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Hawaiian Volcano Observatory record book 1963, 1964, and 1965

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) record books are annual journals in which field observations of eruptive activity at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, on the Island of Hawaiʻi, were compiled by HVO staff for most years from 1912 through early 1966. In addition to descriptive observations, the record books also contain hundreds of annotated photographs and sketches, as well as temperature and transit measurements. When photographs are included, the camera settings and film types used are noted. The field notes, sketches, and photographs used to compile the record books provide an unparalleled record of eruptive activity and were the basis for published newspaper reports and periodic bulletins, such as the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory bulletins and The volcano letter . HVO staff also painstakingly prepared a second copy of each early record book, virtually identical to the original, complete with photographs and sketches. The original version of the record book was kept at HVO, while the duplicate went to the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which was created by a group of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, businessmen to promote HVO’s work. The Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which dissolved decades ago, held the duplicate books in Honolulu, where they were more readily accessible to the public. After 1923, HVO stopped duplicating the books—at least, no duplicate records for subsequent years have been found. During the decade of the 1940s, preparation of the record books stopped altogether. In 1952, compilation of the record books resumed and continued, with long gaps, until early 1966. Entries in these later volumes are sparse, and these books are little more than photo albums of the episodic eruptions of Kīlauea. The original record books were held at HVO and, later, at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. In 1972, the original record books for the years 1912 through 1939 were transferred to the Bishop Museum, in Honolulu, for safekeeping. These record books are now stored in archival boxes at that institution (accession number 172.265). The duplicate set of record books held by the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association were bound into volumes at an unknown date and turned over to the U.S. Geological Survey. This set of record books, spanning 1912 through 1923, is now housed in the rare book room of the U.S. Geological Survey Library in Reston, Virginia (catalog number 220(950) H3d). The record books for 1952 through early 1966 remain in storage at HVO. After 1955, typed annotations were no longer placed in the record books, and only photographs, most with captions, were included. Although the volumes titled “Record Book” end with the 1955 volume, the photograph albums that followed are similar, and the record book designation is retained for simplicity. Note that the photographs in these albums were not all originally arranged in chronological order.

Hawaii↗

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory record book 1965

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) record books are annual journals in which field observations of eruptive activity at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, on the Island of Hawaiʻi, were compiled by HVO staff for most years from 1912 through early 1966. In addition to descriptive observations, the record books also contain hundreds of annotated photographs and sketches, as well as temperature and transit measurements. When photographs are included, the camera settings and film types used are noted. The field notes, sketches, and photographs used to compile the record books provide an unparalleled record of eruptive activity and were the basis for published newspaper reports and periodic bulletins, such as the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory bulletins and The volcano letter . HVO staff also painstakingly prepared a second copy of each early record book, virtually identical to the original, complete with photographs and sketches. The original version of the record book was kept at HVO, while the duplicate went to the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which was created by a group of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, businessmen to promote HVO’s work. The Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which dissolved decades ago, held the duplicate books in Honolulu, where they were more readily accessible to the public. After 1923, HVO stopped duplicating the books—at least, no duplicate records for subsequent years have been found. During the decade of the 1940s, preparation of the record books stopped altogether. In 1952, compilation of the record books resumed and continued, with long gaps, until early 1966. Entries in these later volumes are sparse, and these books are little more than photo albums of the episodic eruptions of Kīlauea. The original record books were held at HVO and, later, at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. In 1972, the original record books for the years 1912 through 1939 were transferred to the Bishop Museum, in Honolulu, for safekeeping. These record books are now stored in archival boxes at that institution (accession number 172.265). The duplicate set of record books held by the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association were bound into volumes at an unknown date and turned over to the U.S. Geological Survey. This set of record books, spanning 1912 through 1923, is now housed in the rare book room of the U.S. Geological Survey Library in Reston, Virginia (catalog number 220(950) H3d). The record books for 1952 through early 1966 remain in storage at HVO. After 1955, typed annotations were no longer placed in the record books, and only photographs, most with captions, were included. Although the volumes titled “Record Book” end with the 1955 volume, the photograph albums that followed are similar, and the record book designation is retained for simplicity. Note that the photographs in these albums were not all originally arranged in chronological order.

