The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-07-09

 OBSERVATIONS
Arc we to Have a Volcanic outburst As Sort of Side Show to
 Panama Exposition
Deductions of Noted Geologist Filed In Report Today to U. S. Govern.
 meno-Sonne History Recalled e

Diller suggests connection between the Lassen Peak eruption and the San Francisco 1915 Exposition.
 Mir. Diller was ordered to visit the scene of volcanic eruption and his detailed statement was made public by the United States sGeoIogicaI Sur Vey yesterday. The geologist points an American vess1vfus for the Pana-
 ma Pacific Exposition The Pacific Ocean is girdled by volcanoes and live ones are common in the Central Arne erican couontries to which Panama. belongs. MT. DiIIer reasons thus: 'sSo it is up to Vulcan to prepare a near by exhibit for the occasion, and he ev- identIy sees his duty and is rejuvenat- ing the energy of Lassen Peak as a kind of volcanic moving picture.
 Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta. the beautiful cones so much in evil dence to the traveller on the Pacific Coast north of San Francisco, are now finding an up-to-date rival in Lassen Peak, which is plainly in view from the railroad for many miles in the Sacramento Valley between Bedding and Red Bluff. LaSSen Peak Is the southern end of the Cascade Range, and 1t stands between the Sierra Ne vada on the southeast and the Kla- math Mountains on the northwest. It's Iavas erupted In past ages reach the
 
 and on the other form a part of the vast volcanic field, one of the great est in the world that stretches far across California. Oregon Washing ton and Idaho to the Yellowstone Ma donaI Park
 Range fLassen Peak still retains the largest rampant of it's once vigorous energy. Morgan and Suppan Hot Springs and BumpaSs Hell on the south as well as Hot Spring Valley and the boiling naud-1ake Tartarus on the southeast have long attracted the at- tention not only of Californians but to some extent of the tourists, to whom the region is growing more accessible every year. If to these already es- tablished attractions be added a fre- quent occurrences of the recent vol will take high rank among. natures wonderlands.
 ''But what is the nature of this new activity of Lassen? Is 1t really vol canic VIII it soon dwindle and be- come wholly quiescent or on the oth- 'er hand is-it the precursor of a more profound eruption like that of Kra- katoa? The excellent photographs that have, been taken of the outburst, especially those by G. F. Milford and the series by B. F. Loomis, of Viola, taken from a. point miles northwest
 
 the mind of amy one familiar with vol eanic phenomena that the outburBt is essentially volcanic. These pho tographs are strikingIy similar to those taken by Johnston-Iavis show ing the progress of. an eruption in the Lipart Islands whose volcanic charae-. ter is well known.
 The erupions of L1assen Peak be- gan May 30 at 5:S0 p. m., with an out burst of steam which, according to Forest Supervisor ". J. Rushing, con tnued about 10 minutes. It formed a Lassen about 25 by 40 feet in extent and covered the encircling snow for a distance of 300 feet with a mantle of dark wet dust. Harvey Abbey. a forest ranger, visited the scene and re- ported the facts.
 f'On the following day at a. m., another eruption occurred and on June 8, a week later, the third and much larger outbreak took place. It lasted 80 minutes and the rolling col un1n of dense black smoke rose to the height of 2.500 feet. Stones were hurled from the crater and the Forest Service outlook house, a quarter of . mile away on the tip-top of Lassen Peak, was broken by some of them. Blocks and smaller fragments accu- mulated about the crater to a. depth of several feet The dust and suI-
  the wind were observed at Mineral, the forestry station, and the dust was noted miles beyond. Forest ram gers who were in the peighborhood of the summit during the eruption heard the rushing steam and the fall ing rocks but report no ru1nbhng or subterranean noises, earth shocks. electrical phenomena or great heat beyond that of steam. The dust was practically cold when it fell. Con- siderable volumes of water were eject ed probably wholly in the form of steam. The water condensing from this steam washed a. gully in the snow to the adjacent lakelet which occu- pied what prior to this latest eruption had long been regarded as the younry y- est crater of the Lassen volcano. The new crater is not quite over the throatof the old but is a few hundred feet to the northwestward.
 s'In all there have been aelev-sI en eruptions up to the datea of this 21.s The most violent was at a. na., June IA when sew eral overventur persons were l by falling or rolling stones The eruption was visible from the Sacramento Valley nearly 40 miles ] away and created profound interest The last eruption to date was Friday. June 19, and of relatively small ener- | gy. MT. Rushing reports that erup- | tions are generally if not always pre- ceded by a complete cessation of es- caping steam
 MT. DiIler has been familiar with Lassen Peak for over 80 years and his present observations are those of a | geologist who had made special l study of this volcano on several pre- | vious visits. His statement contin | ues:
 with successive eruptions the new crater is enlarging. June 20, when | MT B. F. Loonnis and visited it. it | was 400 feet long and 100 feet wide | with a depth of not over 100 feet. It appears to follow a Assure running } little north of east and south of | west The escaping steam from the southwest end of the Assure is wis bIe in the excellent photograph ob- aimed by MT. ,Loonis
 s'The other hot holes about Lassen