MT. NGAURUHOE’S CRATER FILLED UP WITH RUBBLE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22889, 8 March 1949, Page 7

MT. NGAURUHOE’S CRATER FILLED UP WITH RUBBLE

Ngauruhoe had altogether lost its crater when a flight over the periodic-ally-exploding volcano was made last week by the Government vulcanologist, Mr. J. Heaiy. The former 100 ft. crater had been Filled to the rim with stone debris and the mountain-top at least temporarily consisted of an undulating series of heaps of rubble in which no vent or hollow could be seen. Mr. Heaiy was accompanied on the flight by Mr. R. FT. Finch, director of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and Dr. D E. White, an American vulcanologist. They found that the crater was probably changing shape with each burst of activity, and it was thought that the flattened summit they saw was probably again altered by another explosion ten minutes after their inspection. With the crater partly or perhaps wholly filled and with well-defined vents lacking, the position of the bursts and the area they wouljJ cover were unpredictable. Mr. Healv said. In these circumstances. there was extreme danger in the vicinity of the crater rim. Another hazard was created by hot avalanches of stones, ash, dust and fragments of lava, he added. These sometimes have been described mistakenly as new flows of lava but while lava moved slowly the smoking avalanches came down the mountainside at speeds which might outpace an unwary visitor. They could occur after any of the larger volcanic bursts