii’s best known volcano —as a complement of the recent activity, in Mokuaweoweo is seen by volcanologists in Hawaii. Kilauea’s fire pit (Halemaumau) is a depression halt a mile wide and I,oooft deep, so situated as to give observers and sightseers an excellent view at close range of the Lake of Fire when eruptions fill the pit with liquid lava. Kilauea, in the Hawaii National Park, is just thirty miles by paved highway from Hilo, principal port of the big island, which in turn is just two hours and a-half by plane from Honolulu. An hotel and several vacation camps are perdu..’ on tha crater’s rim. ■ Mr E. H. Bryan, jun., curator of collections at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, in explaining how Hawaiian volcanoes are different from those elsewhere, says : —“ The Hawaiian volcanoes are said to be of the ‘ quiet type,’ in contrast to the very explosive volcanoes such as Vesuvius, Krakafoa, and Katmai. In Hawaii the eruptions are less violent than those of many, other volcanoes, because of the chemical composition and physical state of the lavas,: The Hawaiian lavas are of a kind known as ‘ basalt,’ which will stay quite liquid down to temperature as low iis l,3oodeg centigrade (2,350 deg F.). This allows gases to escape from .hem readily without explosive violence. In contrast to this, the magmas, which produce tha * felsite ’ or light-coloured lavas, ashes, and dust of , the explosive volcanoes, are thick and viscous at temperatures as high .as 2,ooodeg centigrade (3,600 deg F.). From these the gases escape with difficulty, giving rise to explosive eruptions.” Which, when translated from the scientific, means: In Hawaii, when, there's an eruption., everybody runs to j the volcano instead of running away] from it, ■*