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The word 'volcano' comes from the little island of Vulcano in the
Mediterranean Sea off Sicily. Centuries ago, the people living in this area
believed that Vulcano was the chimney of the forge of Vulcan
-- the blacksmith of the Roman gods.
They thought that the hot lava fragments and clouds of dust
erupting form Vulcano came from Vulcan's forge as he beat out thunderbolts for
Jupiter, king of the gods, and weapons for Mars, the god of war.
-- Excerpt from: Tilling, 1985, Volcanoes, USGS General Interest Publication
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In Roman mythology, Vulcan, the god of fire,
was said to have made tools and weapons for the
other gods in his workshop at Olympus. Throughout history,
volcanoes have frequently been identified
with Vulcan and other mythological figures.
Scientists now know that the "smoke" from volcanoes,
once attributed by poets to be from Vulcan's forge,
is actually volcanic gas naturally released from
both active and many inactive volcanoes.
-- Excerpt from: McGee and Gerlach, 1995, Volcano Hazards Fact Sheet,
USGS Open-File Report 95-85
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"Greek God of Fire and Forge"
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Greek god of fire and forge. Hephaestus uses a volcano as his forge, and
when he works, sparks and flames fly out of the volcanoes that he works in. Son of Zeus and
Hera.
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"Hawaiian Goddess of Volcanoes"
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Hawaiian legends tell that eruptions were caused by Pele,
the beautiful but tempestuous Goddess of Volcanoes, during
her frequent moments of anger. Pele was both revered and feared;
her immense power and many adventures figured prominently in
ancient Hawaiian songs and chants. She could cause earthquakes
by stamping her feet and volcanic eruptions and fiery devastations
by digging with the Pa'oe, her magic stick. An oft-told
legend describes the long and bitter quarrel between Pele and
her older sister Namakaokahai that led to the creation of the
chain of volcanoes that form the islands.
-- Excerpt from: Tilling, et.al., 1987,
Eruptions of Hawaiian Volcanoes: Past,
Present, and Future, USGS General Interest Publication
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Kilauea volcano, on the south side of the Island of Hawaii, is one of
the most active on Earth. It sits on the southeasten side of the Big
Island of Hawaii, resting on the flanks of it's larger neighbor volcano
Manua Loa. Kilauea stands just under 4,200 feet tall
at it's highest point.
Kilauea is the home to Pele, the volcano goddess of ancient
Hawaiian legends.
-- Excerpt from: Hawaii Center for Volcanology,
University of Hawaii Website, 2002
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Native American Gods - Crater Lake
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Fiery avalanches sometimes interrupted the lives of Native Americans near Mount
Mazama
-- (pre-Crater Lake volcano) --
more than 6,000 years ago. These people interpreted Mazama's violent eruptions
before its collapse as a war between two gods, Llao and Skell.
Indeed, archeological evidence suggests that human beings witnessed this
cataclysmic event. Shamans in historic time forbade most Indians to view the
lake, and the Indians offered no information about the lake to pioneers who
crisscrossed the area for 50 years without discovering it.
-- Excerpt from: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. National Park Service,
Information Broshure, "Crater Lake", 1984:
U. S. Government Printing Office GPO 1984-421-578/281
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Louwala-Clough/Loowit - Klickitat/Pahto - Wy'east
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Mount St. Helens - Mount Adams -
Mount Hood
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Northwest Indians told early explorers about the firey Mount St. Helens. In
fact, an Indian name for the mountain, Louwala-Clough, means "smoking
mountain". According to one legend, the mountain was once a beautiful maiden,
"Loowit". When two sons of the Great Spirit "Sahale" fell in love with
her, she could not choose between them. The two braves, Wyeast
and Klickitat
fought over her, burning villages and forests in the process. Sahale was
furious. He smote the three lovers and erected a mighty mountain peak where
each fell. Because Loowit was beautiful, her mountain (Mount St. Helens) was a
beautiful, symmetrical cone of dazzling white. Wyeast (Mount Hood)
lifts his head in pride, but Klickitat (Mount Adams) wept to see the beautiful
maiden wrapped in snow, so he bends his head as he gazes on St. Helens.
-- Excerpt from:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Gifford Pinchot National Forest
"Mount St. Helens" Broshure,
1980:
Government Printing Office GPO 1980 699-331
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Native American legends abound with descriptions of the brothers Wy'east
(Hood) and Pahto (Adams) battling for the fair La-wa-la-clough
(St. Helens). Behaviors attributed to Wy'east include hurtling of hot rocks
from gaping holes, sending forth streams of liquid fire, loss of formerly high
summits, and choking of valleys with rocks. These are fair descriptions of
Mount Hood's reconstructed activity over the past two millennia.
-- Excerpt from: Scott, et.al., 1997, Geologic History of Mount Hood Volcano, Oregon
-- A Field-Trip Guidebook: USGS Open-File Report 97-263
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Native American God - Mount Rainier
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Northwest American Indians knew the mountain long before European explorers
reached the waters of the Pacific Ocean. For generations, they knew the
mountain as Takhoma, Tahoma, Ta-co-bet, and several other
names. The names mean "big mountain", "snowy peak", or "place where the waters
begin". Little Tahoma is the name of a prominent rock outcrop on the
eastside of Mount Rainier.
-- Excerpt from: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. National Park Service,
1998, Little Tahoma News, A Guide for Scholars.
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