508 



WITHIN THE EARTH'S CRUST 



Pierre cabled, "Red-hot stones are falling here, don't 

 know how long I can hold out." This was the last dis- 

 patch sent over the cable. 



About 8 o'clock on the morning of the 8th a great cloud 

 of incandescent ash and steam erupted, swept rapidly down 

 the mountain toward St. Pierre, and in less than three 



LAVA FLOW IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 

 Liquid lava flowing over a cliff. 



minutes killed 30,000 people, set the city on fire, and de- 

 stroyed 17 ships at anchor in the harbor. Thus within 

 two weeks from the time of the first warning a rich and 

 densely populated region was made a desolate, lifeless, fire- 

 swept desert. 



Distribution of Volcanoes. The number of active vol- 

 canoes on the earth is about three hundred. Most of them 

 are situated on the borders of the continents, on islands near 



