The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

Table Of Contents

FOREWORD BY GILBERT GROS\EXOR XV

Chapter I : The Eruption And Its Significanxe

Eruption felt over all northwestern America — A similar eruption in New York City would be seen in Albany-, heard in Chicago, tarnish brass in Denver, prostrate Philadelphia, destroy Greater New York — Crater largest in the world — No lives lost — Geological bearings; eruption of a new type; aid in understanding mineralization; may throw light on mechanism of volcanoes — Revegetation has important agricultural bearings — Discoven,- of one of the greatest wonders of the natural world, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes — Safe for tourist travel — Can be made readily accessible.

Chapter II : The Eruption As Experienced At Kodiak

Introductory- — Premonitory symptoms unknown; ashfall began without warning — Kodiak not situated in volcanic district — Ignorance of seat of eruption — Darkness which obscured lanterns held at arm's length — People collected in warehouse — Rescue of crew of tug; people taken aboard the Manning; suffering from overcrowding — Tribute to bravery of inhabitants — Suffering due more to terror that to danger.

Chapter III : Records Of The Eruption From Other Localities

Identification of the volcano by steamer Dora; other vents supposed to ha%e been responsible; final determination of seat of eruption not made until 1915 — Reports of eyewitnesses from Katmai Village — Statement of chief of Saxonoski natives— Experiences of people at Kaflia Bay, where the ashfall was three feet — Preliminan.- symptoms as observed at outlying stations — Maximum violence for 60 hours — Gradually subsiding activity continued all summer — Records of earthquakes accompanying eruption; records of explosions as heard at distant stations; explosions not heard at Kodiak, perhaps because of dust screen — Sulphuric acid rains destroy xegetation at Seward, La Touche and Cordova, more than 300 miles away — Brass tarnished and clothes destroyed in the Puget Sound region, 1,500 miles away — Ashfall a foot deep or more over an area one and one-half times as large as Delaware — Dust fell 1,500 miles away — Records from Puget Sound — Ejecta from eruption totalled over sbc cubic miles, a quantity equivalent to the output of the stone crushers of the United States for over 500 years.

Chapter IV : Climatic Effects Of The Eruption 33

Haze from volcano held responsible for cold summer of 1912; lowest point ever reached in terrestrial temperatures followed eruptions of 1 783-1 785; the "dryfog" of 1783; "the year without a summer" followed eruption of Tomboro, 1815 — Haze from Krakatoa caused remarkable sunsets for tA\o years; haze from Katmai appeared in Wisconsin before the eruption was over, in \'irginia two days later; peculiar haze persisted all summer in Algeria — Interference with astronomical obsenations — Dust cloud absorbed 10 per cent of tlie sun's heat; whole Northem Hemisphere cooler because of eruption — Slight changes in mean temperatures of great practical importance — N'olcanic dust shown to be capable of producing glacial climates — Water liberated in eruptions probably of vast importance in economy of nature ; all life perhaps dependent on continuance of volcanic action.

vm

Chapter V: The Recovery Of Vegetation At Kodiak 45

Remarkable recovery of vegetation; not due to any fertilizer in the ash; ash forms a verv poor soil; composition similar to pulverized granite; benefic.al ac Uon due to effect as a mulch - Revegetation result of recovery of old plants, plants resurrected after three years' burial - Seedlings slow to start; -vegetation retarded bv sand blast - Importance of horsetail as a soil binder- Bizarre appearance'of ash-laden trees overgrown with moss - Net work o moss on forest floor - Seedlings starting under protection of trees - Ash rapidly eroded, earthworms active in mixing it with old soil — Little damage to fields.

Chapter VI : The Alaskan Volcanoes 57

Aleutian volcanic chain of Asiatic, rather than American affinity - Volcanic festoons fringing Asia, from East Indies to Kamchatka - The Aleutian cha n traversing ntountain plateaus and ocean deeps, evidently a more fundamental feature than ordinary geologic structures - Cones °f i''.^™"^.^"^ j^^p^°"^\';T Explosions of Augustine - The volcanoes of Unimak, Shishaldin and Pogromn -Birth of a new island, Bogoslof; upheaval of Grewingk, companion to old Bogoslof; formation of Metcalf Peak and McCuUoch Peak; eruption of 1909; present condition of Bogoslof - Importance of further study of Aleutian Volcanoes.

