HUGE BLOWOUT BENEATH LAKE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 125, 19 January 1932, Page 5

HUGE BLOWOUT BENEATH LAKE

spectacular sight : SUDDEN EXPLOSION HURLS N MUD, STONE AND WATER . HIGH IN AIR - ^ TERRIFYING BUT HARMLESS! U ' Without warning and with little if any sound, . one of those isolated and hdrmless subterranean explosion^ Which every now and then cause' mild ♦ eXcitement; in Rotorua occurred last ^ evening" aboriF '7:4$. " - - • -• • ^ On' tbis occ^sion the' disturbance '■* took place beneath the waters of ' the ■ ldke, about 100 yards from the shore off the mouth of the Puareriga Strearii ' Eye-witnesses' say that suddenly, With no warning of ariy kind, the Waters of the lake with which Were . mixed mud, stones and pieces of tim^ bfer, and great clouds of steam, were ** hurled* high into the air — the height being estimated at anything between 260 feet and 400 feet. That the eX^ plosion was of unusual magnitude was ! apparent from the huge mass of material tbrown up, one man describing it as like an immense tree enveloped in steam. * "As quickly and as silently as it arose, the disturbance vanished after a few seconds, to' leave, viewed from ^ a: distance, scarcely any trace behind it. According-to some of the Maoris 'iving at the Ngapuna pa the eruption was the largest thermal :blow-.'. out since the days of Waimangu. Mud Covers Several Acres The extent of the blowout itself; it is "impossible to guess as its' site is ■* beneath the lake water, but the 'area covered by the falling inud, st'ories ; and timber, which had been- hurled 'nto the air, was several acres in extent. For over 100 yards along the shore of the lake and for many yards * back from the water, the ground was - coated with a thick slimy mud, while i a point of land which projects in the • direction of the blowout has been 1engthened by at least 30 yards. After the eruption the water returned to its usual unruffled state, and other than the debris lying along _ the shore, there is now no sign of' anything unusual having occrirred. The outbreak was witnessed by a* aumber of people who happened at the time to be on the balcony 'be^ hind the Ward Baths. It was alSo seen from many parts of the town and many people hurried to the lake " ^hore when they noticed the immerise volume of steam rising high into the aky. These were disappointed on arrival to find that there was no long- „ er anything to be seen. ! Boys Warned of Danger Numbers of boys on bicycles raced across the pumice flats bebind tbe Postmaster Bath to obtain a nearer view, but were stopped by some Maoris from the Ngapuna pa Who warned them that the area was dan- ' gerouS and that they should not go too close. ' , The natives said that the eruption 'aad caused corisiderable exeitement' in th'e pa as they vividly remembefed bhe outbreak of the Ngapuna Geyser a few months ago. They described. this • new ■ manif estation of thermal activ=ty as being many times larger The area around the mouth of the- Puaronga Stream has "always been dangerous. The ground is' a mass of "steaming' and'often hrittle' sulphur beds, which crumble under the foot, while occasionally patches of quieksand occur, making the inspection of the site of the eruption extremely dangerous to anyone not thoroughly acouainted with the locality.'