Hawaii↗

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory record book 1963

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) record books are annual journals in which field observations of eruptive activity at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, on the Island of Hawaiʻi, were compiled by HVO staff for most years from 1912 through early 1966. In addition to descriptive observations, the record books also contain hundreds of annotated photographs and sketches, as well as temperature and transit measurements. When photographs are included, the camera settings and film types used are noted. The field notes, sketches, and photographs used to compile the record books provide an unparalleled record of eruptive activity and were the basis for published newspaper reports and periodic bulletins, such as the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory bulletins and The volcano letter . HVO staff also painstakingly prepared a second copy of each early record book, virtually identical to the original, complete with photographs and sketches. The original version of the record book was kept at HVO, while the duplicate went to the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which was created by a group of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, businessmen to promote HVO’s work. The Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which dissolved decades ago, held the duplicate books in Honolulu, where they were more readily accessible to the public. After 1923, HVO stopped duplicating the books—at least, no duplicate records for subsequent years have been found. During the decade of the 1940s, preparation of the record books stopped altogether. In 1952, compilation of the record books resumed and continued, with long gaps, until early 1966. Entries in these later volumes are sparse, and these books are little more than photo albums of the episodic eruptions of Kīlauea. The original record books were held at HVO and, later, at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. In 1972, the original record books for the years 1912 through 1939 were transferred to the Bishop Museum, in Honolulu, for safekeeping. These record books are now stored in archival boxes at that institution (accession number 172.265). The duplicate set of record books held by the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association were bound into volumes at an unknown date and turned over to the U.S. Geological Survey. This set of record books, spanning 1912 through 1923, is now housed in the rare book room of the U.S. Geological Survey Library in Reston, Virginia (catalog number 220(950) H3d). The record books for 1952 through early 1966 remain in storage at HVO. After 1955, typed annotations were no longer placed in the record books, and only photographs, most with captions, were included. Although the volumes titled “Record Book” end with the 1955 volume, the photograph albums that followed are similar, and the record book designation is retained for simplicity. Note that the photographs in these albums were not all originally arranged in chronological order.

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Lava tree molds of the September 1961 eruption, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

Well-developed lava tree molds were formed during the September 1961 eruption along the east rift zone of Kilauea Volcano. The upright molds were produced where fluid lava, flowing through dense tropical forest, became chilled against the larger trees and tree ferns and later drained away. Where the lava ponded temporarily in a structural valley, tree molds more than 14 feet high mark the high level attained by the flow.

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Magmatic differentiation in the Uwekahuna Laccolith, Kilauea Caldera, Hawaii

Petrographic and chemicoal studies of a suite of rocks from the Uwekahuna laccolith of Kilauea Volcano show that the original mafic tholeiitic magma differentiated into tholeiitic picrite, tholeiitic olivine gabbro, and an aphanitic rock approaching quartz-basalt in composition. Mechanisms involved were an initial gravity settling of olivine and a final filter pressing of the residual liquid. The range of composition represented by the rocks of the laccolith is as great as that found among all hitherto analysed lavas of the volcano.

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Lava temperatures in the 1959 Kilauea eruption and cooling lake

The 1959 summit eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, filled the crater of Kilauea Iki with a lake of lava 365 feet deep. Temperatures of the erupting basalt ranged between 1060° and 1190°C. Temperatures down a 12.7-foot-deep hole, drilled into the crust of the lake 5 months after cessation of eruptive activity, agree with calculated temperatures based on the heat equation. The cooling effect of rainfall is pronounced only in the upper 3½ feet of the crust.

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How volcanoes grow

Geology, geochemistry, and geophysics disclose the constitution and eruption mechanism of Hawaiian volcanoes.

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Geology and ground-water resources of the island of Kauai, Hawaii

