Manchester Memoirs, Vol. I Hi. (1909), No. *4:5. 3 



country. From that date till the day of the eruption 

 — October 24th — shocks were again very frequent, and, as 

 the day in question approached, became almost incessant. 

 The scene of the eruption {Plate /., Fig. i) was the 

 Santa Maria, a volcano situated a few miles to the south 

 of Ouezaltenango. Previous to this, there was not even 

 the slightest sign of activity, though the neighbouring 

 Cerro Ouemado was in violent eruption about 100 years 

 ago, and still has a fairly active, open crater. From 

 personal knowledge, 1 can state that the old crater on 

 the summit, about 12,000 ft. above sea level, was totally 

 extinct, consisting merely of a shallow, rocky depression, 

 mostly overgrown. The slopes, from base to summit, 

 were covered with a thick forest, many of the trees being 

 of great size. 



On the afternoon of October 24th, 1902, a column of 

 steam was seen to issue from the southern slopes at a 

 height about 6,500 ft. above sea-level. With great rapidity 

 this increased in violence, and by nightfall the new crater 

 was in full eruption. During 72 hours, paroxysms followed 

 each other with ever-increasing fury, during which time 

 the surrounding country, within a radius of many miles, 

 was plunged in complete darkness. So violent were the 

 detonations, that they were clearly audible in Costa Rica, 

 more than 500 miles distant. 



The devastation, some of which is shown in Plate II., 

 was immense. All that tract of rich tropical vegetation 

 and coffee-land, lying between the volcano and the Mexican 

 frontier, over 600 square miles in extent, was converted 

 into a desert of white ash and sand. The total area 

 covered by the ejecta was about 125,000 square miles, and 

 the cloud issuing from the crater was measured to be about 

 18 miles in height. 



The new crater {Plate /., Fig. 2) measures about 



