Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-10-25
MuRlATIC ACID LAKE.
The Settling, BubblinE Minera
Mass Found on White Island.

The Settling, BubblinE Mfnera
Mass Found on White Island.
White Island is nearly circular and
about three miles in circumference,
writes an Auckland correspondent o.
the San Francisco Chronicle. 1t con
sists of tall cliffs on three sides formed
of rock and loose rubbsh thrown W
from the crater. On the fourth side il
a large fiat many acres in extent
broken in two places bv tall and fan
tastic rocky eminences. which appear
to have once formed part of the cliffs
in which the flats would seem to be
fault. These cliffs arc eight hundred
feet in height. perpendicular within
and gently sloping to the sea. Before
you Is vast amphitheater OF extraor'
binary tint The walls OF this basin,
towering up to the sky. appear serrat
ed at the edges and intersected along
the face by an inextricable network o.
assures and crevices. Landed in the
ships dingy on the bowlder-strewn
beach, we lind ourselves within the
awe-inspiring Enclosure OF this wonder
full plain. A large plain of minera
deposit is before one. and on the right
is seen tramway leading up to what
is known as the Adamant reef In the
center of this plain is the wonderful
boiling lake. AS we approach it along
we'll beaten track the ground be.
comes chocolate color, and all at once
the visitor is conscious of the most
pungent orders as the fumes from the
surface of the boiling lake and the base
of the surrounding walls of rock reach
him. A few steps more and magniti'
cent scene bursts upon the view. Be.
low you lies the most extraordinary
tinted picture that poet. artist, explor.
er. novelist. tourist or special ever
gazed upon. The general tone of the
ground line is Of deep chocolate. the
walls of rock around of that warm
color known to artists rs maddel
brown. relieved with rose madden, the
edge of the lake deep orange ant
the lake itself blending of the pecul.
lar green of verdigris and lemon vel
low At the base of the rocks issue jet
and clouds of vapor.
The tint of this lake is probably du,
to the fact that as the value of wate
has lessened the chemical properties
in the water have become of create
strength. and some predominatius
over others give the present extraor
binary hue The lake is simply {
seethiDg. bubbing mass of muriat {
acid, and as the liquid bols up the
bubbles have their sides in shadow. re.
llecting a green tinge. the whole sur
face emitting a vapor that very 500,
finds out your lungs and tickles tn,
mucous mem brane of your nose and
throat to say nothing of bringing t,
the eye involuntary tears.
TO the right. following the natural
basis of the island, is chaos itself
rocks. stones. chasms. streams, pools
|, lakelets in frantic confus on. the sc
latter apparently all alive and each on.
bent on outshining il not outnoisins
one another. This was n sort O
school-room for the apparent educa
ton of small volcanoes. Amid tn
kissing. suffering. choking things
could be seen here and there VIVA
looked like huge. mammoth COLDER
cauIifiowers. These were sulphur
formation.
No animal or insect breathes upor
the island. Two hundred fathoms will
hardly reach the bottom within half
mile of its shores. This island is tn,
eastern lin of the extensive belt 0
volcanic agitation which extends from
Mount Egmont through Tongariro. tn
Taupo Rotomahana lakes to Whale Ia
land and the adjacent rocks, mort
of which line earthquakes are rarel
felt.
An analysis of sulphur de
posts on this island made
the New Zealand Geological SUI
vey Laboraotry shows that on
of yellow sulphur contained 80.
per cent. of sulphur, that another {
green sulphur contained 62.5 per cenI
sulphur and that third of impur
sulphur contained 6205 per cent SUI
phur. The chief impurity was gvI
sum. which does not interfere with it
dlstillution.