Kauai is one of the oldest, and is structurally the most complicated, of the Hawaiian Islands. Like the others, it consists principally of a huge shield volcano, built up from the sea floor by many thousands of thin flows of basaltic lava. The volume of the Kauai shield was on the order of 1,000 cubic miles. Through much of its growth it must have resembled rather closely the presently active shield volcano Mauna Loa, on the island of Hawaii. When the Kauai volcano started its growth is not known with certainty, but it is believed that activity started late in the Tertiary period, possibly in the early or middle part of the Pliocene epoch. Growth of the shield was rapid and probably was completed before the end of the Pliocene. Toward the end of the growth of the shield, its summit collapsed to form a broad caldera, the largest that has been found in the Hawaiian Islands. Like the calderas of Kilauea and Mauna Loa, that of Kauai volcano had boundaries that were, in part, rather indefinite. The principal depression was bordered by less depressed fault blocks, some of which merged imperceptibly with the outer slopes of the volcano. Elsewhere the caldera rim was low, and flows spilled over it onto the outer slopes. The well-defined central depression of the Kauai caldera was approximately 10 to 12 miles across. At about the same time as the formation of the major caldera, another, smaller caldera was formed by collapse around a minor eruptive center on the southeastern side of the Kauai shield. Lavas accumulated in the calderas, gradually filling them and burying banks of talus that formed along the foot of the boundary cliffs. The caldera-filling lavas differed from those that built the major portion of the shield in being much thicker and more massive as a result of ponding in the depressions. The petrographic types for the most part are the same throughout. Both the flank flows that built most of the shield and the flows that filled the calderas are predominantly olivine basalt. Picrite-basalt (oceanite), containing very abundant large phenocrysts of olivine, and basalt containing little or no olivine are present but together comprise less than 10 percent of the whole. Late in the period of filling of the major caldera a small amount of basaltic andesine andesite was extruded. Near the end of the period of filling of the major caldera further collapse occurred, forming a large graben on the southwestern side of the shield. Lava flows erupting within the caldera poured southwestward over the cliff bounding the graben and spread over the gently sloping graben floor. Near the present Waimea Canyon their advance was obstructed by the fault scarp at the west edge of the graben. The cliff along the northeast edge of the graben eventually was buried by lava flows from within the caldera, but that along the west edge continued to stand above the level of the flows in the graben. The flows that accumulated in the graben are of the same types as those that filled the caldera, and like them are mostly thick and massive because of ponding by the graben walls and of the gentle slopes of the graben floor over which they spread. The rocks of the major Kauai shield volcano are known as the Waimea Canyon volcanic series. The thin flows that accumulated on the flanks of the shield, which compose the major portion of the volcanic edifice, are named the Napali formation of the Waimea Canyon volcanic series. The rocks that accumulated in the big summit caldera are named the Olokele formation, and those that filled the small caldera on the southeast flank of the shield are named the Haupu formation. The volcanic rocks accumulated in the graben on the southwestern side of the shield are named the Makaweli formation of the Waimea Canyon volcanic series, and sedimentary rocks interbedded with them are known as the Mokuone member of the Makaweli formation. Few vents of the Waimea Canyon volcanic series have been recognized, probably because most of them have been destroyed by erosion or are buried by later lavas. Large numbers of dikes cut the lavas of the Napali formation along Waimea Canyon and the Napali Coast and along the east edge of the Waialeale massif. Fewer dikes are found in the other members of the series. Some tendency toward radial arrangement of the dikes is present, but the dominant trend all over the island is east-northeastward. Another great collapse took place on the eastern flank of the volcano at about the time the major shield became extinct, or shortly afterward. A subcircular graben 6 or 7 miles across sank several thousand feet, forming a broad depression between the Waialeale massif on the west and Kalepa and Nonou ridges on the east. This collapsed structure cannot be as clearly demonstrated as the Makaweli graben on the southwest side of the shield, because its walls have been greatly eroded and its floor is deeply buried by lavas of the later Koloa volcanic series. It appears, however, to be the only reasonable explanation of the physiography of the eastern side of the island. After the completion of the great Kauai shield came a long period of erosion during which no volcanic activity occurred. Waves cut high sea cliffs around the island, and streams cut canyons as much as 3,000 feet deep. Thick soil formed over much of the mountain. Then