OCT. 19, 1921 proceedings: geological society 427 



351st meeting 



The 351st meeting was held in the auditorium of the Cosmos Club at 

 S p.m., on Monday, December 6, 1920. 



Regular Program 



O. E. Meinzer: Recent volcanic events on the Island oj Hawaii. (Illus- 

 trated.) 



This paper was a concise and graphic presentation of the exceptionally- 

 spectacular events in 1919 and 1920 on Kilauea and Mauna Loa — the two 

 active volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands. It included lantern slides show- 

 ing one of the lava flows in action, with the two kinds of lava — aa and pahoehoe — 

 being extruded at the same time. The outstanding events of 1919 and 1920, 

 named in chronological order, were (1) long-continued overflow of Hale- 

 maumau, the crater of Kilauea; (2) a vigorous lava flow on the flanks of 

 Mauna Loa, nearly 3,000 feet above the level of Halemaumau, this flow 

 reaching the sea, l4 miles from the vent, within 24 hours of the beginning of 

 the eruption; (3) a drop of 600 feet in the lava column in Halemaumau in 

 one night; (4) gradual and quiet opening of fissures radiating from the cra- 

 ter of Kilauea, some of them to a width of 15 feet; (5) gradual rise of lava in 

 some of the fissures and ultimate overflow which developed into a vigorous 

 lava flow with vents about 6 miles from the crater of Kilauea. The specific 

 facts are recorded in the monthly bulletin of the volcano observatory by 



Prof. T. A. JAGGAR. 



The volcanoes of Hawaii have a wide reputation for their gentle habits. 

 When eruptions occur, the inhabitants, instead of fleeing, hastily assemble 

 to see the show. There have, however, been two catastrophes within his- 

 toric times — an explosive eruption of Kilauea in 1790 which is said to have 

 destroyed an Hawaiian army, and a violent earthquake in 1868 which caused 

 a huge landslide that destroyed many lives. The geological survey of this 

 part of the island begun last year by L. F, Noble and the speaker and now 

 being carried out by W. O. Clark, has, however, revealed numerous beds of 

 volcanic ash and deposits of land-slide material interbedded with lavas at 

 many widely separated horizons, showing that, from the standpoint of geo- 

 logic time, violent eruptions and huge landslides have not been unusual 

 occurrences. 



Baron Gerard De Geer: Geochronology and its application to America 

 and to other parts of the Earth. (Illustrated.) 



352d MEETING 



The 352d meeting was held in the auditorium of the Cosmos Club at 

 8 p.m., on Wednesday, December 22, 1920. 



Regular Program 



Bailey Willis: Evidences of compression on the Pacific Coast. 



After a brief recess the twenty-eighth annual meeting was called to order. 

 The reports of the Secretaries, Treasurer, and Auditing Committee were 

 read and accepted. The following officers were elected for 1921: 



President, G. W. StosE; Vice-Presidents, G. F. Loughlin and F. E. Wright; 

 Treasurer, G. R. Mansfield; Secretaries, W. T. Thom, Jr., and Laurence 

 LaForge; Members-at-large of the Council, C. N. Fenner, K. C. Heald, 

 Miss A. I. Jonas, F. J. Katz, E. T. Wherry. 



Laurence LaForge, Secretary. 



