The Coolidge examiner., 1934-01-12


land Of the Tonga group. The
crater lies on the southeast coast.
Its location here Is obviously de-
termined by the southeast trade
winds. which during and after erup-
ton carry the fine material TO the
northwest. The waves. driven by
these same trades. continue the
work and constantly eat into the
southeast side, shifting the mate
rial to the northwest to build an
extensive shoal.
The eastern wall of the crater
has the same profile as the western
wall, but its summit rises only 200
feet above sea level. On the east 1t
slopes gently to the top Of the sea
cliff. while on the west it descends
more abruptly TO the floor OF the
crater. The bottom of the crater is
elliptical in outline and most Of its
surface is covered by a boiling lake.
shaped roughly like a figure eight.
The waters in the seaward loop Of
the figure are a deep, milky green,
but in the landward loop they fade
to yellowish white. Steam rises
from the water and clouds Of II
drift lazily up the northwest wall.
Parts of the lake boil necessarily /;
other areas bulge upward period
ically, bringing black sediment from
below.
The crater rim is preached to the
southwest, where only a small bit
OF the original wall remains. This
remnant Is about twenty feet high
and is composed of bedded scoria
and ash. On either side of 1t the
storm waves have free access over
a low. porous barrier OF reworked
scoria, through which the lake wa
ters rise and fall with the tide.
The lake is surrounded with ash
and sulphur flats, dotted with steam
Jets, the latter more abundant on
the steep western side Of the crater
than elsewhere. Around the fiat
is a narrow band OF gently sloping
land. trenched with V-shaped gul-
lies and grading above into the
steep walls Of the crater These
are vertically fluted. and In the de-
pressions many steam vents issue.
These have deposited quantities of
sulphur and other substances, Civ
ing the walls a strange appearance
Yellow, orange. or white gullies al.
ternate with the drab ridges.
What the Crater Is Like.
The crater lake and the vividly
colored walls are the first impress
sion received while standing on the
eastern edge A closer inspection
shows that there are really two
craters, younger one with steep
sides lying within an older one.
The crater wall Is composed
largely OF fine ash and scorla. but
scattered over its surface are nu-
merous volcanic bombs and blocks
Of solid lava. Most of the bombs
are small. hut a few reach a length
of more than two feet. They are
roughly spindle-shaped and repre-
sent masses OF lava that were
throw out INF liquid condition and
soliditied while still In the air.
Many are exceedingly porous. ow-
Ing to the escape of lnclosed gases !;
others show a concentric banding
made by uniform cooling and con
traction. Some of the solid angular
blocks of lava exceed three feet In
diameter. A few are porous, 9TH
ers denSe.
In most places II is impossible to
descend the crater walls, because
the slopes of the poorly consolidat-
ed scOria approach so degrees. One
may. however, without great diff
Guilty. slip and slide down one of
the several steep gullies TO the
crater floor. Here one unconscious
ly pauses before proceeding farther.
On all sides are sputtering and
whiStling steam vents, which issue
from walls that are beautifully
mottled in shades of yellow.
orange and gray.
1t is rather a weird experience
to walk out on the delta that sep
arates the two lobes of the lake.
The ground is quite hot beneath
the feet, and off the lake comes a
whitening blast of fetid air. Each
steam jet has a hiss, whistle, or
sputter of its own. These sounds
do not carry far. and as one walks
across the fiat they quickly replace
each other. A low, quietly sputter-
ing vent passes out of hearing and
almost between ones feet.
Pumice and fragments Of lava lie
scattered everywhere. One expects
momentarily to break through, yet
the ground seems solid enough.
The surface of the delta is increst-
ed with brilliantly colored sulphur
Gus deposits and tiny balls Of green
iSh sulphur litter the surface be-
low with a line of pumice that
marks high-tide level. The waters
of the lake near the edge of the
delta boil nOisily and have a vile
taste. The noises. the odors, and
the heat oppress the watchers mind
with feeling of impending activ-