The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-10-30
Volcanoes and their Influence upon the
Earth.

Prof. Guyot read n paper upon volcanoes, be-
fore the National Academy of Science, in session
at Northampton recently. His subject was the
" Arrangement Of Volcanoes on the Earth, and
their Influence on our Globe" He described
the manner in which the volcanoes of the earth
are systematically arranged in two great zones or
belts of about thirty degrees breadth. Both of
these zones, he showed, followed the lines where
the crust OF the earth was, so to.say, cracked by
the uprising Of the great continents. I~llustrat-
ing his new and most interesting collocation by
the aid of a globe, he traced the first zone from
the southern extremity of our continent along
the western coast, following the line of the
Andes, then through Central America, with its
closely ranged mountains of fire, and went paral-
lei TO the Rocky Mountains up to the northern
most regions. Thence he pointed out the vol
canic range of the Aleutian Islands, continuing
almost without interruption along the eastern
coast of Asia, japan, and the adjoining islands
Of the south Town TO New Zealand. This zone,
he stated, contained over three hundred of the
whole number of volcanoes known to us since
Tuchs has raised it from four hundred, mentioned
by Humboldt in his Kosmos, to five hundred and
seventy-two.
The other zone. which he called the central
zone, followed a line starting from Behring's
Strait at a distance of somewhat less than meri-
dian, from the Mexican group through the West
India Islands, cutting through the Mediterranean
30 as to touch Mount Etna and Vesuyius, and
then through Central Asia, with its partly yet
unexplored volcanoes. Wherever the two zones
intersect each other the number of volcanoes was
shown to be unusually great. Both together
contain fully five-sixths OF the whole number
known, and thus prove conclusively the truth of
the learned professors new theory. The remain
ing volcanoes are apparently isolated, but the
presumption is that, when we become more
familiar with the comparatively unknown regions
in which they are situated. they will be found to
lie in groups or zones dependent upon a similar
disturbance in the carth's crust.
For to such a disturbance Guyot ascribed the
origin Of all volcanoes, determined the period Of
their origin rs the tertiary long after the Hima-
lnya, the Alps and the Andes had been formed.
He asserted his conviction that the earth's crust
was but very thin that after the uprising of the
continents and great islands by the more rapid
contraction of the inner parts tine outer part be-
came too large and cracked, opening great fis-
sures that through these apertures water-salt
water or fresh-percolated deep enough to meet
the intense heat in the interior. 10 be there con-
verted into steam, and then to force it's way back
to the surface by melting the intervening mate
rails, so rs to throw mp lava, ashes or vapor, and
To raise the crust in the process, till huge craters
were formed. 1t was n natural consequence of
his theory that these tremendous disturbances
should occur most frequently and most regularly,
the crust of the earth was as it were
ut the edge OF great continents but as
in other parts of the globe also powerful up
have taken place, volcanic action has
been at work there also, and this accounts for
the existence of apparently isolated volcanoes.
Prof. Guyot's paper was listened to with deep
interest by the members of the academy, and
with brcathlcss attention by the visitors.
IL elected n short but lively debate, during which
the presiding officer succeeded in bringing some
points of interest to light, while Gen.
United States Engineers, produced quite
a sensation by declaring Lis conviction that the
theory of a thin crust Of the earth was errone-
GUS, and that Sir William Thompson had proved,
to his own satisfaction at least. that the earth
was, at the very least, two thousand miles thick,
and Of a solidity superior to steel. lie illustrated
this view by diagrams on the blackboard, and,
far from being as lucid and happy in
his explanations rs Prof. Guyot, succeeded in
n very effective speech.