The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1901-07-16
DIAMOND HEAD WAS MADE IN
LESS THAN ONE HOURS TIME

Thrrr wea uuIt.H party gathered un
'hr western SLOPE on Diamond Head
crater saturday afternoon to listen in
% pIR ny pr Serene D. Hshou ou tls
eruption and formation ~ tho crater
Th. subject matter gave rise to many
questions which were ably answered bv
Or Bishop Among those present were,
Mrs Jonathan shaw, Jho Misses kiur
Mrs Bettis, Mrs. Guudin. Miss johnson.
Miss pauldlng, Miss Ruth g.. Shaw.
Miss Dorothy T.. True Miss Margaret
r. shaw. Miss Jessie g.. shaw, Miss
Lulu Law. Miss May Frasher, Mr.. g.
II. Dickey. g. +. True Judge Lyle
Dickcy, MIR. Law. l.. J. Frasher and
Rev. Mr. Hartley.
Dr Bishop spoke in part as follows.
DIR BISHOPS ADDRESS.
! suppose that you wish to hear some
account of how this singular crater Of
Diamond Head was formed. 1t is prop
erly a tuff-cone. being composed not Of
lava like the main mountain mass in
land, but of this soft brown rock called
sun.
Volcanic eruptions may be distin-
guished into two classes. the effuslSe
and the eXplosive.In the former the mol
ten rock is poured out and covers the
mountain slopes with great floods II
you look up at the sides of yonder ra-
vines, which the transforms of many
hundred thousands of years have worn
out of the original dome-shaped noun
tain, you will see the black edges of
the ancient lava streams lying in lay
erS.
| The tuff-cones are entirely different,
and are produced by very brief and sud
den explosive eruptions. The turf was
violently shot high aloft into the air in
the form of superheated mud. This hot
mud cooled and thickened by the eX-
pansion of its water and its partial es-
cape as steam before reaching the
ground. 1t hardened and cemented az
it fell, though still liquid enough "a
form in thin layers or Nominations as
we see it lying around us at the base
of the hill
| Several of these tuff-cones in this vi
lcinity are of very recent formation, be
ling only from five to forty thousand
years old al hough the great mountain
masses of this Island are probably a
million years old or more. Those an
cent volcanic masses had long ages age
grown up by lava flows, had become
dead volcanoes had been eaten and
weathered away by the transforms OF
million years, and had gradually sunk
Iby their own weight thousands of feet
below their original level into the sea
Then, at recent period, the long re
pose of the earth's crust below then
lbecame disturbed anew This disturb
lance was very likely connected with the
lglacial period, and the Weighing dowr
lOf portions of the earth by deep con
tinents of ice.
But, whatever the cause. assures seen
to have been formed in the crust of the
earth along these shores. through
which the sea waters penetrated to the
white-hot magma or lava lying twenty
live or thirty miles below us. The wa
ter and lava became commingled int
a fiery paste or mud. Finally the in
creasing pressure of the steam gener
lated found vent through some fissure
A gigantic explosion ensued near where
we stand which was then in the sea
outside of the shore of the Island. a
fountain of mud was shot aloft to g
height probably, of three miles, anc
in brief space OF time piled up this
cone
other tuff-cones stand near us. Yon.
der a few miles to the east lies the
broad ana massive Koko, and a little
northeast the great cone OF Koko lipe-