The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-05-08 00:00:00

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS AND EARTH-

QUAKES.

_
According to Herr Fuchs there were last year only
three eruptions, none of -which were of extraordinary
violence. The most notable was that coincident with
the appearance of a new volcano in Lake llopango,
in San Salvador, following on a series of violent
earthquakes, in December last. This raises to six the
number of active volcanoes in that State; and there
are five extinct.

The eruption of Etna, beginning on May 26 was
specially marked by an uncommonly long lava stream
—l6 kilometres. The preceding earthquakes were
not very great. Yet the mountain mass opened in
a chasm of rupture 10 kilometres long, cutting the
principal crater. The north-eastern and higher end
of the chasm presented the more numerous and larger
craters, whence came the great branching lava stream
the central part giving only steam and fine ashes.
This eruption ended in 11 days. The third eruption
was that of the volcano Merapi, in Java, on March
28. It gave lava and ashes abundantly. Several
other Javan volcanoes, as also Vesuvius and a sub-
marine volcano south-west of Iceland, were in a
somewhat active state.

Of the 99 earthquakes which came to Herr Fuchs's
knowledge only a few were of remarkable strength.
On the night of March 22 a violent earthquake was
felt in northern Persia for several hours, and de-
stroyed a number of villages ; from that date to April
2 (when the last vibrations occurred) some 900 persons
perished. The earthquake of April 25, in the Romagna
(Italy), was also of unusual strength; the valley of
the Senio was most effected, and in Palazzuolo numer-
ous buildings were thrown down.

_
Another very violent earthquake occurred on May,
17 in Mexico; the ground movement was observed in
all the region from Vera Cruz to the town of Mexico,
and in Cordoba and Orizaba great injury was done.
On June 29 violent earthquakes began in a part of
China and extended over thirty districts; in this case
the phenomenon of huge water-jets spouting up
through the opened ground was observed. The shocks
were repeated till the middle of August and many hun-
dred lives were lost. This feature of fountains marked
several other earthquakes in 1879—e.g., one in Bess-
arabia in May, which commenced with a detonation like
that of a cannon • and one on the lower Danube, from
October 10 to 18, when a large fountain and several
small jets appeared on the island of Babacay. To the
violent earthquakes belong, also, those which preceded
the formation of the new volcano in Lake Ilopango. Of
German regions, Carinthia and Carniola were the
richest in earthquakes last year. The first earthquake
occurred on January 11, reaching through the Lavan
valley and much further. On February 2 it was re-
peated, being strongest in Carniola, and extending over
parts of Carinthia, Styria, and the coastland. A third
violent earthquake occurred on May 8 on the southern
slope of the Ston, between Carinthia and Carniola ; it
was like a blast in a mine. On October 1 Klagenfurt
was the chief scene of an extensive earthquake.
Several others of less importance were experienced.
- - -

Next after this region comes the north-west ,Rhine
region, which since 1873 has been often affected. The
south-western Schwarzwald, too, experienced several
shocks last year. This district has of late formed part
of a large earthquake region, comprising Western
Switzerland, Eastern France, and South-Western
Germany, the principal line of action extending from
the Lake of Geneva over Basle.

•
In the German Empire earthquakes occurred on 13
days and at nine different points, as follows :—Buir
(Jan. 3 and April 9) ; Aachen (Jan. 10 and May 26);
Schwarzwald (Jan. 26 and Dec. 5 and 22), Lachthal
(Feb. 9), the Bavarian-Tyrol boundary (Feb. 17),
Gebweiler (Feb. 20), Saxony (March 12), Harburg
(Nov. 17), Milhlhausen (Dec. 4).

The days of 1879 on which there were the most
earthquakes were Feb. 14 (Brusio in Graubtinden,
Laibach, Arco in Tyrol) and July 2 (Athens, China,
Burg, near Grelfenberg).—Wednesday's Times.