Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1886-09-24
nYnRo1HERMAL WONDERS.
A Scientists Report on tho Recent Great
Eruptions in Now Zealand.

A soicntist's Report on tho Recent Great
Eruptions in Now Zealand.
DR.. Hector, OF Auckland, has made
report on the cruptions, from which
we extract the main points. He says
that there can be but little question
that IL was purely hydrothcrmal phe-
nomcnon on gigantic scale; that IL is
quite local and not of deep origin, and
that all danger is past for tho present.
Tho only fresh activity which can reas-
onably,be expected is that whom sulli-
cient rain has fallen 1t may cause an
overflow of Okaroo lake into the south
end Of the great fissure, as the former
outlet appears to bo completely filed up.
The most remarkable feature of tho
eruption, DR.. Hector says, was tho
great fissure. This fissuro seems to
commence rs narrow rift at the
northern end, from tho great rent
which has been formed in tho south
end of Tarawera mountain. The rent
is II most wonderful feature. 1t is not
n slip from the mountain side, but APP
pears as if a portion Of the mountain,
measuring two thousand feet by five
hundred feet. and three hundred feet
deep, had been blown out, leaving n
ragged, rocky chasm, from which
steam was being discharged in rapidly
succeeding pufls. Tho eastern side of
this chasm was brightly tinted, as if by
the efllorescent deposit of mineral
substance, probably ferro.chloridcs.
Sulphur has been mentioned as de-
posit from this recent outburstby some
l~,,t . l,i, Il, Il, ,,I
ly possible result OF such rapid vol
canic development The direction of
the fissure, as far as could be ascer-
tanned, is in the general line that
would connect all the more active
geysers between Tongariro and White
island.
The quantity of matter which was
elected during the different phases of
the eruption was very large. None of
the stone fragments collected are other
than portions of rock of the district,
nor do they present in the slightest de-
gree the character of volcanic bombs
or lapilli, formed from lava or rock ma
terial in state of fusion. Yet there can
be no doubt, if we can accept the evil
dence of eye-witnesses, that these rock
fragments must have, in some cases,
reached the ground in partially in
candescent state. Next followed the
great election of pumicc sand, which
forms enormous deposits in two locali-
ties. Over district of twenty-four
square miles south of Tarawera Lake,
and on an almost equal area to the
north and east of the lake, the whole
surface of the country has been COW
cred with pumice sand so thickly as to
obliterate in great measure the natu-
raj features, partly filling gullies and
enveloping all the hills as if with
deep mantle of snow so that not n
trace of vegetation can be seen from
the highest peaks. The impact of the
moist deposit when it fell must have
been very great from the effects which
it produced at Wairoa, where it ap-
pears to have attained to maximum
thickness of about twelve inches in
open level places free from any influ-
ence that would cause it to drift on
the flats, for about the bridge in the
outletof Rotokakahi it's depth was found
to be nine inches, and in the Tikitapu
bush four inches, and from that point
it gradually decreased toward the
north. The action of rain upon the
mud rapidly converts it into n semi
fluid condition, in which state it slides
off the hill slopes and fills the low
ground and water courses, and where
it has been thickly deposited it will
thus be a constant source ofdanger for
some time to come. The distance TO
which this dust was carried was very
great, exceeding one hundred and
twenty miles from the focus in di-
rection between the north and east, and
the time it remained suspended in the
air must have been at least eighty-four
hours, as we passed through it in the
Hinemoa when crossing the Bay of
Plenty, as peculiar, yellowish fog,
charged with pungent acid vapor and
dust, and on the following afternoon
we recognized the same fog cloud sus-
pended in the air toward the north
San Francisco Chronicle.