GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF TTAWATI. 165 



ers. But before such a journey is undertaken it is well to he informed of some 

 of the more important facts connected with Kilauea's lonu-, varied and inter- 

 esting history, a history that in a way prepares the visitor to appreciate what 

 is to be seen at the great caldera as one stands on the very brink of the burning 

 lak-c where the island-buildiuii' activity is actually goint;' on. 



KlLATEA AN INDEPENDENT C'BATER. 



Geologists supposed for a great many years that ;\Iauna Loa and l\ilau"a 

 were very closely related or sympathetic volcanoes. Further study, however, 

 has demonstrated that they are distinct in all essential features a.nd iiia\- ael in 

 the main entirely independent of each other, though there may \\f s(ini<' renuite 

 connection, as the eruptions in 1882. "4!). T)"), '68, '77, '87 and i:il)7 occurred in 

 linlh eratei's during the same years. The belief in reference tn tlieii' intimate 

 relation seems to have grown from iiast\' conclusions basct! on tlie snpei'tieial 

 fact of their proximity, theii- relative size and the further fact tliat tliey botli 

 were more or less continually active. To the casual observer Kilauea, situ;ited 

 as it is on the southeastern slope of Manna Loa, appears to be Init a secondary 

 crater. — a mere wart — on the side of the great dome that rises almost ten thou- 

 sand feet al>ove it. 



Whether Kihuu'a was foniu'd before or after, or at the same time with 

 .Mauna Loa. its action in recoi'(h'd time has generally l)eeii nf a I'luii-aeler tn prove 

 it more (II- less indepi^ndeiit of the suiiuiiit eratei'. While eru]iti.ins have tal<en 

 phiee (111 top. Kihuiea, mueii i(i\\('r ddwu and only sixteeii mih's distant, has 

 often exhibited no signs of active sym|iatliy. So tin'ouuii a long period of 

 activit.v if has proved itself to lie a distinct crater, doing the work it has to do 

 in its own wa.v and for that reason it is (piite ])i-opei'ly admitted to lie the world's 

 greatest active crater. 



Dimensions ok Kilauea. 



To give some idea of the magnitude of Kilauea it is necessary to give a few 

 of its main dimensions. The Volcano llouse. which is a comfortalile hotel 

 located on the very edge of the crater, is 4.(14(1 feet almve the sea. The ci-iiter 

 from north to south measures 2.9)^ unles ' and from east to west l.tlTi miles. - 

 Its circumference is 7.85 miles-' and the tlooi- of the crater has an ai-ea of 

 4.14 square miles."' From the Volcano House at the [^resent time it is 484 feet 

 down to the Hooi- of the cratei-. w-hicli is made up of an uneven mass of cdld, 

 ink-black, shinins.': la\a. To reach the present scene of action the visitoi- iinisl 

 descend into the ci-atei- and ci-oss dvei' this llooi- foi- t\>.d miles to the brink of 

 tlie pit Ilalemauman. in the bottom of which ]iei-liaps one hundred and tift\- feet 

 lielow' the oliservcr, the red hot lava will be seen boiling in a wild, mad fnry. 



If what has been said is sufficient to lix in mind a ureat, roughly oval-shapeil 

 ci'ater with a]iproximat(4y \'ertical walls, and to make it clear that the bottom 

 of this caldera is now formed of black lava of recent origin, and that it is live 



>!.">.. 'SOO feet. -• 10,,-!00 feet. »41,.')(I0 feel. ■■ 2650 acres. 



