Eruptions of Kilauea— POWERS 
279 
TABLE 1. GENERALIZED SECTION OF PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS, KILAUEA RIM. 
indicates humus layer. 
ERUPTION 
TYPE 
MAXIMUM 
THICKNESS 
1924 
Phreatic 
18 inches 
1815 ca. 
Magmatic 
48 inches 
1790 ca. 
Phreatic 
45 inches 
18-K 
Phreatic 
20 inches 
17-K 
Phreatic 
40 inches_ 
Magmatic 
21 inches 
15-K 
Phreatic 
36 inches 
14-K 
Phreatic 
24 inches 
13-K 
Magmatic 
80 inches 
12-K 
Phreatic 
10 inches 
11-K 
Phreatic 
7 inches 
10-K 
Phreatic 
12 inches 
5-K to 
Magmatic 
175 inches 
9-K 
(about) 
3lKlo~~ 
Magmatic 
200 inches 
4-K 
(about) 
Phreatic 
11 inches 
1-K 
Magmatic 
12 inches ^ 
Lava Flows 
400 feet 
5-U 
Magmatic 
8 inches 
4-U 
Magmatic 
8 inches 
3-U 
Magmatic 
8 inches 
2-U 
Magmatic 
12 inches 
1-U 
Magmatic 
18 inches 
LOCATION OF 
MAXIMUM 
THICKNESS 
THICKNESS ON 
WINDWARD RIM 
TYPE OF 
SURFACE ON 
WINDWARD RIM 
S.W. Floor Kilauea 
S.W. Rim Kilauea 
1 inch 
0 
Forest 
West Rim Kilauea 
S.W. Rim Kilauea 
S.W. Rim Kilauea 
3 inches 
7 inches 
16 inches 
Exposed 
Exposed 
S.E. Rim Kilauea 
6 inches 
S.W. Rim Kilauea 
S.W. Rim Kilauea 
S.E. Rim Kilauea 
3 inches 
0 
10 inches 
Exposed 
Exposed 
North Rim Kilauea 
N.W. Rim Kilauea 
S.W. Rim Kilauea 
10 inches 
5 inches 
2 inches 
Exposed 
Exposed 
S.E. Rim Kilauea 
25 inches 
S.E. Rim Kilauea 
30 inches 
N.E. Rim Kilauea 
N.E. Rim Kilauea 
11 inches 
12 inches 
? ? 
North Rim Kilauea 
N.W. Wall Kilauea 
N.W. Wall Kilauea 
N.W. Wall Kilauea 
N.W. Wall Kilauea 
N.W. Wall Kilauea 
breaks, erosional breaks, and breaks represent¬ 
ing exposure as a surface for an important time 
interval. The thickest “blanket” occurrence 
(contrasted to pocket accumulations) in each 
small area is stated as the thickness of individual 
layers in the composite section; likewise the 
greatest number of separate layers found in 
each small area is used to represent a given 
eruption series. Thus, the composite section 
cannot be duplicated in any single section in 
an area, but represents the maximum number 
and blanket thickness of recognizable layers 
in each area. Similarly, composite sections were 
compiled for areas away from the rim in each 
major direction. 
Cross correlation of these composite sections, 
depending as much on correlations of time- 
interval patterns as on a few recognizable hori¬ 
zon layers, has yielded a composite stratigraphic 
column and chronologic sequence of explosive 
activity for Kilauea. This is summarized in 
Table 1; the details of the most critical sections 
and the writer’s correlation between sections are 
presented in Table 2. Eruptions of the two 
separate series have been numbered serially, 
i.e., 1-U for the oldest Uwekahuna tuff erup¬ 
tion, and 1-K for the oldest Keanakakoi erup¬ 
tion. 
An overestimate of the time represented by 
some of the erosion surfaces may have yielded 
too great a number of eruptions. On the other 
hand, eruptions of the magnitude of the 1924 
explosions might easily have been omitted en¬ 
tirely because of failure to discover remnant 
patches of their deposits. On the present rim 
surface, diligent search will find only a few 
patches of 1924 ash remaining (Plate IB and 
1C). Comparable remnant patches, buried in 
the stratigraphic section, could easily be over¬ 
looked. 
