192 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



WHERE THE LAVA ELOW BLOCKED THE HIGHWAY NEAR 

 QUEZALTEPEQUE 



This spot is miles distant from the vents and yet the black 

 lava is piled up to a height of 30 feet or more in rough pres- 

 sure ridges. The vegetation was not set on fire because the 

 stream of liquid stone was pushing forward and dropping on 

 either side masses of lava already solidified and cooled. 



noise, while the earth trem- 

 bled. 



When the black geyser 

 had forced itself to a height 

 of perhaps four hundred 

 feet, the steam burst out in 

 jets of purest white from 

 the poised mass. Then the 

 cinders rained down and 

 the lava slabs fell like the 

 crinkled ash of burnt paper 

 around the mouth of the 

 tube. The columns of 

 white steam almost blotted 

 out the background, as it 

 blossomed into clouds and 

 rose high above the rim of 

 the crater. 



At this time there still 

 were pools of violently agi- 

 tated water near the mar- 

 gin of the old lake. Later, 

 when these were all con- 

 sumed, the steam turned to 

 smoke and the display of 

 fireworks at night was 

 worth the discomfort en- 

 tailed by a visit to the 

 crater's rim. 



As the days passed, a 

 little cone grew up around 

 the mouth of the tube. The 

 process of volcano-building 

 was dramatized for a hand- 

 ful of humans in a gallery 

 far above the stage. 



A CITY OE EARTHQUAKE 

 SORROWS 



deep. The walls were banded rocks, dull 

 red and dark gray in color, showing the 

 rings of growth by -which the volcano 

 had built up its cone. 



LOOKING DOWN INTO AN ACTIVE CRATER 



Clinging to the shelves and the sheer 

 clifTs were vines and trees silvered with 

 ash. In the dusty center of the dried-up 

 lake was an opening like the mouth of a 

 sunken tube, and from this opening a 

 black geyser of cinders and lava frag- 

 ments shot up at intervals, with a throaty 



The first city of San Sal- 

 vador was founded by 

 Jorge Alvarado at La Ber- 

 muda in 1528, but after about ten years 

 the seat of government was changed to 

 its present location. 



San Salvador has been visited many 

 times by disastrous earthquakes, espe- 

 cially noteworthy being those of 1575, 

 1593, 1625, 1656, 1798, 1839, 1854, 1873, 

 and 191 7. Aside from the volcano of 

 San Salvador which apparently had been 

 dormant since the Spanish occupation 

 until its recent outburst, there are many 

 other volcanoes in Salvador, and some of 

 them have been very active. 



