MT. EGMONT.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 March 1918, Page 6

MT. EGMONT.

. «. CRATER AFFECTED BY EARTHQUAKE Mm Upson, the North Egmont guide, reports:— ■ On February 27 a party consisting ol Misses Alice Cane (Egmont Tillage), Janet Norri s (Auckland), and Dot Drury (Wellington), accompanied by the ;;<sHc, left the North Egmont House for the summit, which was reached at 10 a m. The party found the crater very much changed and different from anything in the experience of the guide. Deep crevasses now run north and south ott !li<.' northern face, while on the top and flattest part they run in parallel lin.es east and west and north and sottcli. Some of the crevasses appear to have no bottom and to fall down would be : blond of the section. The color of the ice is wonderful. Some of the crevasses arttwo or three feet wide-, others only six inches, while the prettiest one is four feet in diameter and round, with a shnw> pinnacle of ice in the centre. The party took it in turns to lean over and look down* and were in ecstasies at the wonderful sight of the flash of goma of light On the ice. the whole being very wonderful to those unacquainted with the glacial action of ice. Although the day was misty at times and not much sun the whole crater was running streams of water, seeming to indicate heat underneath, while the recent earthquake had rolled the loose afor.es down on to the crater'from the western side. [The Hawera Star's Mahoe correspondent writes: "In last night's paper I read a paragraph to the effect that Guide Upson, of the North Egmont House, had noticed, on his last ascent of lit. Egmont, crevasses in the ice in the crater and running streams of water, indicating, in his opinion, volcanic heat. As such a statement might alarm people, t should like to say that these phenomena have been observed on many previous occasions, and that there is no occasion for anything to think that .there is anything unusual or alarming about them. Professor Wragge's observations as to the effect of solar storms upon this terrestial earth of ours, have been given a good deal of prominence in the press of late, and have made people more or less apprehensive of some dire disaster overtaking us. This being so, Guide Upson's remarks might have the unfortunc.te tendency to heighten such fears; hence my reason for these notes."]