LEVEL OF LAKE IN RUAPEHU RAISED

Chronicle (Levin), 1 February 1947, Page 6

LEVEL OF LAKE IN RUAPEHU RAISED

-Press Association

By Telegraph—

WELLINGTON, Jau. 30. To investigate a report that the lake 011 the summit of Mount Ruapehu was back to within 50 feet of normal, Mr. J. Healy, senior geologist at the Geoligical 8urvey 's Rotorua branch, ascend^ed the niountain last week. "This seemed rather a rapid increase since my last inspection just before Christmas, " said Mr. Ilealy in the following report to the Director (Mr. M. Ongley), which was released today. "The level of the lake has risen cousiderably since my last visit a week before Christmas, and appears now to be within 100. feet to 200 feet of the lower riin of the vent fronting the bencli on which the f'ormer liigh lake level formed after the eruption. The lake was steaming quietly, and was a muddy grey-brown in colour. "The eastern and southern walls had the appearance as though niaterial had freshly slipped in from them, and this would partly help to raise the level of the lake. However, there was much less snow geuerally than before Christmas, and the thawing of the snow has .undoubtedly yielded much water. The

lake can be seeri from the Dome, but not from the Whakapapa Glacier. "A rise of from 300ft to 400ft is still necessary to bring the lake back to the pre-eruption level. At the present rate of rise much of this will return before the end: off the summer if warm weather conditions persist. There was very little steam issuing, as the water has now covered some of the fuoiaroles on the lower walls of the vent, and the visibility of the lake from Paretetaitonga was good. No hydrogen sulphide could be smelled. but the smell of sulphor dioxide was in evidence. "As the sapping sectlon of the warm lake water or hot ground at the crater margin of the Whakapapa Glacier 110 longer exists, the ice wall has become covered with sn/ w, and it is still possible to walk straight into the crater dpwn the snow slopes." Mr. Healy has made many ascents of Ruapehu, and was elosely associated with the investigations when the mountain was in eruption last year.