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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



the thing, can form any adequate concep- 

 tion of the stupendous catyclasm that 

 occurred. 



This explosion is easily to be ranked 

 among the first dozen known within his- 

 toric times. Previously Krakatoa has 

 held first place in the minds of most, but 

 the quantity of material thrown out by 

 Katmai was so much greater as to put it 

 into an altogether different class. In- 

 deed, the whole island of Krakatoa could 

 be dropped into the crater, of Katmai. 



We so inevitably estimate the magni- 

 tude of natural phenomena by their effect 

 on human affairs that an eruption like 

 this in an uninhabited district seems un- 

 important in comparison, for example, 

 with that of Pelee, with its great loss of 

 life. Yet there may have been in the 

 present case tornadoes of hot gas greater 

 than that which overwhelmed St. Pierre 

 and killed 25,000 people ; but the destruc- 

 tion by other agencies was so great as to 

 leave little evidence of them if they oc- 

 curred. 



IMAGINE KATMAl's ERUPTION OCCURRING 

 IN NEW YORK 



The magnitude of the eruption can 

 perhaps be best realized if one could 

 imagine a similar outburst centered in 



New York City. In such a catastrophe 

 all of Greater New York would be buried 

 under ten to fifteen feet of ash and sub- 

 jected to unknown horrors from hot 

 gases. The column of steam and ashes 

 would be plainly visible beyond Albany, 

 but the continued activity of the volcano 

 would probably prevent any one' from 

 approaching for several months to view 

 the ruins nearer than Patterson, N. J. 



Philadelphia would be covered by a 

 foot of gray ash and would grope in 

 total darkness for sixty hours. Wash- 

 ington and Buffalo would receive a quar- 

 ter of an inch, with a shorter period of 

 darkness. Small quantities of ash would 

 fall over all of the Eastern States as far 

 as the gulf coast. 



The sounds of the explosions would 

 be heard as far as Atlanta and St. Louis. 

 The fumes would be noticed as far as 

 Denver, San Antonio, and Jamaica. 



Not even the most vivid imagination 

 could picture the destruction of life and 

 property which would result from such 

 an eruption in a thickly populated coun- 

 try. We may be profoundly grateful 

 that we have had vouchsafed us such a 

 wonderful opportunity to study the phe- 

 nomena of volcanoes without any of the 

 horrors usually attendant on their action. 



TN VIEW of the extraordinary conditions of 

 the Katmai region, unparalleled anywhere 

 in the world, the Board of Managers of the 

 National Geographic Society has made a further 

 grant of $12,000 for explorations of Katmai 

 during thi summer of 1917, the expedition to be 

 in charge of Prof. Robert F. Griggs, who was 

 the leader of the Society's 1915 and 1916 ex- 

 peditions. 



