GREAT ERUPTION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21919, 1 October 1934, Page 11

GREAT ERUPTION

ACTIVITY AT HAWAII LARGE CASCADES CF LAVA THOUSANDS OF SPECTATORS . CRATER VIEWED FROM THE A T R [from OU» O#N correspondent] MT. EILATTEA (Hawaii), Sept. fi Without any warning beyond slirht registration!) on near by seismographs and tilt instruments, Halemaumau, tho vast firepit of the Kilauea crater, Hawaii, bunt into violent eruption at 3 a.m. to-day after one year's inactivity. Terrific avalanches oif the sheer 850 ft. high crater walls occurred, and then molten lava burst through at several points and quickly flooded the 50-acre crater floor to a depth of 50ft. Greatest activity war, where one lava flow burst through 500 ft. up i;he wall and cascaded like a Niagara of fire to the floor. Never hais such a wild and majesties manifestation of Pele's (the Goddess of Fire) anger beer, witnessed. Netir the cascade 30 fountains burst through the floor and flung i;he molten lava to heights of SlOOft. and 300 ft. At dawn the giant lava cascade ceased suddenly, but the enormous gas pressuies felow were diverted to the base of the fountains, which increased their eruptive violence. Within 12 hours of 3 a.m., Dr. T. A. Jaggar, famed vulcanologist in charge of the United States Observe tory, estimates that 10,000,000 cubio yards of lava had flooded the crater floor, covering the old floor to a depth of 100 ft. Halemaumau crater is a clear-cufc oval "hola" three miles round, 3500 ft. at its greatest width and 850 ft. deep. It is an inner crater of Kilauea crater, which is; nine miles round. Both suipea! like one oval hole within the other. Ono Outbreak a Year A far greater volcano than Vesuvius in Italy, Kilauea (4000 ft. above sea) in turn is an iictive cone on the slopes of Mount Ma,una Loa, which erupt* about once every four year", and is the largest active volcanic moantain mass in the world, and has poured out more lava during the past century than any other volcano on the globe. Mauna Loa is 13,680 ft. high. If itlie sea were removed, Mauna Loa would be 30,000 ft. high and on<3 mile wide at it's base. Activities of Halemaumau have averaged at least one outbreak a year since 1900. Its risingd are accompanied by brilliant fountains and. inflows of liquid lava, and its by tremendous avalanches which send up enormous dust clouds. Nearly a century and a-half age Halemaumau became unusually active, and its violent blast of ash destroyed an Hawaiian army, much to the pleasure of King Kamehameha, ruler of its enemies. From that time —1790 —no rocks or asli were ejected until 1924. During th' 3 autumn of 1923 the lake of fire drained away, but gradually returned until, the pit contained a 50acre lake of seething lava. Lava geyser* travelled acrossi its surface, sending up incandescent sprays 150 ft. into the air. In 1924 this lake disappeared, and crumbling masses of rock fell into the smoking pit,, choking the vents through which the volcanic gases had escaped. Although it is not as large as soma past eruptions, Halemaumau'B unexpected outburst to-day is attracting thousands of visitors. Six special 10passenger aeroplanes have flovrn to the r crater from Honolulu, 250 miles distant, as well ftj; two flights (eight planes each) of United States Navy and Army aeroplanes. Fate of Sea Birds Dr. Jaggar predicts that the activity will continue for several weeks. Pumide is being discharged an d carried high into the air by the blistering hot crater winds and dropped several hundreds erf feet outside the walls. Tragic is the fate of Kaoe or bos'un birds which between Halema.umau's eruptions nest in cracks in the crater walls. Actually sea birds, they leave their nests to fly to sea in search of food. When numbers of them returned to the crater to-day- they flew into the column of poisonous sulphurous fumesi which rises thousands of feet above the crater, became overwhelmed and plunged to a terrible doom in the molten lava. Several of the birds made efforts to flutter away, bub as they sank, tha fumes became stronger, and the birds' doom more certain. If thera are any young in the crater wall nests it iii wrtain they will be killed by the fumes, too. . The latest incident to convey thu might of to-day's eruption is given in a radio message just received from a liner 70 miles at sea. The message sayi the glare from Halemaumau can ba (seen plainly by those on board the ship.