Chapter VII : Carrying The Work Into The Volcanic Area — Geography - Chronology Personnel

Remoteness of the region - Dangers of navigation -General sketch of geographic features -Broad valleys key to geography of district; Katmai Valley, Katmai Canvon; Second Katmai Valley; X-shaped valley on Naknek slope - Lesser geographic features — Geographic order of description adopted in preference to chronological narrative - Pre^-ious attempts to reach the crater - E>-Pedition of ,915 -Expedition of 1916; Walter Metrokm, the one-armed bea_r hunter of Kodiak; area traversed in 1916 - Organization of expedition of 191,. ground covered; creation of Katmai National Monument - Considering pack horses and airplanes for transportation - All supplies earned in on man-back - Onlv the most concentrated foods could be used - Sending in the expedition ot 1918 from Bering Sea — Objectives of expedition of 1919- Cooperation by Geophysical Laboratory of Carnegie Institution - Organization m 1 91 91 personnel.

Chapter VIII : The First Journey To The Volcano - Devastation Of ^^ Katmai Valley

Weird appearance of desolated shores - Dread of casting loose in such an outlandish country -Difficulty in choosing a landing - Supply of drinking water assured -Sticky mud every^vhere - Luxuriant poplar groves- Comparane damage to different plants: poplars growing from dormant buds; alder and birch exterminated ; willows suffered less than other trees because of capacity for forming adventitious roots - Exploring in a dust storm - Starting up the vaUey - First view of volcanoes - Discovery of a new volcano, Mt. Martin - Climbing slides of loose ash - Fording Soluka Creek, a mile of quicksand - Strain.ng drinking water out of pumice - Pressing forward for fear of bad weather; fear of caverns formed by snow melting away beneath the ash -Upper Katmai Valley awe-inspiring desolation - All animal life destroyed - Comparative verdure of lower valley -Surprising absence of damage by fire - Progress up he valley stopped by Katmai Canyon - Katmai mudflow - First crossing Katmai River with aid of poles; later experiences in crossing; use of ropes in fording; folding boat with a "G" string - Waiting for sight of volcanoes through the clouds -- Second new volcano, named Trident - First sight of Katmai - Volcanoes obviously piles of lava rather than cinder cones.

Chapter Ix: The Katmai Flood

One of the greatest of recorded floods, in which the expedition of 1915 narrowly missed disaster - Katmai Bay full of wreckage brought down b>' flood - Exceptional height of flood evidenced by condition of Katmai Village; houses entirely submerged — River formerly used by schooners, choked with ash — A maze of

CONTENTS IX

quicksands five miles wide — Speculations as to the cause of the flood; could not have been tidal; confined to Katmai River — Forests uprooted and heeled over before the waters — Trees sheared off at ground for miles at a stretch — A 250,000- pound bowlder picked up by the flood — Temporary' Niagara over obstructing ridge — A river whose bottom was higher than its banks — Freak of the flood — Thankful for the lucky chance that had delayed our landing until after the flood — Later exploration shows that flood was caused by downpour of water impounded by landslide — Slide occurred at a natural dam site; impounded lake of 950 acres — Probable condition of dam — Katmai Canyon filled many feet deep with cobbles — Thirty-five times as great as Johnstown Flood — Destructive power a million times that of a Mississippi flood.

Chapter X: The Canyon And Second Valley Of The Ic\tmai 123

Habitual underestimation of sizes of physical features; grandeur of Katmai Canyon not appreciated at first — Beautiful waterfalls near foot of canyon — Katmai Canyon almost as deep as Grand Canyon — Prospect Point — Descent into canyon — Contrast with other canyons of district; pre-glacial rather than post-glacial — Proof that last la\-a flows from Katmai were post-glacial — Gravel banks set rolling by wind — Second \'alley of the Katmai — Beaches of former "flood lake" — A possible explanation of the Second Valley — Curious physiography; numerous regular conical mounds; all wood buried in debris; drainage very irregular; bowlders in river bed sharp and angular — Noisy Mountain in action: rock falls; mud avalanches, intermediate between landslides and overloaded streams; key to other unusual physiographic features — LTpper portion of Second N'alley; Princess Glacier — Passes at head of Second Valley — Attempt to find route to sea — Discovery of hot spring — Supperless night in the rain.

