Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-12-06
MURlATlc ACID LAKE.
Tho seething, nv billing Mineral Mass
Found ON White Island.

Tho seething, Nv billing Mineral Mass
Found ON White Island.
White Island Is nearly circular and about
three miles in circumference, writes an
Auckland correspondent Of the San Fran
cisco Chronicle. 1t consists Of tall cliffs on
three sides formed Of rock and loose rub
bish thrown up from the crater. On the
fourth side 10 large fat many acres in ex-
tent, broken in two places by tall and fan
tastic rocky eminences, which appear to
have once formed part Of the cliffs in which
the fats would seem to be fault. These
cliffs are eight hundred feet in height, per-
pendicular within and gently sloping to the
sea. Before you il o vast amphitheater of
extraordinary tint The walls Of this basin,
towering up TO the sky, appear serrated at
the edges and intersected along the face by
an inextricable network Of assures and
crevices. Landed In the ships dingy on
the bowlder-strewn beach, we find our
selves within the awe-inspiring inclosure Of
this wonderful place. A large plain of
mineral deposit is before one, and on the
right Is seen a tramway leading up to what
is known as the Adamant reef. In the cen
ter of this plain Is the wonderful boiling
lake. As we approach It along well-beaten
track the ground becomes Of Q 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 mag
nifcent scene bursts upon the view. Below
YOU lies the most extraordinary tinted pict-
ure that poet, artist, explorer, 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 as madder
brown, relieved with rose madder, the edge
Of the lake q deep orange and the lake it.
self . blending Of the peculiar green Of
verdigris and lemon yellow. At the base of
the rocks issue jets and clouds Of vapor.
The tint Of this lake is probably due to
the fact that - the volume of water has
lessened the chemical properties in the
water have become Of greater strength,
and some predominating over others give
the present extraordinary hue. The lake is
simply Q seething, bubbling mass Of muriatic
acid, and as the liquid boils up the bubbles
have their sides in shadow, rejecting q
green tinge, the whole surface emitting
vspor that very soon finds out your lungs
and tickles the mucous membrane Of your
nose and throat, to say nothing of bringing
to the eyes involuntary tears.
To the right, following the natural basin
Of the island, is chaos itself-rocks, stones,
chasms, str cams, pools, lakelets in frantic
confusion, these latter apparently all alive
and each one bent on outshining If not out
noising one another. This was sort of
school-room for the apparent education Of
small volcanoes. Amid the Kissing, sputter-
ing, choking things could be seen here and
there what looked like huge, mammoth
golden cauliaowers boiling. These were sui
phur formations.
No animal or insect breathes upon the
island. Two hundred fathoms will hardly
reach the bottom within half mile of its
shores. This island is the eastern limit of
the extensive belt of volcanic agitation
which extends from Mount Egmont through
Tongariro, the Taupo Rotomahana lakes to
Whale Island and the adjacent rocks, north
of which line earthquakes are rarely felt.
An analysis Of sulphur deposits on this
island made in the New Zealand Geological
Survey Laboratory shows that one of vel.
low sulphur contained 99.9 per cent. Of sui
phur, that another of green sulphur con-
tanned 62.5 per cent. sulphur and that a
third Of impure sulphur contained 62.05 per
cent. sulphur. The CHIEF lmpurlJy was
gypsum, which does not interfere with its
d;ct;ilotiov