The Colorado statesman., 1922-12-02
IS MANS FRIEND
Volcano Wrongly Considered as
an Enemy.
furnishes Carbon Dloxide, Without
Which There Could Be No Animal
Life Possible.

| It might be surprise to many to be
:od that the fire-spitting, lava-spout-
| ng, earth-rocklng volcano is one of
munkind's best friends rather than his
arch enemy, but such was the surpris-
.ng declaration to the conference of
geography of the National Education
association of Boston.
The most tremendous volcanic erup-
tlon of history, that of Mount Katmai
In Alaska, in 1912, described in this
connection by DR.. Robert f. Griggs,
leader of several parties sent to the
scene of the cataclysm by the National
Geographic society, and who discovered
the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes,
Katmais neighbor wonder of nature.
Manklnd's debt to the volcano has
been more fully recognized by results
Of recent researches, says a bulletin
Of the society describing the upheaval.
without volcanoes, it is now believed,
there would be no ocean, and to vol
canoes we are indebted for carbon
dioxide, without which life could not
exist
The explosion of Katmai, the confer
ence was told, was unnoticed be-
cause 1t was so far from the centers
Of civilization. Had the eruption oc-
Cured near New York city, the bulle-
tin declares, the sulphurous fumes
would have polluted the air every
where east of the Rocky mountains;
the noise would have reverberated like
an artillery duel across the central
states The lower Hudson itself would
have been turned into a gigantic tomb.
However, due to the lack of popula-
ton in that far region, there was no
loss of life, and the eruption provides
scientists and geographers now one of
their greatest opportunities to study
the phenomena of the cataclysm.
Though generally unaware of the
eruption until long after, every inhab-
liant of the country, and almost of the
world, felt its effects, one of which
was the cold damp summer of 1912.
This was caused by the interceptlon
of sunlight by the long-hanglng dust
cloud in the upper air. Even In cloud
less Sahara, 1t was declared, the sky
was overcast.
A succession Of such mighty explo-
sIons could plunge the earth into an
other ice age, 1t is believed.
An area around Katmai, larger than
the state of Delaware, was covered
that summer by more than foot of
volcanic ash, which was enough to de-
stroy all but the hardest of vegeta-
tion. When the explosion occurred
two cubic miles of material were blown
off the top of the mountain, and the
present whereabouts of the mountain
top is still mystery to scientists.
The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes,
from which arises virtually millions of
steam Jets In a scene Of unsurpassed
grandeur and beauty, Is believed to
have been an aftermath of the cata-
clysm.
President Wilson turned aside from
the stress of war to make this region
national monument second to none In
the world. While the country is so re-
mote that the few white men who have
viewed its wonders have been members
Of the soclety's expeditions, the edu-
Gators were told, 1t is easily accessible
from a sheltered bay christened in
honor of the society, and a 5O-mile
roadway will some day place 1t within
the compass of the automobile tourist.