Chapter XI : The Mageik Landslide 135

Head of Martin Creek strewn with rocks, some as big as a house — Evidence that they could not have been thrown out from a volcano — Resemblances to glacial deposit — Broken bushes intermingled with debris — Much peat in terminal portion — Lateral edges show slumping back of material from highest level reached — Terrane forked halfway down — Original plants still growing on bowlders — Indications as to date; "infantile" physiography; buried fragments of wood not decayed; covered with ash; contemporaneous with eruption — Evidently some sort of landslide — Surface studded with remarkable cones; geological structure favorable for landslides — Dimensions of slide — Surprising liquidity manifested by slide — Description of similar slide in motion — Mageik Slide compared with others: Elm, Frank, Rossberg, Katmai, Noisy Mountain, Falling Mountain; the greatest recorded slides: Gohna and Bandai San — Rank of Mageik Slide.

Chapter XII : Katmai Valley In Later Years 147

General appearance of Katmai Valley in 1916 similar to that in 191 5, but much changed in detail — Instability the key to the abnormal physiography — Shifting surface most striking characteristic of devastated country-; cut and fill at Observation Mountain; frequent avalanches from the overloaded mountains — Snowdrifts buried by ash persist for years — Wind erosion of ash slopes; bark of trees cut away by sand blast — Fickle Creek shifts its course 1,000 feet in a year — Antics of pumice-choked streams — Caricatures of aggrading rivers building fans, dikes and deltas — Observations on depth and character of ash deposits — Irregularities in ashfall due to variable winds — Three major strata, with a fourth near the volcano and a cap-layer of fine mud — Plants that lay dormant for three years until uncovered by flood wash — Seedlings first started in numbers in 1916 — Seeds, scattered mostly by wind, fail to lodge on pumice flats — Lupines the most important pioneer plants; abundance of root tubercles; a few plants growing in situations extremely poor in nitrogenous compounds — A few small fish on the quicksands — Trout in a brook tributary to Katmai River — A perverted run of salmon — Remarkable increase in insects in 1916 — Flies dying of starvation — Insects mostly predacious or parasitic — Speculations as to source of insects — First mammals carnivorous — Notable increase of herbivorous animals in 1919 — Return of Herbivora not correlated with increased food supply — Similar conditions observed at Kodiak.

X THE VALLEY OF TEN THOUSAND SMOKES

167 CHAPTER XIII : KATMAI CRATER

Reconnoitering the lower slopes - Upper slopes plastered with soft, slipperyn,ud_ Scenery- from upper levels superb; clouding up as nm is approached - Crater rim a knife edge of loose unstable ash, the same layers as those below - Waiting for clouds to lift — First view of crater; an abyss of mconceivable s.ze - Second ascent -Ash-covered glaciers- Magnitudes too great for senses to grasp — Second view of crater — Glaciers on crater nm - Ascents m 1917- Comments of new members - Perfect proportions of crater - No -hang^ d"nng four vear-^ — Weird effect as crater is walled m by clouds — Dmiensions of crater, would hold water enough to supph' New York City over four years; skyscrapers of New York would not begin to fill crater - The largest active crater in the w^orld — Comparison with Kilauea.

Chapter Xiv: Mount Martin

Inaccessibility by reason of position and cloudiness -First attempt to climb - Mount Martin a subordinate lava cone on flank of Mageik - Despite present acti\-ity, Martin seems not to have thrown out ash in great eruption — AH vegetadon in';icinity kept down by acid rain -Second f "^-P' -J!^'--^, f "J^' ^^^ Baked Mountain -"A real glacier" - Waiting for a break I" the douds Climbing a 60° dirt slope at the end - Descending into the crater in thick steam - Returning — Fear of being caught on glacier by a cloud.

