-V. 1 



Photograph by D. B. Church 



CROSSING ONE OF THE CHANNELS OF THE KATMAI RIVER 



While the lower reaches of this river are full of quicksand, farther up it is a rushing 

 mountain torrent, so swift that it was hard to cross even supported on a rope (see text, 

 page 41). 



methods one uses in estimating such 

 thing's. But, using the shape of the vol- 

 cano as a whole and such differences in 

 altitude of the parts of the crater rim as 

 we could see from the valley for our 

 guide, we concluded that our former es- 

 timate must be too small, and that it must 

 be at least 2,000 feet in depth. 



THE SECOND VIEW OF TIIK CRATER 



Both the weather conditions and our 

 position were much more favorable for 

 observation of the crater this time than 

 on our first ascent. The sun shone 

 brightly, and it became evident why we 

 had had so much trouble with the steam 

 on the first ascent, for we found that the 

 point which we had reached the first time 

 stood directly above a prominent fissure 

 extending in an easterly direction from 

 the edge of the lake to the crater wall. 

 Its direction was significant in connection 

 with what we were to discover the next 

 day. 



The boiling lake this time was all cov- 

 ered with little (so they appeared from 



our position) wisps of steam curling up 

 everywhere from its surface. The vapor 

 thus given oft condensed into a hazy 

 cloud, which hung in the mouth of the 

 crater, so that the part of the rim op- 

 posite us was veiled. This haze made 

 it impossible to secure as clear photo- 

 graphs of the crater as we would have 

 wished. 



At the northeast angle we could see 

 another low notch in the rim of about the 

 same altitude as the one where we stood. 

 But this one was occupied by a wall of 

 ice which rose perpendicular, flush with 

 the crater walls, as though it had been 

 sheared off by the explosion. It was in- 

 deed curious that a moving glacier, how- 

 ever it might have been affected by the 

 eruption, should remain in such a posi- 

 tion. It is probably to be accounted for 

 by the falling away of the crater rim, 

 which continually exposes a new section 

 of the ice cliff. As we had made the 

 summit by 3 o'clock, this time we were 

 not so late in getting back, reaching camp 

 again at 8. 30. 



60 



