American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1858-12-09
Ror Ihe LaneaIler Oarslls.
GaoIoalcaI Racts ID speeuLatlan..

GeoIosicaI Facts and specuIatfoas.
!, Temperature ofMs Interior Of ,fEs
Earth The Influence Of the heat Of sum.
mer and Of the cold OF winter exlends but
afeV feet below the surface, As q eonss.
quence OF tlIisiact, spring water. when il
brss issues from theeRrlh has the same tenn
pera.ure at all seasons. g,.s,a
A Thermometer placed At barely such q
depth below the surface Gs not to be sens
IDLY affected by lheAuctuations Of solar heat,
wstld not In all localities indicste exactly
the same temperature;b but from numerous ex
perimehts made in different parts Of the
world en- average temperature Of about
so degrees nsy be dsduced.
Nowws would naturally expect ibat at
all depths below the reach Of the influence
of seasons and climates. the temperature
would be uniform. But such is not the
fact. In every country where deep e&ca
vations have been made in the prosecution
Of mining operations. tie temperature Of
the rock at the bottom OF mine is higher
than the temperature Of the rock or earth
near the mouth. aud the Temperature
Of the rock increases uniforIhly from the
top to the bottom OF the mine. The aver
age rate Of increase deduced from a COM
parison of numerous observations, is one
degree for every 81 feet Of perpendicular
descent
The water which flows from deep Arte-
sian wells is always warmer than that
which has its sourcei in strata situated
nearer to the surface; and Q comparison
Of numerous Artesian wells of various
} depths gives nearly the same ratio Of in
crease. as that deduced. from the oompari-
son Of different mines.
We associate the idea Of coolness with
underground situations; but the heat Of
deep mines isvery oppressive. The tenn
perature Of copper mine in Cornwall at
the depth Of 1901 feet is 88 degrees. The
temperature Of the Guanaxato Silver mine
; in Mexico. at the depth Of 1918 feet
is SO degrees, exceeding by several de-
| grees the ordinary hestot summer. In
this mine the limit seems to have been
reached to which it is practicable, on ac.
: count Of the increasing temperature. to
penetrate the earth in search oi the metals.
Suppose that company Of capitalists could
. be assured that in a certain locality, at a
depth OF oftwenty five hundred feet below
the surface there existed stratum ol
pure gold equal in thickness and extent 10
: one OF our Western coal fields they would
] be forced, on account ofihe heat, TO stop
several hundred feet short Of reaching it,
In list Of Artesian wells given in
, Hitchcock's Geology the greatest depth ma
med is 1900 feet. The temperature the
: water as it issues from the well is 83 de-
grees. But it is necessary to make a con-
n siderable allowance for the absorption Of
!. caloric from the water as it comes success.
y sively ID contact with the cooler strata oil
rock in the course Of its ascent. @
;. The depth, then, to Which the tempera'
y tuIe Of the interior of the earth has beer
tested by direct experiment is less thar
a 1000 feet. Batwe have the evidence o
/, thermal springs that the temperature o
a the earth still continues to increase be
yond the depth to @hichit has been pen
u etrated by human il Gstry. Thsrma
n springs have, in soma instances. nearly
IS the boiling temperature. This tempera
= ture they derive from that Of the deel
seated rocks in which they have thei
source. So.
r. Commencing with the temperature Q
r. SO degrees at the surface aud allowing al
A increace OF one degree for every 81 fee
a heat sufficient to boil waler would b
D. reached at a depth little exceeding
mile.
: Again; in the phenomona..of yolcanos W
have evid noe that at some depth or othe
. = below the reoki in which OF therma
y springs have their origin, there exists
temperature higher by many thousands 0
:. degrees than that Of boiling water; tenn
Of PEI aturs sufficiently high 10 fuse the mai
ter Of the most refractory rocks. Such
/ temperature. according to thu rate ofincIeas
al observed in mines, ought to be reached q
S, depth ofless than so miles. Indeed th
r. great number Of fexisting volcanoes, an
g. the immense floods Of lava discharged b
some Of them indicate that with the ez
~ ceptiou of a comparatively thin ,rdst. tn
whole interior Of the earth is liquid fror
in intense heat fp the year 1879 the Skaf
" tur Joku in Iceland, discharged at one Q
ne ruption quantity of lava sufficient to coz
t., er 900 square miles to the depth Of 5
l., feet. But we have no reason to suppos
!, that tbereservoir from which, this fer
daluge flowed was nearly exhausted o
:. this OCCASION. w.
N. For the Lancaster Gazette