are now extinct, and these are in Hawaii the largest and most eastern of the group. This island contains five volcanic mountains, of which Kea, 13,805 feet, is the highest; next to that, Loa, 13,675 feet; after these, Hualalai, rising 8273 feet; Kilauea, 4158 feet; and Kohala, 5505 feet above the sea; this last is largely buried beneath the lavas of Mauna Kea. The group contains a double line of volcanoes, one lying to the north and west of the other; and as the highest of the Hawaiian Group rises from a depth in the ocean of over 2000 fathoms, the total elevation of this mountain from its base on the bed of the ocean is not far from 26,000 feet, an elevation about that of the Himalayas. Mauna Kea has long been extinct, Hualalai has been dormant since 1801; but Mauna Loa is terribly active, there having been several eruptions, accompanied by earthquakes, within recent years, the most memorable being those of 1852 and 1868. In the former case the lava rose from the deep crater into "a lofty mountain," as described by Mr. Coan,[8] and then flowed away eastward for a distance of twenty miles. The interior of the crater consists of a vast caldron, surrounded by a precipice 200 to 400 feet in depth, with a circumference of about fifteen miles, and containing within it a second crater, bounded by a black ledge with a steep wall of basalt--a crater within a crater; and from the floor of the inner crater, formed of molten basalt, in a seething and boiling state, arise a large number of small cones and pyramids of lava, some emitting columns of grey smoke, others brilliant flames and streams of molten lava, presenting a wonderful spectacle, the effect of which is heightened by the constant roaring of the vast furnaces below.[9] [1] _Principles of Geology_, 11th edition, vol. ii. p. 48. [2] Smyth, _Report on the Teneriffe Astronomical Experiment of 1856_. Humboldt makes the elevation 12,090 feet. A beautiful model of the Peak was constructed by Mr. J. Nasmyth from Piazzi Smyth's plans, of which photographs are given by the latter. [3] Daubeny, _loc. cit._, p. 460. [4] _Iles Canaries_, p. 37. [5] Daubeny, _loc. cit._, p. 426. [6] Lister, "Notes on the Geology of the Tonga Islands," _Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc._, No. 188, p. 590 (1891). [7] Dana, _Characteristics of Volcanoes, with Contributions of Facts and Principles from the Hawaiian Islands_. London, 1890.--Also, _Geology of the American Exploring Expedition--Volcanoes of the Sandwich Islands_. [8] Coan, _Amer. Jour. of Science_, 1853. [9] W. Ellis, the missionary, has given a vivid description of this volcano in his _Tour of Hawaii_. London, 1826.--Plans of the crater will be found in Professor Dana's work above quoted. PART II. EUROPEAN VOLCANOES. CHAPTER I. VESUVIUS.