Kristina Kierstead, age 11, of Portland 

Has America any volcanos?

In the dim past, North America has broken out in rashes of volcanos. There was a time when volcanos spat out their lava over Northern New England. Much later, a vast section of the Pacific Northwest seethed.with volcanic eruptions. There were volcanos, too, in Arizona and the Southwest.

The ancient fireworks over New England have long since calmed and cools d. Wind and weather have worn down the volcanic cone, the lava and the cinder piles. But there are still countless signs of the more recent activity in the Northwest. Geysers, hot springs and gas vents are still there to show us that the fireworks in this area have not had time to cool thoroughly.

Mount Hood, Mount Shasta and massive Mount Rainier are the cones of volcanoes that were active not so long ago. All but one of America’s old volcanoes are safely extinct. The last to die out is Mount Lassen in northern California. Even Mount Lassen had been quiet for 200 years. In 1914, people thought the old volcano had puffed its last. Then it suddenly began to smoke and throw out a little lava, The old volcano continued to erupt in small spurts until 1921. Since that time it has quieted down,

Americas only active volcano is 10,453 feet above sea level. It is a beautiful, snow capped peak. In 1916, Mount Lassen,was made a National Park. From its slopes you can see‑old Mount Shasta, now calm and still under its snowy blanket, but not so long ago a fiery volcano.