The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1913-10-16
ASH HEAP PANAMA.
chiriqui Mountain Peak Formed
by Crater Eruptions.
10 1900 Feet High and Has 0ssa
Dead for $4,000 Ysars-oseloslst
Mcdonald Tells Results o.
Recent Expedition.

Mcdonald Tells Results 81
Recent Expedition.
New York.-Dr. D. +. Mcdonald. the
geologist of the Panama canal com.
mission. has Just completed . tour OF
western Panama. and in the last issue
of the Canal Record. the oficial bulle,
tin Of the commission. which reached
New York the other day. Dr.. Melon.
laid tells some of the results of his
"trip. The trip lasted two months. and
twas made under the auspices Of the
Smithsonian institution, the Panama
canal commission and the United
States geological survey.
"The full results" DR.. Mcdonald
says in the Canal Record, "of the jour.
lney. which lasted about two months.
will be published later by the Smith.
sonian Institution. In this issue the
so-called Chirqui volcano will be brief.
1y treated.
Perhaps the most interesting new
thing discovered about the extinct vol.
cano was the evidence that indicated
about the number of centuries that
have elapsed since the last volcanic
outburst. 1t will be remembered that
about a year ago the newspapers told
how an eruption of Chiriqui volcano
had flung death and destruction far
over western Panama. This proved
to be a newspaper story for the last
explosive outburst of the mountain did
n>% 400, e. 1O1O h,t xonru h,,rl~al
centuries earlier.
The majestic Chiriqui peak stands
as a king among mountains. Tower.
ing over II, 900 feet above sea level, 1t
overlooks all the other rugged crests
of western Panama, From its sum.
nit, on a clear day, n can see the
wide coastal plain of David meeting
the low lying shore Of the Pacific.
forty miles away Streams. like loose
lying silvery threads flung o~ceanward.
tie the mountains to the sea, and On.
their banks here and there are dis.
tant specks of little native villages.
Scattered grazing herds dot the nearer
plains, and a tiny dust cloud. barely
visible In the blue haze of the distant
valley, tells of a train Of bull carts
toiling from David out to the coffee
plantations, near the foot of the noun:
tain.
Turning then to the northward. one
may behold lessening waves Of noun.
tains dimming in the distance. where
they meet the wide embayments Of the
Caribbean shore. In the bays and be
yond the headlands dark island spots
are scattered along the landward mar.
gin of the sunlit sea. These remnants
of a submerged mountain group stand
like a struggling rear guard protecting
the main shore line against the foam
crested trade wind waves.
Gazing out over this pleasing pic.
ture ones aesthetic sense may be
slightly shocked when he realizes that
he Is only On the top Of an ash heap,
for this mighty peak was built up by
emanations of volcanic ash and debris
blown out during long centuries from
a crater or group of craters. The last
explosion, OF series of explosions. was
more violent than the rest, for 1t
blew the top off the mountain and
scattered the debris far and wide,
burying the surrounding country un.
der some hundreds of feet Of volcanic
ash and ejectamenta. Later streams
formed on the new surface, and these
slowly entrenched themselves in the
new volcanic formation. The Caldera
rver thus excavated for itself a canon
that is $50 feet deep and about half q
mile wide-a vaster trench by far than
Culebra cut, and all done by a river.
without drill, powder or steam shovel.
In the flat, wide bottom Of this canon,
close to the bank Of the stream, are
some old Indian graves. and near by
are some carved stones or 'piedras pin
tadas.'
From the weatherins of these and
r from the pottery and other objects
remnants of an ancient Indian culture
buried In them 1t IL known that they
) are at least 1000 years old and proba
bly, considerably more. Since these
; graves were made the Caldera rivel
' has not cut its channel more than ter
, feet deeper over about one-tenth O
the total width Of its valley bottom
! This Is equivalent to a deepening O
the whole width Of the valley one foot
From these data it IL seen that tn,
minimum rate Of excavation Of tn
Caldera valley, under. approximately
present conditions. would be foo
j, per thousand years. At this rate tn,
present valley, which 10 $50 feet deep
would require $4,000 years for ez
cavation. However, during the drs
few centuries excavation Of It went o,
, much more rapidly than now. Thi
is due to the fact that In falling
! through the atmosphere the coarse
rocks Of the volcanic debris droppe,
faster and are more concentrated II
> the lower part, while the upper part
r Of this formation are chiefly Of I'M
ash"
Was Father Of 20 Children.
Noblesville. Ind.-Rley Shepard
xA- AAA-- - 90 nAANA->- a.