CHAPTER XVII : THE TEN THOUSAND SMOKES IN I919

Fumaroles unaffected by seasonal variations in f ^'^^^"^p ^^-^ '"f '"a firTbv slackened activity — Melting lead and zinc in the fumaroles - Kindhng a hre by plungrng stick ilto water 1 A red-hot fumarole- Valley becoming green m spots with moss and algae - Bacteria in^•ading soi - Bears '"vest .gate VaUe one of them digs a new fumarole of his own - Baked ^'o""!^'" .^amp Ac.d from cookstove eats the pots - Cookstove on roof of a bndged-mer fissure^ any desired temperature available - Corn pone^ la f."'"^%'^ "T i'^^. "^ ^^'"" in superheated steam - Varied menus at Baked Mountain --Trouble « 'th "rms - Protective measures - Final wreck of Baked Mountain Camp; apparatus and sleeping tents torn up; "grub" tent begins to weaken; extra tarpaulin t^^rs awa> hail of pumice; holding down the last corner of the tent; waiting for dawn, gale pkks me clear up off ground; fleeing before the wind; relief at Ukak; camp moved to Mount Cerberus.

I8I

Chapter XV : Discovery Of The Ten Thousand Smokes

Reconnaissance up MageikCreek; the Mageik "mudflovv"-- Ascent to^^^^^^^ Pass - Discovery of first fumarole in the pass - First sight of the \ alley of 1 en Thousand Smokes - Character of the vents - Entrance to the "^ain val le> - First sight of Novarupta — An interpretation of the fumaroles - Return to camp — Reflections on night of disco\-er>-.

CHAPTER XVI : EXPLORATIONS IN THE TEN THOUSAND SMOKES IN igi? ^97

Impatience to reach the Valley again - No change in the Sniokes in a year's interval - No probability of recurrence of explosive condition -- Effect of Valley^ on uneducated native - Crossing the mountains agamst a ^ail of Pum.ce Comments of new members of party - Overawed by wonderful valle> - F^ar of cave-ins and fumes -Learning to travel safely - Effect on ^^-^^ - ^^^f'"^ ^'^^ fumarole -Temperatures too high for our instruments - A steam-heated tent -^Therapeutic possibilities of the Valley- Katmai Pass ^^onous weather breeder -A few signs of animal life - Surveying the \ alley - Collecting gls^s for analysis -Practically all plant life destroyed - Testimony of assodates: L G. Folsom; Paul R. Hagelbarger; J. D. Sayre; Clarence F. Maynard; James S. Hine; J. W. Shipley; D. B. Church.

CONTENTS XI

Chapter XVIII : A Descriptive Account Of The Valley Of Ten Thousand Smokes ^•ss

\'alley shaped like great Y — Underlain by sedimentary, not by volcanic rocks — Fissure funiaroles — Craters — Steaming mud areas — Steam rising through undisturbed sandstone strata — Hot springs — Mud pots — The new volcano, Xovarupta — Falling Mountain; cataclysm began with great slide from Fallmg Mountain; funiarole action on Falling Mountain — Baked and Broken Mountains — Fissure Lake; w^arm water from snowdrifts — Drainage water nearly all evaporated by heat of \'alley — Bewildering complex of odors — Chemistry- of fumaroles: all emanations 99 per cent steam; no relation between temperature and composition of gases, — ammonia — unparalleled abundance of fluorine sulphur — arsenic — corundum — potassium alum — iron; pyrite; Venetian red; magnetite — petroleum-like emanations — Wonderfully colored deposits; shoes daubed with brilliant pigments — • Color photographs.

Chapter XIX : The Great Hot Sandflow Of The Valley 253

The great mass of tuff filling the \'alley — Valley floor remarkably flat — \"olume of tuff about a cubic mile — Valley surrounded by conspicuous "high water mark" — Comparison with frozen pond — Fissures suggest sagging of original surface — Proof that activity of \'alley began before explosion of Katmai — Relation to forest showed that tuff originally flowed like a liquid — Evers- stick touched by sandflow reduced to charcoal — Search for origin of sandflow — Hot sand must have broken through floor of \'alley itself — Sandflow an eruption of new type; gives volcanologist new viewpoint.

Chapter XX : Antecedent Conditions

Little information concerning antecedent conditions available — Petrof 's description of Katmai district; Katmai Pass; Katmai Village — Importance of Katmai Pass revived by discoven,- of Nome — Spurr's account of original condition of countrj- and his experience in crossing Katmai Pass — Katmai Pass probably in unstable condition before eruption — Difficulty of judging weather across the pass — Travelers give no account of Katmai, although it must have been dominant peak of district — Only information concerning Katmai derived from U. S. Coast Sur\-ey Chart — Comparison with present stub.

