STORY OF A VOLCANO

On February 20, 1943, the volcano, Paricutin, in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, was born. A story of Paricutin is a story of Sunset Crater, near Flagstaff, as it might have been when it erupted hundreds of years ago. When Paricutin erupted, clouds of ash 15,000 feet high darkened the sky and then molten lava in fiery streams flowed from the volcano and covered the surrounding countryside. Whole villages had to be evacuated, as prehistoric villages near what is now Flagstaff had to be evacuated when Sunset Crater exploded in fury. These dramatic photographs by Tad Nichols tell the story, simply and completely of Paricutin, a volcano still very much on the active list.

“The Story of a Volcano”

Within view of Arizona's highest mountains, the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, the best known of these cones is Sunset Crater. lie several thousand square miles of ash-covered terrain surrounding old volcanic cones. If you have driven over the black cinder road to Sunset Crater and seen the jagged lava beds, the various spatter cones and “squeezeups” and possibly explored the Ice Cave, you may have wondered what this fantastic area was like in the days of the crater's activity. Perhaps it is difficult to visualize the awesome spectacle that took place, except for those of you who have been fortunate enough to have visited Mexico's new volcano, Paricutin. Here you can witness a scene similar to that which the prehistoric Indians of Northern Arizona experienced ten centuries ago. Paricutin volcano lies 200 miles west of Mexico City in the state of Michoacan. Since its birth February 20, 1943, the Mexican volcano has grown to a height of 1500 feet and is now higher than the numerous old craters of the surrounding region. Its eruption has been almost a continuous one. Lava and ash have destroyed the Tarascan Indian village from which it got its name, as well as the settlement known as San Juan. One tower of San Juan's church remains standing in the midst of thirty feet of lava, a marvel to all who view it. Using the story of the birth and growth of Paricutin, we might rebuild the sight that must have astounded the pithouse dwellers of our country. Probably earthquakes occurred at frequent intervals for weeks before the eruption. Then one day, after a particularly violent quake accompanied by underground rumblings, a thin column of dust and smoke arose from the ground. This rapidly increased in size and intensity and violent explosions began throwing red hot rocks and ash high into the air. The new volcano quickly built up a cone with quantities of this material that were coming from deep within the earth. Then a lava stream pushed through the sides of the new crater at the base and surged forth with hollow clinking sounds. Later a second lava stream appeared. Today this volcano is known as Sunset Crater and the lava beds are known as the Bonita flow and the Kana-a flow, the latter following a course for seven miles to the east toward the Little Colorado River. The Bonita flow, stopped by a ring of cinder cones, filled a basin to an estimated depth of 300 feet. On the surface of this flow is a series of spatter cones which were once fumaroles or gas vents. The gases escaped from the hot lava with sufficient velocity to carry up pieces of molten rock which built the sides of the spatter cones. Another interesting feature on the Bonita lava flow are the "squeeze-ups." These were formed when the surface of the flow had hardened and cracked. Plastic lava was squeezed up through the cracks to form thin sheets which project in places ten feet into the air. In this lava flow is also found the Ice Cave, so called because ice remains all through the summer, protected by the insulating qualities of the lava surface.

During the eruption of Sunset Crater fine ash was carried by the wind for many miles. A dark gray mantle covered everything, smothered the Indians' fields, bent and broke the limbs of trees with its weight, devastating the immediate area. At night the volcano presented nature's greatest display of fireworks. What an impression each explosion of glowing red-hot rocks, thrown vertically a thousand feet or more, must have made on these primitive peoples. As they watched, deafening noises reached their ears and they could feel as well as hear the rapid series of explosions. With each blast orange and red hot rocks were being thrown upwards, pausing at a great height and falling back through showers of other rocks blown up by the next explosion. The shape of the cone was outlined by fiery trails as the falling rocks hit the slope and rolled down. The underside of the great smoke plume glowed as it reflected the light from the crater. At the base of the volcano the lava issued forth to form a brightly glowing stream and its course could be traced for nearly a mile before the surface cooled and darkened. But along the front of the moving lava bright spots appeared as blocks broke away and tumbled forward, exposing the hot interior of the flow.

Sunset is judged to have been active for a period of four to six months. In this time the cone grew to a height of nearly 1000 feet and during the last stages of its eruption gases colored the upper slopes to give a striking resemblance to the rays of the setting sun touching the crest. But also in this time the inhabitants of the region were forced to move. It wasn't until 100 years after the eruption, approximately 1000 A.D., when the moisture-holding ash caused the area to become fertile, that pueblo dwellers flourished.

The San Francisco volcanic field has been visited by thousands of casual tourists as well as many interested scientists but now Mexico's Paricutin offers unparalleled opportunities to geologists. For the first time in the history of man, trained scientists have studied and recorded the birth and growth of a volcano.