-> 





aph b 



Church 



A DUNE OF WIND-BLOWN ASH : WOMEN'S PENINSULA, NEAR KODIAK 



This blowing ash lodges behind any obstruction, like snow. Among the weeds at the 

 edge of cultivated fields and along the fence rows drifts two feet deep have been formed. 

 On mountain tops and in other places where there is no vegetation to catch the blowing ash 

 it forms dunes like those on a seashore. 



THE SAND BLAST 



While these weeds protect the surface 

 of the fallow ground, ash from the bare 

 surface is picked up in clouds by every 

 wind, forming a sand blast which is very 

 hard on the few plants that have per- 

 sisted. All of them are lopped over be- 

 fore the wind, and their lower leaves are 

 cut to pieces by the sharp sand or are 

 buried beneath it. 



The particles of ash are all very sharp, 

 sharper than ordinary sand. Indeed, vol- 

 canic ash forms the basis of such scour- 

 ing agents as "Old Dutch Cleanser." 

 The ash is also finer and much lighter 

 than shore sand, so that it is more easily 

 carried by the wind. Consequently this 

 sand blast is a very different thing from 

 the sand drift common among beach 

 dunes. Standing before it is like facing 

 a blast of "Old Dutch Cleanser" in one's 

 face and is at times exceedingly unpleas- 

 ant (see also page 27). 



One might suppose that the frequent 



rains which characterize the climate of 

 the region would have the effect of check- 

 ing the sand blast, but it is surprising 

 how quickly it starts up again after the 

 rain stops. We found once, for example, 

 after a day of soaking rain, that the sand 

 was blowing early the next morning, al- 

 though only the very surface had dried 

 off. 



It was of the utmost importance for 

 the welfare of the country that the 

 ground be covered with vegetation, re- 

 gardless of the value of the plants making 

 the cover. Of all the native plants, the 

 one which could grow through the deep- 

 est ash and, once through, could spread 

 most rapidly on the bare surface was the 

 field horsetail (Equisetumarvense). This 

 is a common weed of railway embank- 

 ments and such places with us. In Ko 

 diak scattered individuals were frequent 

 before the eruption, though they formed 

 no noticeable element in the landscape. 

 But it has come up everywhere through 



17 



