WAIMANGU IN A FURY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3048, 9 April 1917, Page 6

WAIMANGU IN A FURY

FRYING PAN FLAT DISAPPEARS

DEPOSIT 100 FEET DEEP

A.special reporter of the "New Zealand Herald, , '. ■; who has visited Waimangu since last; Sunday's furious outburst, describes thescene as follows :4-

>'. "So tremendous has been tKe disturb- '■■;■■ :ance that the configuration and contour ioi the country, in. the vicinity/of the .; .pld-:. : Wangangu crater, is changed to ,'6uch.:.an., extent, that it will now be l.shardly recognisable to many v people ■ii who visited the region in times past.' !: Old^Waimangu; ifself, which was con- :: aidered' a',giant geyser, fades.into in- ;. significance when, compared with the ■■tremendous activity which is jo«' go::'.ihg oh all over the well-known Frying : r Pan .Flat, and . also an area; that was ..outside the fiat itself. ■s; . The whole of the Frying' Pan Flat ahas disappeared. Numerous mounds, :V<!ones, and blowholes have been form.•r<'ed,- and to-day, the area of thermal :; activity is double the size of the for - .; mer ; small ■ valley, whose warm and ,i steaming surface, though weird and ;J : tineanny, was regarded as safe to walk ! ,on' in ; most parts. , : ;- Topography of Locality Changed. "■:>.'' To venture liearer the scene of the factual disturbance than 300 or 400 /.yards is to invite disaster, for deep. -;j fissures, and small chasms and ravines : -Jiave"6pened up, and a further^change ';' in the formation' of the country in +he, vicinity is expected to take place. : The.original entrance to ; Frying Pan , TJat. has been built up by a deposit . since Sunday to : a height of at least ■ 100 ft. The valley leading away from : : the flat, in a southerly direction, forwards the eminence on which the ruins ■.':> of the accommodation house now stand, . ;:»lias been, considerably altered in an- ";--\ pearance and built up by layers of de- ■;! posit to a far greater height.' ■:'?• To-day (Tuesday) a strong south';.<?asterly wind was blowing, driving to some extent the clnuds of.sl-eain tn- [■■- wards Lake Botomahana. at' tlie Wk, "■and an opportunity was taken by Guide / 'Alfred Warbrick to more closely ex- ; amine the area in envntion: He is of opinion that, the activity displayed is .Jint merely thermal. It is a volcanic ■':■ Histurbance. except that there is nn i flame., Half the material beine ejected .is dry, but in other parts licn"'d matter is beinp: thrown forrli. The pi-ea ■ ;'that formed the original Frying Pun ~A Flat now resembles a husr" crater, in ;. which thfirfi are several smaller craters ; or blow-holes. , ::';..' So far as the clouds of steam nerthe cmide to observe the affeot:i; ed area, there airpeared to be five ■laree ,hlow;-ho]es.. One is on the south ■■: sjde,: a larger one is on the north- '■";[ west side, another frees" the en =t, and .•■;; tiro .face the north. The two latter were ■j:Violently active! on Sunday, and threw : .huge, stones and -bonWere of mo<W«te |i>ize to an estimated height of 3000 ft. ■ '.] From each .and several of the blowii holes Bhots are'constant!vtpkine vho.e 't<v-dfty, somo renfihing a height of fully :800ft. andlOOOft. ~., ,;',:., :■, • I. subterranean Fury.

i: ■ The spectacle is most weird and awe- ; inspiring. ■ The throbbing of the earth's . '.surface, the thunderous roar as steam, ' •":! mud, and stones are sent hurling hunof feet into the air, the dense .';■ clouds of steam are nerve-wracking to ■ }'■ the onlooker. The whole scene suggests j ; the unknown forces of Nature in a :! fury. ■'■ The long pent-up forces of _ subterranean Nature are'at work in a :'• manner that is truly., terrifying, and ■•■: the escape of energy is causing fearful ■ havoc' . ' "\ • - '■:."■-' Gibraltar Rook is still standing, but ■'in a very exposed position. The hill at Hthe back of the rock has either been ; blown or has crumbled away. The .western hill, at the foot of which stood the old bath-house, has also been.blown ■■* awayto a considerable, extent, and the "position of the hill ie now fully 150 ■yards to the westward from its original The bath-house has been entirely demolished, and the site on which - .'it formerly stood is now almost'in the centre of the huge crater formed over Frying Pan Flat/' . ■■■■ The old Waimangu Geyser, which lies toithe: south and contiguous to the . • present scenes of activity, is quiescent. Echo crater, in which there has been a." small, lake for foany years, is also quite normal. : t - i Wild devastation-has been inflicted over a large-area of .countryside, ex- . ; tending from .Waijnangu in a fan or funnel shape towards the Rainbow The blast ,of superheated air, accompanied by a torrent of steam, mud, sand, and stones, travelled up the valley leading from the old Frying Pan Flat. The accommodation house .■'■,'■ was -just -within- the radius "of the tempest'on the right-hand side. , Had the house been situated a chain and a half to the wesVit would have escaped ■ the""torrent; - although probably it ' ;•.. woukLnot_haye .escaped destruction.

in Withering Tempest. ■' Experts are of the opinion that what Jwas actually responsible tor wrecking 'the house was a, terriho concentrated i/blsst of very hot air, which was driven i.iip the valley, and formed a kind of :;funnel for its passage. It was this isudden blast that unroofed~the buildiing, broke windows. Hung water-tanks about, scorched the ■ vegetation, and /spread destruction over everything :that faced its withering force. The Jtorrent of/debris followed. Tho house :tells its own story. All that remains 'is a skeleton; of the building. The ; roof was '■torn' off bodily, and sheets of iron and timbers of all sizes j.'and shapes, were scattered in every direction. Impelled by a cyolonic air • force, some, timbers are now lying fully ■/one mile from the ruins of the house. In its passage .through' the air one plank penetrated the front and hack '/walls of an outhouse.

% The walls of the house are ■ coated .■with a sandy formation several inches thick. The roof of an adjacent shel-,'iter-shed, standing on the brow of a -hill, was torn from its fastenings and i;depqsited_ several feet away. . Six'inch kauri and totara posts, which supported the roof, were snapped in two. ; Inside the accommodation * house is [.desolation. Furniture is broken.into /small pieces, partition walls have collapsed, whilst everywhere there is a thick coating of solidified sand and ■mud. •■•■-■■