Chapter Xxi: A Hypothetical Chronicle Of The Eruption 277

An account pieced together from evidence left behind — In the beginnmg a beautiful green valley — Great landslide from Falling Mountain opens the cataclysm — \"alley floor cracks open and seething magma rushes out — Impenetrable black clouds probabh' \-eil the scene — Lava froths up into fier>- foam — Roaring fires sweep up the mountain side; misen.- of entrapped animals quickly ended Fumes must have been indescribable — \'alley becomes seething fier>' torrent An analogs- from Hawaii — Red-hot ash rolls down \'alley like liquid — Explosion of Xovarupta — Opening of Katmai and the other volcanoes — Summary of events of eruption.

CHAPTER XXII : ^\'HAT BECAilE OF THE TOP OF KATMAI? 287

Interpretation of subterranean disturbances the real problem of the volcanologist — Rock of original mountain disappeared utterly — Rock of old mountam distinguishable from new lava at a glance — Could the old mountain top have been swallowed up in the bowels of the earth? No evidence of subsidence — Much of old mountain eaten awa\- by new magma — All stages in penetration of old rock by new magma shown in fragments ejected; ash at Kodiak carries many cr>stals from old mountain — Much of old rock permeated with gases from new magma — Temperature of new magma low, less than 1.000° — .Ml the ash could be packed into crater — A portion of old mountain probably sank into depths — Old rock mixed with lava of Xovarupta may have been deri\-ed from Katmai — Explosions appear to have started at summit of mountain, not in depths — Lava formed molten lake in crater; frozen foam from lake surface; chilled scum — Magma did not explode immediately on reaching surface; e.xplosions not a simple physical process like popping of carbonated liquors — What is the character of the magma chamber beneath the region? Sill or batholith? — Decision on theoretical questions best deferred.

^.. ^jjE VALLEY OF TEN THOUSAND SMOKES

Chapter Xxiii: Geographical And Biological Observations In The Sur- ^^_ Roitnding Country

Northern end of park not desolated by eruption - Coniferous forest border mieratins westward - Naknek Lake extremely beautiful - Majestic mountains S ou? of ake - \-iew from Mount Katolinat - Discover,- of Lakes Grosvenor Cov He and Brooks - Resemblance to Finger Lakes of central New \ ork - Trout ^^ inches long - One of the greatest of spawning grounds for sockeye rZon- Salmon Fa'lls - Enormous numbers ascending - Remarkable hommg n t net of salmon - Countless waterfowl on lakes and ponds - Pj^f^ssor Hme s CO ections of birds and insects - Big game returnmg - Alaskan b-own bear the largest of carnivorous animals, abundant - Necessity for protection - Bear trails e^t^'vhere- Bears inspect our trails - Going mto interior unarmed, desSte bears -Feeding habits - First sight of bear - Encounter with sleeping S - GoTng after Bruin with a pistol - Problem of findmg a harbor -Possib.l- ?t es of Kuicak and Kinak Bays - Discovery of ideal harbor, -"-<? or Na Uonal Ceotrraohic Society — Geographic Harbor fitting entrance to Valley of Ten Thousand Smoks - Feasible route for road into interior - Strategic importance If road ac-ss Alaska Peninsula - Sixty miles of automobile road would open up who°e district - More accessible than Yellowstone at time of its discovery - Predictions of the future.

PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION ESTABLISHING THE K..TMAI NATIONAL MONU- ^^^

MENT

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

COLOR PLATES

I. KODIAK FROM THE CHANNEL FACING PAGE 80

II. A CANYON IN THE MUDFLOW AT THE HEAD OF KAT.MAI VALLEY " " 8l

III. ALPINE GLOW ON MOUNT MARTIN " || 9^

IV. FUMAROLES AT THE FOOT OF FALLING MOUNTAIN " " 97

V. MOUNT MAGEIK, WITH CERBERUS CROUCHING AT ITS FOOT,

STANDS GUARD AT THE HEAD OF THE VALLEY " " 192

VI. THE OVEN ^^-HERE CORN BREAD WAS BAKED BY NATURE'S

FIRES "

