The Hawaiian gazette., 1882-07-05

lively, ana the lapOIalOllOo S0uNA1eAut tnc
melted material, arc not enc and the same =
for although Kilauca and Mauna Loa are
indeed one, in that they arc both in the same
area Of weakness Of the earth's crust, and the
molten material keeping both active, is
created, in general, by the same tangential
strains, mighty crushipgs. and Titanic rasp-
Jugs OF strata by upon strata, sure TO occur at
certain pivotal OF hinge fractures of the earth s
crust, SO long as 1t is being squeezed into
greater solidity by the force Of gravitation,
and soon also 10 dcvelope, within the solid
areas, wherein they occur, enormous heat
although thus viewed, Kilauca and Mauna
Loa arc one, the subterranean interiors Of the
two are not one and have no liquid connection;
otherwise the molten matter Of Mauna Loa
wsuld all run of into Kilauea, which is TO-
600 feet lower than Mauna Loa: Just as the
fire Of Kilauea, in ls6s, did all run of and
make q lava flow on a lower leyel:-for
although there is testimony from one or two
parties, that, in the eruption Of SOS, the top
of Mauna LOa seemed TO sympathlze with
Kila1ea, this single and unconhrmed item Of
evidence, is not sufficient 10 outweigh the
uniform and overwhelming evidence Of half
a century, that, in respect Of both quiesoence
and activity, Mauna Loa is independent Of
Kilauea, and Kilauea OF Aauna Loa. Kilauea
is volcano continuously active, while Mauna
Loa is a volcano, whose activity is periodic:
however, the likelihood is Mauna Loa would
be a continuously active volcano, were its
inner fires allowed free vent, and kilauea be
a periodic volcano, were solid mountain
placed on the top Of it, and its sides, at every
point Of the compass, tightly closed in.
A .rHTfh
placed on it, would transform Kilauea into a
StTomboli, continually relieving itself, by the
Issuance Of gas and Yapor while the super
iucumbence upon it Of a suitable area of
country, would transform Kiauea into q
Lalsen-B utte-region (California) with its
mud-springs, Geysers and boiling lake.
A transformation Of some kind, at klisuea,
is even now going on. The bottom Of the crater
is slowly building up, and the spectator be-
holding il, is almost compelled TO predict that
Kilauea is in process Of becoming perpet-
ually smoking or i periodically erupting
volcanic cone, surrounded by its crater ring
The bottom Of Kilauea, may, to be sure, fall
out again, as it has done before such a
falling out however, is quite as likely not to
occur as to occur and in case this building
Up continues, Kilauea will become like, in
form, to other volcanos OF earth.
II consists (Kilauea does) at present, of
.wo molten lakes, the surfaces OF which, at
regular intervals, cool and crust over, and
ust as regularly break up and become liquid
lgain! an hour and half being, at the date
'eferrej TO, (lith and 18th June, lss2), the
,xact time required for the cycle Of change TO
complete its round.
An increase Of interior heat as compared
With the exterior cold, or Of exterior cold
IS compared with the interior heat. would
probably increase the number of periodic
'ounds occurring within any given time, and
essen The amount Of time required for each
ound Indeed by this, that, and the other
possible variation in the conditions, there
night be effected at Kilauea, almost endless
of the phenomena visible there.
So that Kilauea is just now active, rs1y &c
ice, for a few minutes, every hour and half;
while for the greater portion Of every hour
md half, it is rather quiescent. An in
reasc Of tho interior heat or diminution Of
he plane superfcies Of the lake, SO that the
Interior heat would have a smaller area Of
molten material to keep in ebulition, would
OF course, the amount Of cbulitlon
isible at any particular time and in any par
ocular mass Of the melted substance. So
hat the lava Of Kilauea may boil more and |
lore furiously, as it becomes less and less
exposed to the external atmosphere.
The pool Of liquid lava broken up, its
lolten surface Immediately skins over,
Iowgyer, lava in cooling, becomes stiff and |
liable, before it becomes hard and brittle; |
nd SO the escape of gas from the molten mass |
Glow, causes the fexilo scum on the surface +; |
, bag upward the cooling film on the sur
ice, being sufficiently flexible and adhesive, |
, retain for time, like partially filed |
ladder, the hot air and gas beneath. This |
Ome thin and flexible scum becomes speedily |
% brittle TO bend and too thick and heavy 10 |
cat Of itself; still it does float for while, |
ecauso it is SO stretched out, that the viscic |
lass below cannot get above it: just as
beet iron will Goat Oh water, provided il is so |
FETCHED out as TO keep the water below it.
So that the weight of rock-coyeriug resting |
n the surface OF the fiery mass, and the up |
ard pressure of gas prevented from escaping
y this same rock covering, induce in
recess OF time, condition of extreme
,nsion, by virtue of which, the rock-covering
the lake, despite its heayiness, is upliftod
y the pressure beneath, and the lake of
elted rock comes to be thus, considerably |
igher than it was a short time ago.
At length however, as it must inevitable do,
le stony covering gives way. Adjoining a
vent hole, at the edge Of the lake,
ept open by upward pressure, and for the
,lief Of the lake as a whole, piece of the
oating Of rock, unsupported on one edge, and
,osened by the ebulition going on along side
I'D beneath it, backs of and tumblas in, the
If and gas it takes down with it into tue fiery
ass below, producing violent Topping, as,
huge bubbles, they roll upward through the
aiding yeast below. Then another piece Of
&c stoney coating does the same, and then
lUther and another. Presently it is discovered
lat the same process has begun and is going
! at several points here and there upon the
Ike at once, and in few minutes it is hurly
lrly from center to circumference. 1t is
e regular breaking up of the lake, which
ours every ninety minutes, and is a volcanic
upton in miniature. For Mauna Lol
-eaks out into eruption, when, and only when
e rocky mass above becomes too heavy for
e reservoir Of melted lava beneath to bear
e weight of it, and the pressure Of gas up
ard becomes too intense any longer to contain
self and Halemaumau, (Kilauea), breaks
? when, and only when, the rocky coating
! it becomes too heavy for the liquid lake
low to hold IL mp: and the pressure of heat
meath too great for the rocky covering above
hold it down.
The operation and collision of antagonistic
rces, results, always and everywhere in
Uses. a volcanic eruption is crisis, result
6 from collision of the antagonisIic forces
subterranean heat and skiey cold, while
in-fall is crisis resulting from a collision
the antagonistic forces of solar heat and
hey cold. Evaporation goes on and on but
length, the saturation point is reached, and
,wn comes tho rain with a rush and equili-
Jun is restored.
And in just the same way, out and up goes
e liquid lava the result Of the slow and ST.
Mt accumulation Of pressure, that has been
ing on for years. EDeP. BAKER,
Hilo, Hawaii, juno goth, 1882.
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