164 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON. 



pointed out, and the continuance of present volcano and earthquake observa- 

 tories and the estabhshment of new ones are strongly recommended, with 

 proper publication of the results obtained. Several minor points are em- 

 phasized, such as collection of volcano and earthquake statistics, the collection 

 of volcanic rocks, the establishment of a central bureau for the prompt and 

 efficient dissemination of seismological and volcanological information, and the 

 proper education of dwellers in districts liable to seismic or volcanic disaster. 

 "It is intended to issue officially a brief statement of the recommendations 

 in the immediate future, with a later publication of the full proceedings and 

 various papers, chiefly on Pacific topics, presented at the meetings or contri- 

 buted by delegates." 



During the summer of 1919, one of the expeditions of the National 

 Geographic Society to Mount Katmai in Alaska gave opportunity for 

 the continuation of our volcano studies in an entirely new field. The 

 last eruption of Katmai occurred in the summer of 1912 and was char- 

 acterized by explosions of such volume and intensity that ashes from 

 the eruption reached the higher levels of the atmosphere much in the 

 same manner as in the case of the well-known Krakatoa eruption in 

 1883. 



In general, it is not possible to approach volcanic phenomena of 

 such extreme violence for the purpose of making collections of material 

 for laboratory study. The student is necessarily dependent upon such 

 collections as he can make long afterward, and some of these suffer from 

 the disadvantage that it is not possible to be fully assured that chemical 

 or physical modification has not occurred between the period of erup- 

 tion and the time of collection. In the case of Katmai this situation is 

 further aggravated by the large annual rainfall and by the location of 

 the volcano, which is remote from the ordinary routes of travel. It 

 is also difficult of overland approach, and the summer season in which 

 field studies are practicable is very short. 



Notwithstanding these limitations, the National Geographic Society 

 has sent several expeditions into the region, originally for the piu'pose 

 of studying the subject of re vegetation of an area completely devas- 

 tated by volcanic activity, and later of somewhat broader scope to 

 include geological and geophysical phenomena connected with the 

 eruption itself. These later studies may have been suggested by the 

 discovery of a very unusual and conspicuous phenomenon observed 

 there, which appears to have persisted without noticeable diminution 

 since the close of eruptive activity. There is an area to the northwest 

 of the volcano which, for the number of active fumaroles, the volume 

 of gas ejected, and the generally high fumarole temperatures, is prob- 

 ably not equaled elsewhere in the world at the present time. The 

 leader of the expedition, Professor Griggs, has very graphically pictured 

 its character by naming it "The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes." 

 Apparently this fumarolic action has lost little of its intensity since the 

 close of the period of maximum volcanic activity and still offers the 