VII. BRILLIANT INCRUSTATIONS FROM THE FUMAROLES

VIII. A ROW OF GORGEOUS " STOVE HOLES " " '^ 209

IX. THE CAVERNOUS MOUTH OF ONE OF THE FUMAROLES " " 224

X. A RED-BURNED FISSURE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE ^■ALLEY,

LOOKING TOWARD THE GLACIERS OF MAGEIK " " 225

XI. MOSAICS OF ALUM DEPOSITED IN AN AREA OF DIFFUSE

ACTIVITY

XII. THE GAUDY MUDS OF THE VALLEY MAKE GOOD PIGMENTS FOR

A PAINTER

XIII. HARD BAKED CRUST AROUND A SMALL FUMAROLE

XIV. THE INTERIOR OF A FUMAROLE LAID BARE " "^ 289

XV. TAKING THE TEMPERATURE OF MOTHER EARTH " " 304

XVI. PEACEFUL FOREST AND PELLUCID LAKE WITHIN A DOZEN- MILES OF THE SMOKES " " 305

MAPS

BASE OF ALASKA PENINSULA AND ADJOINING ISLANDS IN FRONT COVER

ASHFALL FROM THE ERUPTION OF KATMAI FACING PAGE I

VOLCANIC AXES AND STRUCTURE LINES IN EASTERN ASIA AND ALASKA

VOLCANOES AND HOT SPRINGS OF THE ALEUTIAN REGION

CENTRAL PORTION OF THE KATMAI NATIONAL MONUMENT

MOUNT KATMAI BEFORE THE ERUPTION

MOUNT KATMAI AS IT NOW STANDS " 27O

A RECONSTRUCTION OF MOUNT K,\TMAI AS IT WAS BEFORE THE

ERUPTION -^72

TOPOGRAPHIC MAP OF THE KATMAI NATIONAL MONUMENT IN BACK COVER

56 60

68 270

Foreword

The following pages tell the story of the discovery by the National Geographic Society expeditions of one of the wonders of the world, "The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes," and the prolonged study of one of the most gigantic volcanic eruptions in history.

This remarkable exploration of Mt. Katmai by Professor Griggs and his associates, which continued for five years, was financed by the 750,000 members of the National Geographic Society, each of whom, millionaire and college professor, captain of industry and clerk, had an equal share in its support. Every member of the organization may thus derive considerable satisfaction that he or she has assisted to bring about such important additions to our knowledge of the young and active planet upon which we live.

To Dr. Griggs, the leader of the National Geographic Society's expeditions to the Katmai region, and to each of his able assistants, the congratulations and thanks of the Society's membership are herewith extended. Their intrepid, intelligent and faithful services achieved results of historic value and reflect great credit on all participants.

GILBERT GROSVENOR

President, National Geographic Society

THE ERUPTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

The Ston- of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes begins with the great volcanic eruption of 1912 which brought it into existence. Exploration, undertaken primarily for the scientific study of the effects of the ashfall, led to the discover>- of one of the great marvels of the natural world, a place unseen and unsuspected by white man and native alike until entered by a National Geographic Society Expedition.

Over an area of fifty square miles the ground is all broken open, and hot gases from the molten material below are even now ever^'where pouring out, forming the several millions of fumaroles that constitute the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

No one suspected that such a cataclysm was in progress until the 6th of June, when volcanic ash suddenly began falling over all of northwestern America. Kodiak, in southwestern Alaska, was reported as the chief sufferer. But as Kodiak is one hundred miles from any volcano, the actual seat of the disturbance was uncertain. Katmai^ volcano was mentioned in the first dispatches, yet it was not settled for a long time that it was Katmai which had blown up.

The eruption was one of the dozen greatest of historic times, yet it attracted comparatively little attention, because of the remoteness of the region concerned. Katmai was, in fact, merely a name on the map, unknown except to local pilots along the unfrequented coast of Shelikof Strait. It may aid in giving some conception of the magnitude of the outbreak if we can picture to ourselves the effects a similar eruption would produce if centered in a better known region, say New York City.

' Pronounced Kat-mai' ; a as in cat, ai as in aisle.

