PARICUTIN—GONZALEZ AND FOSHAG 233 
Omnipotent God, in his great power, with his divine omnipotence thought of us; 
it was He who saved us.® 
The first lava that the voleano gave forth, to the east of the little cone, flowed 
8 meters per hour, according to the data of Sr. Geologist don Ezequiel Ordonez, 
who was sent by the Comision Impulsora y Coordinadora de Mexico to observe 
a 
this important novelty. This gentleman, 78 years of age, through his studies and 
experience, convinced us that there was no danger to our village, and counseled 
that the people return to their homes. Now this same gentleman showed us 
the first lava flow, moving like dough, from which fell incandescent rocks from 
one side or another, such rocks as we knew before, without knowing how they 
formed. We also saw the malpais, which we knew before, without an idea of 
its origin. Without doubt, this answers not only how the malpais formed, but 
also the tillable lands and the mountains that I knew. We saw the lava, as it 
covered the Cruza*® made by the yokes of oxen from Paricutin and which needed 
only 8 days for the sowing. Now one Sees an admirable flow of fire, covering 
the last traces of our footsteps and of the works of man that he made during 
the life that God permitted him. 
During the morning of the 21st the activity of Paricutin Volcano 
greatly increased in intensity, casting out great quantities of incan- 
descent material to build up its cone. By midday its height was 
variously estimated at 30 to 50 meters. The amount of ash, however, 
was relatively small and the eruptive column of less size and vigor 
than appeared some weeks later. 
The first lava began to flow within 2 days after the initial outburst, 
perhaps sometime during the day of the 21st. It issued as a viscous 
mass, spreading slowly over the fields of Cuiyitziro and Quitzocho. 
It moved slowly, about 5 meters per hour, forming a rugged sheet of 
torn and jumbled lava fragments. 
LATER GROWTH 
Paricutin Volcano continued to grow with startling rapidity. On 
February 26 it had reached a height of more than 160 meters, and 
its explosive activity had increased to an awesome thunderous bom- 
bardment, in which immense quantities of viscous lava were hurled 
continuously into the air; the noise of these tremendous explosions 
could be heard in many remote corners of Michoacan, and even in 
Guanajuato, 350 kilometers to the northeast. 
In late March the first lava ceased flowing and the eruptive activity 
changed to a heavy emission of ash, the eruptive column rising to a 
height of more than 20,000 feet. This ash covered the countryside 
for miles around, ruining the fields and destroying the forests. 
In time the lavas reached both Parangaricutiro and Parfcutin, en- 
gulfing and destroying them, and scattering their inhabitants to other 
®*This earthquake had its epicenter in the sea, near Acapulco, and was not directly 
related to the volcano. 
® The second plowing In preparation for the sowing. 
