168 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



The cubical capacity of this stu- 

 pendous hole is no less than 4,500,- 

 000,000 cubic yards. Into the crater 

 900,000,000,000 gallons could be 

 poured. This is more than four 

 times the total capacity of the Ash- 

 okan and Kensico reservoirs, from 

 which Greater New York now re- 

 ceives most of its water, and the 

 Schoharie reservoir, which is to be 

 constructed. New York City uses 

 550,000,000 gallons of water daily. 

 Katmai crater once filled could sup- 

 ply the American metropolis for 

 1,635 days. 



But even these figures do not tell 

 the whole story, for they do not in- 

 clude the amount of rock that was 

 blown off from the mountain dur- 

 ing the brief sixty hours of its ex- 

 plosive activity. There must be 

 added the material in the peak 

 above the level of the present crater 

 rim. 



The figure then arrived at is II,- 

 000,000,000 cubic yards. This is 

 over forty times the amount of 

 earth and rock removed in the con- 

 struction of the Panama Canal. 



KATMAI, THE: GREATEST ACTIVE 

 CRATER IN THE WORED 



Kilauea, in the Hawaiian Islands, 

 has always been accounted the 

 greatest active crater in the world, 

 but it is clear that it must now yield 

 the palm to Katmai. Kilauea's 

 greatest diameter is 2.93 miles, its 

 circumference is 7.85 miles, and its 

 area is 434 square miles. These di- 

 mensions are slightly smaller than 

 the corresponding ones on Katmai. 

 The great difference is in depth, 

 Kilauea's greatest depth being 500 

 feet, while Katmai's is 3,700 feet. 



Of craters no longer active, only 

 two surpass Katmai in dimensions : 

 Crater Lake, in Oregon, measures 

 4 miles wide by 6 long, while Halea- 

 kala, in Hawaii, has an area of 19 

 square miles. But while Katmai is 

 somewhat inferior to these in size, 

 yet because of its proportions it is a 

 far grander spectacle to look upon ; 

 for in both Haleakala and Crater 

 Lake the cliffs surrounding the pit 



