Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Geology -- South America; Volcanoes
Two craters of tuff on this island are the only remaining ones which
require any notice. One of them lies a mile and a half inland from
Puerto Grande: it is circular, about the third of a mile in diameter,
and 400 feet in depth. It differs from all the other tuff-craters which
I examined, in having the lower part of its cavity, to the height of
between one hundred and one hundred and fifty feet, formed by a
precipitous wall of basalt, giving to the crater the appearance of
having burst through a solid sheet of rock. The upper part of this
crater consists of strata of the altered tuff, with a semi-resinous
fracture. Its bottom is occupied by a shallow lake of brine, covering
layers of salt, which rest on deep black mud. The other crater lies at
the distance of a few miles, and is only remarkable from its size and
perfect condition. Its summit is 1,200 feet above the level of the sea,
and the interior hollow is 600 feet deep. Its external sloping surface
presented a curious appearance from the smoothness of the wide layers
of tuff, which resembled a vast plastered floor. Brattle Island is, I
believe, the largest crater in the Archipelago composed of tuff; its
interior diameter is nearly a nautical mile. At present it is in a
ruined condition, consisting of little more than half a circle open to
the south; its great size is probably due, in part, to internal
degradation, from the action of the sea.
SEGMENT OF A BASALTIC CRATER.
(FIGURE 14. SEGMENT OF A VERY SMALL ORIFICE OF ERUPTION, on the beach
of Fresh-water Bay.)
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