ŠE.N.A.

SLEEPING VOLCANO THAT AWOKE AFTER A LONG REST

It will sometimes happen that a volcano thought to be extinct becomes active without

warning. That was the case with Mount Tarawera in the geyser district of New Zealand's

North Island.. In 1886 it suddenly erupted with great fury, covering the country for miles

around with mud and dirt, and killing over a hundred people.

May 5, 1902, the black, boiling mud es-
caped from the basin and poured with
incredible rapidity down a gorge of the
Riviere Blanche, carrying' with it large
masses of rock. Over the top of the
mountain there appeared a dense cloud
of suffocating gases, brown and purple,
accompanied by quantities of volcanic
dust. This dust seems to have been the
cause of most of the harm, for it caused
suffocation.

Sometimes an eruption happens be-
neath the sea. Most of the volcanic is-
lands of the Pacific began in this way,
reaching the surface either by a gradual
upward growth through a number of up-
heavals or by a terrific explosion on the
sea floor. Both Vesuvius and ^Etna rose
from the floor of the Mediterranean.
Occasionally the effects of an eruption
have been seen on the surface.- Huge
fountains of water play to a great height,

and dead fishes and volcanic cinders are
seen floating around. After a time a
small island may rise above the sea level,
and this is gradually enlarged by suc-
ceeding explosions.

The Hawaiian Islands began like this.
They are really a chain of volcanic moun-
tains, most of which have long been ex-
tinct; but the largest is still upbuilding
itself. Mauna Loa now rises to 13,675
feet and every few.years fresh outbursts
add new lava to the mountain mass. An
eruption that occurred in 1926 some five
thousand feet below the summit sent a
stream of melted rock thirty feet deep
roaring into the sea in a cloud of steam.
In 1790 Halemaiimau, the pit of four-
thousand-foot Kilauea, below Mauna Loa,
emitted a blast of ash so violent that it
destroyed an Hawaiian army, then lay
dormant until 1923, when a lake of fire
appeared in the pit. Yet so thoroughly

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