The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-12-07
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
WILL Be MADE HERE
Plans For Hawaiian investigation
Are Mentioned In United
States Official Publication
Technical Paper On Lavas of
Islands Records Presence
or Rare Metals


Whitman Cross is the author Of q
technical treatise on the Lavas Of Ha-
wall just ISSUED rs Professional
paper Ss' of the United States geolOg
zeal survey. In his introduction Mr.,
I ross SAYS that while to the casual Oh
server all the lavas Of Hawaii seem to
fall into n few simple and definite
types, photographers have no difficulty
IN determining that thore is extreme
variation among them. SO many sam.
piles OF extremely rare varieties of lava
hnye been collected here that the geo.
logical survey, ii Is stated, will at
some time in the near thturc conduct
a thorough peuographic survey of MI
the Islands Of the group.
The principal collections Of Hawaiian
lavas which have tGTmnd the basis for
scientific study were those collected by
Dr.. William IIiIdrhrand, the botanist,
studied bv r.. Cohen in 1880; collie
tons made by Professor P. Tacchini,
an 1astronOmPr described by O. Snyes-
tri in 1855: the collection IF Jlrgist
4. Srhauinslmnh hesc ribeA by F. Moehle
in 1902; and F.. s. Dana's in 1880.
The Dana lavas were the only large
collections made bv a gPologist pre-.
vions TO the work done by Prof. c. II
Hitchcock from 1899 to 1912 f. d.
| Rrestan's Mauna Kea lavas were re,
ported on by q. p. Merrill in 1900. The
anthpr rites some forty-four publiea.
! tons greloting to the Photography OF
Hawaiian lavas. ,:. 49,. -, .
"It is Rn accepted generalization,
| Mr.. Cross says, concerning the Ha
waiiap Islands that they have been
built mp by long-cOntinued' series OF
Volcanic eruptiODs beR'nniaT Mt q
point fnr west of the principal island:
Of today. Hawaii, the largest and
most recent island, with its active vol
| canops, is at the southeastern extremt
! OF the row of island centers Of erlip
ton.
"WhPthcr the earliest erurtions he
| gan at many points at about the same
time. as 7. d. Dana supposed, or wheth
er the Oldest center Is at the northwest
limit of the chain, is o question moi
entirely settled, it seems to me. Thu
oldest volcanoes known are now rep
resented by islets or mere reefs Of pA3'l
rising but a few feet above the sea
| Possibly the oldest volcanoes of thii
chain have wholly disappeared through
cataclysmir disturbances or long con
timed erosion, such as has greatly "e
dnred the bulk Of even the more recen
islands.
with this long history of vOleanisu
along one line of weak ness in the oeehI
bottom, it Is of interest to study III,
series Of laVhs of each center and com
pare those Of different centers." Fo
this reason Mr.. Cross in his monograph
takes up the study of the volcanic
rocks according to their association
rather than their specific relationship
Tn" anthor states that no scientific,
rock COLLECTIONS have ever been mad,
on Lln"i, Ki"holawe, Niihau and Nj
hoa. Kilan"n has been most studied
AVID more is known of its formation
thau Of my other. ..
N"mernus chemical analyses of Ha
wHiian lava rocks show the presence
Of mahy of the rarer elements. includ
INC strnntium, chromium, nickel, zir
edri"nl, rth;a. vhnnaaium. mOlvhden"U
90 '" ''."r "''' N"r and chlorine VIII rl
arc seldom present IN e1mbinatiOn l.
.. ""', no. . h0V" also been detected
Titnrirm AMI manrannsr arc of con
stunt occurrence. Phosnhorir nriL i
also nlv avs pr""""t rising ~ >" %
rrrt ia $ mr. nF III" KPnai flows. Th
pvera"c nOtnsh content il about tw
"cr cent lut ~ one of the kilauc
A""'s i"cs w R'p nrr cert
In chemical and physical charart r
tn" Hawaiian lavas resemble tn, vol
canir outcro"" Of Essex County NJ So
"hu<"tts; Yellowstone National Fnr'i
Sardini": ChIietiana., .Norwov; Pre-
toria. Tronsvaal: Fm'ana; Arrk,an
''~Nds. W. Mountains, Germany
skye; Pn"hla, Mexico; Tahiti; Mir
""sota Tony" North Kmherle,
South Africa; Durham, England; Brit
h Gmiau: Franz .Tos"f Land ~
T"al Maintains; Reunion; Vvald,
Texas; Azores; Heard island in tn
Antarctic; and, Carmel BAY, NAlir0r
mia.
In his general summary Mr.. eros
Celebrates the theory of differentiated
Of lavas. During the early growth o
""ch vo'conn the lavas are uniform i
TYNE. With decreasing eruptive tiv
I" and the contraction md limitatio
Of the lava chambers hiqher difforer
tiation brgius and continues until At
tiuifV