The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1891-09-26
me GREATEST VOLCANO.
(From the Chicago New Era, Aug u
1919

pei with its torrent OF ashes ana
lava, stories of volcanoes and their
mysterious internal rumblngs have
had a fascination for all readers.
Interest attaches to Vesuvius be-
cause of the wonderful evidences Of
former life which it preserved. Ma
una Loa, the greatest volcano in the
world, will probably cover no great
cities and therefore will have no
opportunity of preserving for the
wonderment of future generations
the Hawaiian civilization of to-day.
Goldthwaite's Geographical Maya
zine gives some interesting and gen.
orally unknown facts about the vol.
cano called Mauna Loa.
On recent map of HAWAII, the
largest island OF the Hawaiian group,
are a number of black marks, some
narrow and some very wide, extend
ing from a common center in the in
terror to many points of the compass,
some of them reaching the sea, forty
to sixty miles away. These marks
represent the areas that during this
century have been covered by lava
flowing from the greatest volcano in
the world. III 1887 Mauna Loa gave
two terrific displays of the most in
tense volcanic activity. The average
interval between the eruptive periods
of the volcano is about eight years.
Mauna Loa, which means "The
Great Mountain" is ny far the most
important Of modern volcanoes. Sew
eral years ago Captain c. <. button
of the ordnance corps in our army
made careful study of the Hawai-
ian volcanoes. He says that a mod,
crate eruption of Mauna Loa repre-
sents more material than Vesuvius
has emitted since the destruction of
Pompeii. The, great lava flow of
1855, which extended forty-fve miles
toward the sea, with an average
depth of one hundred feet, would
nearly have built Vesuvius. The
flows of 1859 and 1881 were little
less.
The first eruption in 1887 lasted
two weeks, and the molten lava flow
ed for twenty miles down the gentle
slope of the mountain, its lower edge
entering the sea. In this way, Ha-
wall is gradually growing, the great
lava floods encroaching upon the sea
and enlaroing the coast line. AL
though all the twelve islands that
form the Hawaiian group are of vol
canic origin it is only in that island
which gives its name to the group,
and which is larger than all the
others put together, that volcanic
energy is now displayed.
The great number of Mauna Loa's
lava flows have been toward the
northeast or northwest coasts of the
island, but the stream of 1887 reach
ed the southwest coast. Unlike most
other volcanoes, the streams of
melted matter which roll down Mauna
Loa's sides do not issue from its
summit, but from great assures in
the side of the mountain, sometimes
thousands of feet below its top.
The main axis of this stupendous
mountain mass is about seventy-fve
miles long, and the mountain slopes
very gradually toward the sea on all
sides. Instead of being cone,
which is the usual form of volcano,
Mauna Loa is great dome-like ele-
walton. The reason is that the out
pouriDgs from the bowels of the
earth which have formed it have,been
In their molten state so completely
liquitied that they could spread over
large surface, while the more solid
matter issuing from Vesuvius and
many other volcanoes remained near
the place of vent, and consequently
built up the mountains in the form
of peaks. Mauna Loa is nearly
$4,000 feet high, and the ascent
along the most accessible route to the
summit can easily be made on mules.
The slope of the mountain is so
gradual that it takes, along the usual
route up the mountain, twenty miles
of travel to gain an altitude of
$500 feet.
1t has been observed that the great
eruptions of Mauna Loa have gen
orally been preceded by intense act
ivity al the summit orifice-the
emissions there, however, never over
flowing the great lava walled basin
in which they are confined. After
the main eruptions there is perfect
quiescence in all parts Of the noun
tain. Captain buttons theory is
that within the mountain an accumu-
lation of eruptive energy and mate
rial is constantly in progress, which
sat first seeks an outlet through the
summit orifice; but as the accumula-
ton goes on the mountain itself is
ruptured" The lava is discharged,
and the volcanic energy is for the
time being depleted.
Eleven years ago great stream
of lava for some months poured down
the northeast slope and advanced
steadily over the plains, some of
them almost level, to the coast, some
forty miles away. 1t was making
straight for the pretty village of Hilo,
and the inhabitants concluded at last
that there was no hope of saving
their town, In the last days of its
flow its progress was much less
rapid, but still it kept pushing on at
rate of three hundred wards a daY.