volcanism was renewed. Eruption occurred from a series of minor vents arranged in nearly north-south and northeast-southwest lines across the eastern two-thirds of the island. The lavas, cinder cones, and ash beds of this period of volcanism are known as the Koloa volcanic series. Lavas of the Koloa volcanic series include olivine basalt, picrite-basalt (mimosite) with few phenocrysts of olivine, basanite, nepheline basalt, melilite-nepheline basalt, and ankaratrite (nepheline basalt very rich in pyroxene and olivine). Inclusions of dunite, composed almost entirely of olivine, are common in flows of the Koloa. Just before and during the eruption of the Koloa volcanic series, voluminous landslides and mudflows brought down a large amount of rock debris and soil from the steep slopes of the mountainous central upland and deposited it as breccias at the foot of the steep slopes in valley heads and along the border of the marginal lowland. Streams distributed part of the material across the lowland. The breccias and conglomerates thus formed, and later buried by lavas of the Koloa volcanic series, are named the Palikea formation of the Koloa volcanic series. The structures formed at Koloa vents include cinder cones, one tuff cone, and lava cones. The latter are miniature shields resembling the major shield volcano, formed by repeated outpourings of fluid lava. The tuff cone, at the west side of Kilauea Bay, was formed by phreatomagmatic explosions caused by rising magma coming in contact with water-saturated rocks. Volcanism during Koloa time continued for a long period but was not continuous over the entire area. Locally, long periods of quiet occurred, allowing streams to re-excavate some of the canyons filled by earlier flows of the Koloa volcanic series, and weathering to form soils later buried by new flows. Some of the canyons thus formed during the time when the Koloa was being deposited were several hundred feet deep. Volcanism probably continued throughout most of the Pleistocene epoch. The latest flow of the Koloa volcanic series appears very recent, and rests on lithified calcareous dunes formed during one of the Pleistocene low stands of the sea. During the Pleistocene epoch stream valleys and sea cliffs were eroded to base levels governed by one or more stands of the sea more than 100 feet below present sea level. Beaches of calcareous sand were formed, and the sand blown inland to form calcareous dunes, now lithified. A test boring near Moloaa penetrated calcareous sand 160 feet below sea level, at the foot of a high sea cliff. Coral reef also was built around part or all of the island, and in part buried by lavas of the Koloa volcanic series. The explosions that built the tuff cone at Kilauea Bay threw up fragments of limestone from a buried reef. Much of the apron of lavas of the Kalna series around the northeastern side of the island probably rests on a platform formed below present sea level by wave erosion and the growth of coral reef. As the sea rose around the island, the valley mouths were alluviated. Several levels of the sea higher than the present one probably are represented. Some stream terraces may be graded to a stand of the sea as high as 260 feet above present sea level, but no positive evidence for stands higher than 25 feet have been found. Well-preserved shorelines are recognized approximately 25 and 5 feet above sea level. Much of the present coral reef appears to have been formed when the sea stood about 5 feet higher than now, and reduced to its present level by solutional weathering and wave erosion. The lavas of the Napali formation of the Waimea Canyon volcanic series are highly permeable. They carry basal water over much of the island, and yield it freely to wells. This water is fresh everywhere except very close to the coast on the leeward side of the island. In some areas they may contain water confined at high levels between dikes. The lavas of the Olokele and Haupu formations are moderately to poorly permeable. They probably contain fresh water at sea level, but would not yield it readily to wells. Locally, ash beds perch small bodies of fresh water at high levels in the lavas of the Olokele formation, but these are of no economic importance. The lavas of the Makaweli formation also arc moderately to poorly permeable. They carry fresh or brackish water at sea level. In general, they yield water to wells less readily than the lavas of the Napali formation, but more readily than the lavas of the Olokele. The conglomerates and breccias of the Mokuone member are poorly permeable, but are not known to perch more than a slight amount of water in the overlying lavas, The lava flows of the Koloa volcanic series are poorly to moderately permeable. They carry fresh or brackish water at sea level, but generally yield it slowly to wells. Locally, small bodies of fresh water are perched at high levels in the lavas of the Koloa by beds of ash and soil and by breccia and conglomerate of the Palikea formation. Both the older and the younger alluvium generally are poorly permeable, but contain small amounts of fresh or brackish water. The lithified calcareous dunes are permeable, but they appear to contain only brackish water. Lagoon deposits on the Mana plain are poorly to moderately permeable and yield brackish water to wells.

