The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-08-16
WORLD-FORCING
PROCESSES OF NATURE
Continued from Page one.)

\ tOODLlnu0u from rage OucsJ
| has filed up with molten lava from &
depth of thousand feet until now il
is within $50 feet, or such a matter
of the top. Think what a tremendous
column of liquid matterl Think of the
| tremendous pressure from beneath that
must exist to- support it, Think OF
the enormous lateral pressure it must
EXERT That the whole column is liquid
there is every reason to suppose. In
deed, it is probable that the column
is cone shaped, broadcast at the bottom
and thus in sense undermining the
whole wall of the pit, as the wall exists
at the top.
But while the whole column of mat
ter is probably liquid, the fresh supply
of molten lava that is constantly being
forced to the top does not come up
from the depths in all parts of the pit.
The fountain of supply is relatively
constant in a small area near the
north side of the pit. So constantly
is the molten lava rising here, and in
such grandeur of geyser, that the ehnl-
lition at this point has been named
s'Ofd Faithful
Tt is probable that all of the con
stantly-rising supply of molten lava
does not rise at this point, for other
geysers similar in action to sEOld
Faithful are seen at times. But it
seems extremely probable that it all
comes up within a comparatively. linn
tied area. Within this area it comes
up in such large quantities and so
rapidly that the surface of the pit
here, in extent about third of the
area of the whole pit, is never wholly
blackened over. In fact, the. blacken-
ed spots are constantly changing, being
broken up and remelted into fiery glow
by the movement of the lava. For it
must be remembered that molten lava
cools, blackens and hardens very rap
idly. The drop of very few degrees
in temperature on the surface forms
black crust like a coating of ice.
This lake of hottest lava still retains
much of the figure eight conformation
described by Mr.. Thurston some weeks
ago, although not so sharply accentu-
ated. he says. as it was then.
Flowing lava always builds up walls
for itself As it spreads, the outer
portions cool and harden. So this lake
of hottest lava has built up wall
around itself. You can t recognize it
at night. but it is plain enough in
the daytime. On last Thursday this
wall was probably fifteen feet, at least,
above the general level of the surface
of the Immediately surrounding lava.
This lake of hottest lava might be rep
resented in an inverted saucer. The
center is fluid and moving; at the sides
it is hard and barrier-like.
This process of building up wall
for itself goes on until the lava piles
up so high inside of it that the lateral
pressure breaks through the wall at
some place, and then there is stream
of lava flowing out and spreading over
the larger area of the pit, the area that
is usually dark Thus, though the
molten lava is constantly gushing up
from the interior of the earth as though
some Titanic hand were slowly COM
pressing the shell of the earth. forcing
the molten interior out. as water from
a sponge. the spread of the lava over
the whole surface of the pit is an in
Permitting process. First this smaller
field of hottest matter Immediately sur
rounding the center of supply builds
itself up by its self-constructed wall, |
until it bursts out first on one side, |
and then on another, flowing out in |
great streams first in one portion of |
the darker area and then in another. !
and TINS building up the whole column.