• More properly termed magma, for it had not

given up its surcharge of gases. Strictly speak-

If such an eruption should occur on Manhattan Island, the column of steam would be conspicuous as far as Albany. The sounds of the explosions would be plainly audible in Chicago. The fumes would sweep over all the states east of the Rocky Mountains. In Denver they would tarnish exposed brass, and even linen hung out on the line to dr\' would be so eaten by the sulphuric acid content as to fall to pieces on the ironing board. As far away as Toronto the acid raindrops would cause stinging burns wherever they fell on face or hands.

Ash would accumulate in Philadelphia a foot deep. To add to the terrors of the catastrophe, that cit>' would grope for sixty hours in total darkness — darkness blacker than anything imaginable, so thick that a lantern held at arm's length could not be seen.

As for the horrors that would be enacted along the lower Hudson, no detailed picture may be drawn. There would be no occasion for rescue work, for there would be no survivors. The whole of Manhattan Island, and an equal area besides, would open in great yawning chasms, and fiery fountains of molten lava- would issue from every crack.

This, disrupted by the escaping gases, would be changed into red hot sand, which, consuming ever\-thing it touched, would run like wildfire through the town. The flow of incandescent sand would effectually destroy all evidence of the former city. In its deepest parts the near-molten sand would probably overtop the tallest skyscrapers, though the tip of the Woolworth tower might protrude, if its steel supports could endure the fiery furnace surrounding them. It is doubtful, indeed, if there would be any

ing, there were no lava flows in connection with the eruption of Katmai.

iS«S^

THE ERUPTION' AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE considerable ruins left behind to mark the site of that great city.

In any case, for several months no one could approach the place nearer than Paterson, New Jersey. In addition to this, a hole would have been blown in the ground big enough to hold all the buildings of Greater New York several times over.

With such a frightful comparison in mind, the reader will be prepared for an account of suffering and devastation unparalleled in the annals of volcanic disasters. But of this he may be relieved at the outset. Terror of the most frightful sort there undoubtedly was; but of actual destruction of life there was none : not a single person perished in the eruption.

Mankind may thus be congratulated on having one of the greatest opportunities ever afforded to study the manifold problems of volcanism, without having to pay the terrible toll of human misery that usually accompanies such cataclysms.

The flow of incandescent sand, alluded to above, constitutes an outburst of a new type, different from all recorded eruptions. The recognition that outpours of this nature probably occurred in the past may help to explain many deposits now puzzling the geologists.

The phenomena here occurring at the surface suggest what must have taken place in the formation of many a heavily mineralized region. A study of the fumaroles of this area bids fair to throw light on the formation of metal-bearing veins in the depths of the earth. If we can gain a satisfactory- knowledge of the activity here going on, it will help greatly toward an understanding of the deposition of metalliferous ores generally.

The explosions, too, constitute a problem of great interest and import. Similar outbursts in the past have left little clue to the processes responsible for the liberation of the enormous amounts of energy' involved. Up to the present no carefully reasoned theory of volcanic explosions has been proposed. Here also Katmai, by reason of certain accidental circumstances, gives an unusual insight into the events preceding the great explosions, and seems likely to permit us to come nearer to an understanding of them.

No less important than the questions of volcanism are the problems of revegetation of the devastated region, both in their practical and theoretical bearings. The extent of the area covered by ash gives an unprecedented opportunity for study of the means by which ash is converted into a soil fit for the growth of higher plants. The processes by which such a mass of raw mineral debris is transformed into a soil rich in organic matter have the largest bearing on certain problems of practical agriculture.

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is far beyond other volcanic districts in the numlDer of its vents and in the quantity of steam given off. It is well within the truth to say that, except during periods of dangerous eruption, the sum total of the emanations from all the other volcanoes of the New World, from the Aleutians to Patagonia, is less than is given off continuously, within the range of one's vision, from the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

To find a parallel to this Valley we must search the records of geology, for here was a volcanic outburst such as the geologist finds recorded in the rocks of past ages but has never before had opportunity to observ'e in the world of the present.

The violently explosive eruptions characteristic of the opening stages of the activity have, moreover, entirely passed away. The innumerable vents function as a gigantic safety valve, through which the titanic forces gathered beneath find avenue for harmless escape.

There is, therefore, no likelihood of return to a dangerous condition. The obser\-er may indeed travel in security any'where among the volcanoes, with no fear of a sudden change in conditions. He may even with perfect safety peer over the edges of the orifices from which