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Progress report on the investigations of bauxite deposits in the eastern part of Kauai, Hawaii

Investigations of bauxite deposits on Kauai by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the State of Hawaii were begun July 1, 1959. The investigations, as planned, are to consist of two phases, each of two years duration. The geological investigations of the bauxite and associated rocks in the field and a considerable amount of chemical and mineralogical work in the laboratory are planned for completion during the first two years of the project. During this phase, a geologist and an assistant will be working on Kauai and geologists, mineralogists, and chemists will be analyzing and studying samples of the bauxite in laboratories of the Geological Survey at Beltsville, Maryland, and Washington, D. C. The work during the second phase of the investigations will be carried on at Beltsville and Washington and will consist of completion of chemical and mineralogical investigations, compilation of maps, analysis of field and laboratory data including determination of the size and quality of the bauxite deposits in the eastern part of Kauai, mineralogical research on bauxite samples, and preparation of a final geological report.

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Composition and origin of basaltic magma of the Hawaiian Islands

Silica-saturated basaltic magma is the source of the voluminous lava flows, erupted frequently and rapidly in the primitive shield-building stage of activity, that form the bulk of each Hawaiian volcano. This magma may be available in batches that differ slightly in free silica content from batch to batch both at the same and at different volcanoes; differentiation by fractionation of olivine does not occur within this primitive magma. Silica-deficient basaltic magma, enriched in alkali, is the source of commonly porphyritic lava flows erupted less frequently and in relatively negligible volume during a declining and decadent stage of activity at some Hawaiian volcanoes. Differentiation by fractionation of olivine, plagioclase and augite is evident among these lavas, but does not account for the silica deficiency or the alkali enrichment. Most of the data of Hawaiian volcanism and petrology can be explained by a hypothesis that batches of magma are melted from crystalline paridotite by a recurrent process (distortion of the equatorial bulge by forced and free nutational stresses) that accomplishes the melting only of the plagioclase and pyroxene component but not the excess olivine and more refractory components within a zone of fixed and limited depth. Eruption exhausts the supply of meltable magma under a given locality and, in the absence of more violent melting processes, leaves a stratum of crystalline refractory components.

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The volcano letter: A weekly news leaflet of the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association - 1955

The Volcano Letter was an informal publication issued at irregular intervals by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) during the years 1925 to 1955. Individual issues contain information on volcanic activity, volcano research, and volcano monitoring in Hawaii. Information on volcanic activity at other locations is also occasionally included. The Volcano Letter was published by HVO through multiple changes in administration, including the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association (1925 to 1932), the U.S. Geological Survey (1932 to 1935), the Department of the Interior (1935 to 1938), and the University of Hawai‘i (1938 to 1955). Issues 1-262 were published weekly from January 1, 1925, to January 2, 1930, and consisted of a single page of text. Issues 263-384, also published weekly, from January 9, 1930, to May 5, 1932, were generally longer—four pages— and provided more detail on volcanic activity, including photographs, maps, and plots. Weekly issues 385-387, published May 12-26, 1932, were a single page of text due to budget reductions brought on by the Great Depression. Budget restrictions reduced the publishing frequency to monthly for issues 388-428, covering the period of June 1932 to October 1935; these issues were generally shorter, 1-2 pages, and sometimes featured figures. From November 1935 to July 1938, issues 429-461 remained monthly but increased in length (generally eight pages) and featured figures frequently. Issues 462-530, published over the period of August 1938 to December 1955, varied in length from 2-15 pages, but were published quarterly, rather than monthly. Six of the Volcano Letters are misnumbered: Jan. 21, 1926 number is 55 though it should 56 July 29, 1926 number is 82 though it should be 83 Feb. 16, 1928 number is 161 though it should be 164 May 31, 1928 number is 197 though it should be 179 Nov. 29, 1928 number is 204 though it should be 205

Hawaii↗

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory record book 1955

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) record books are annual journals in which field observations of eruptive activity at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, on the Island of Hawaiʻi, were compiled by HVO staff for most years from 1912 through early 1966. In addition to descriptive observations, the record books also contain hundreds of annotated photographs and sketches, as well as temperature and transit measurements. When photographs are included, the camera settings and film types used are noted. The field notes, sketches, and photographs used to compile the record books provide an unparalleled record of eruptive activity and were the basis for published newspaper reports and periodic bulletins, such as the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory bulletins and The volcano letter . HVO staff also painstakingly prepared a second copy of each early record book, virtually identical to the original, complete with photographs and sketches. The original version of the record book was kept at HVO, while the duplicate went to the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which was created by a group of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, businessmen to promote HVO’s work. The Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which dissolved decades ago, held the duplicate books in Honolulu, where they were more readily accessible to the public. After 1923, HVO stopped duplicating the books—at least, no duplicate records for subsequent years have been found. During the decade of the 1940s, preparation of the record books stopped altogether. In 1952, compilation of the record books resumed and continued, with long gaps, until early 1966. Entries in these later volumes are sparse, and these books are little more than photo albums of the episodic eruptions of Kīlauea. The original record books were held at HVO and, later, at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. In 1972, the original record books for the years 1912 through 1939 were transferred to the Bishop Museum, in Honolulu, for safekeeping. These record books are now stored in archival boxes at that institution (accession number 172.265). The duplicate set of record books held by the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association were bound into volumes at an unknown date and turned over to the U.S. Geological Survey. This set of record books, spanning 1912 through 1923, is now housed in the rare book room of the U.S. Geological Survey Library in Reston, Virginia (catalog number 220(950) H3d). The record books for 1952 through early 1966 remain in storage at HVO. After 1955, typed annotations were no longer placed in the record books, and only photographs, most with captions, were included. Although the volumes titled “Record Book” end with the 1955 volume, the photograph albums that followed are similar, and the record book designation is retained for simplicity. Note that the photographs in these albums were not all originally arranged in chronological order.

Hawaii↗

The volcano letter: A weekly news leaflet of the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association - 1954

The Volcano Letter was an informal publication issued at irregular intervals by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) during the years 1925 to 1955. Individual issues contain information on volcanic activity, volcano research, and volcano monitoring in Hawaii. Information on volcanic activity at other locations is also occasionally included. The Volcano Letter was published by HVO through multiple changes in administration, including the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association (1925 to 1932), the U.S. Geological Survey (1932 to 1935), the Department of the Interior (1935 to 1938), and the University of Hawai‘i (1938 to 1955). Issues 1-262 were published weekly from January 1, 1925, to January 2, 1930, and consisted of a single page of text. Issues 263-384, also published weekly, from January 9, 1930, to May 5, 1932, were generally longer—four pages— and provided more detail on volcanic activity, including photographs, maps, and plots. Weekly issues 385-387, published May 12-26, 1932, were a single page of text due to budget reductions brought on by the Great Depression. Budget restrictions reduced the publishing frequency to monthly for issues 388-428, covering the period of June 1932 to October 1935; these issues were generally shorter, 1-2 pages, and sometimes featured figures. From November 1935 to July 1938, issues 429-461 remained monthly but increased in length (generally eight pages) and featured figures frequently. Issues 462-530, published over the period of August 1938 to December 1955, varied in length from 2-15 pages, but were published quarterly, rather than monthly. Six of the Volcano Letters are misnumbered: Jan. 21, 1926 number is 55 though it should 56 July 29, 1926 number is 82 though it should be 83 Feb. 16, 1928 number is 161 though it should be 164 May 31, 1928 number is 197 though it should be 179 Nov. 29, 1928 number is 204 though it should be 205

Hawaii↗

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory record book 1954

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) record books are annual journals in which field observations of eruptive activity at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, on the Island of Hawaiʻi, were compiled by HVO staff for most years from 1912 through early 1966. In addition to descriptive observations, the record books also contain hundreds of annotated photographs and sketches, as well as temperature and transit measurements. When photographs are included, the camera settings and film types used are noted. The field notes, sketches, and photographs used to compile the record books provide an unparalleled record of eruptive activity and were the basis for published newspaper reports and periodic bulletins, such as the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory bulletins and The volcano letter . HVO staff also painstakingly prepared a second copy of each early record book, virtually identical to the original, complete with photographs and sketches. The original version of the record book was kept at HVO, while the duplicate went to the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which was created by a group of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, businessmen to promote HVO’s work. The Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, which dissolved decades ago, held the duplicate books in Honolulu, where they were more readily accessible to the public. After 1923, HVO stopped duplicating the books—at least, no duplicate records for subsequent years have been found. During the decade of the 1940s, preparation of the record books stopped altogether. In 1952, compilation of the record books resumed and continued, with long gaps, until early 1966. Entries in these later volumes are sparse, and these books are little more than photo albums of the episodic eruptions of Kīlauea. The original record books were held at HVO and, later, at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. In 1972, the original record books for the years 1912 through 1939 were transferred to the Bishop Museum, in Honolulu, for safekeeping. These record books are now stored in archival boxes at that institution (accession number 172.265). The duplicate set of record books held by the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association were bound into volumes at an unknown date and turned over to the U.S. Geological Survey. This set of record books, spanning 1912 through 1923, is now housed in the rare book room of the U.S. Geological Survey Library in Reston, Virginia (catalog number 220(950) H3d). The record books for 1952 through early 1966 remain in storage at HVO. After 1955, typed annotations were no longer placed in the record books, and only photographs, most with captions, were included. Although the volumes titled “Record Book” end with the 1955 volume, the photograph albums that followed are similar, and the record book designation is retained for simplicity. Note that the photographs in these albums were not all originally arranged in chronological order.

Hawaii↗