The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-01-07
sinksng-Coasf Mountains Changing
their Relative Level.

San Francisco folks are just now exer-
cised by an announcement in the SCIENTIFIC
Press that the coast mountains arc chang
ing their relative level with the Sierra Ne
yada-that il, that one or the other range
is rising or sinking-it does not appear Ger
tain which. The writer in the Sc'cnl!sf
Press is Mr.. F. a. Herring, who states thai,
looking westward from his house IN the
Sierra Nevada near Forbestown, 2,3oO 1ecf
above tic level Of the ocean, he can see the
Marysville buttes. IS miles OIL, anu the
coast range, 100 or $50 miles distant; that
seven years ago one peak CT the buttes ap'
reared higher from his house than the sum-
nit Of the range; that on the 4th OF sep
tembcr last the same peak appeared 10 DC
Just az high as the ridge; that he had 10 go
sevsntv-fvc feet down the hill to make the
peak appear az high above the ridge as 1t
did before: that on the Sth OF November
the peak appeared from his house lower
than the ridge; that when he went seventy
five feet down the hill the peak OF the
bu,tes appeared to be on q level with the
ridge; that the change Of lere! has been
the subject of frequent observation with
him for months, and that his brother OBJ
served it as we'll as himself
The Scientific Press accepts these state
mcn,s 90 unquestionably correct, and says
Reference has frequently been made tt
observe changes Of level that are going on
On this coast and elsewhere. An inch OF
change in century is Il mile in little more
than fifty thousand ycarS-a brief day IN
geology. While the eastern coasts OF the
North American continent are known to DC
In Cr,rn I>TlIi
rising, from Ohio to British Columbia, there
arc to he noted with special care and exact
Icss local variations or oscillations, pellodl-
cGl and regular, or otherwise. The student
of the geological history Of California
may find something that Is TO the point
and suggestive in the following colnmuhl.
cation, stating few facts, the purport OF
which, in regard to our local geology, ncca
not be enlarged upon by us at present.
The communication here referred 10 IL 1hat
ui Mr.. He.Iing's, above mentioned.
Tne cIilor OF the Scientific Press can
hardly have given the subject due CONSIDER
atiun Tie change OF elevation Or ueprcS-
SION indicated by the facts-it facts they
arc--.s absolutely terrific. One OF these
things must be occurring Either forDcs-
tow! Oh the Sierra Nevada is rising, or the
NaryAvIi!e buttcs are sinking, or the coast
mountains are rising ut rate AHoGether
uLprccelcnie1 In tue annals OIL geology.
None of the marvcls rccoi dcd by Sir Charles
Lei arproach it. lie: any mathematician
compute the angle Of the larallcx from the
:yiIvY !ng premises, giving inst ol AL the
correct distances between the obJccts-vlz.,
80 mills from the coast range to the Sler-
RI Nevada. \ lEe drawn from Forbcstown
70 t.c sulninit Of the Marysyillc buttcs, and,
being O. tangent, when prolonged to the
highest pont Of the coast mountains, would
he s0mcwhu, longer. The height OF Forbes
town Fl! on the level Of the sea Is $500 1cct
ihat ia The MarysviIic bu:tcs Is 1850; that
81 ;Lc summit of the coast range is about
A.GOJ. When .ir. Herring looked in this
direction seven ycalo ago the Duties APP
rcaIcl higher Than TIC coast summit. The
latter subsequently, lin September lasO
rose ~ q level with thcm, and III Norcm-
Ter il was necessary TO descend 70 feet at
Fogbcsiown to make the coast range appear
the Same height us the buttcs. Marysvllle
j. thlt:-iye miles from Forbestown. The
;i...., is also given in which the changes &C.
cured. Tie last one is the most s,upen-
t!ous, Tor il occupied only from the 4th OF
)
more than two months. Here are all the
clements Of the problem. Calculating
roughly, and assuming that Marysvillc
butIcs and Forbe.town have moved, the
rro ortionatc rise OF the coast range would
he two and Il half feet Tor every loot
Of descent at F0rbeotown. Thus, If Mr..
Herring went down scyenty-tlve feet, the
coast range must have gone up 1914, and
that, too, i'll the space Of Two mouths, being
ut tic rate Of ,l25 feet per annum, and
more than twenty-one miles in century.
Il wouli lie more feasible theory to sup
pose that the Marysville bultes were sink
Ing !; but catastrophe like that could not
be Going Oh at SO rapid rate without affect
ing The surrounding regions. TO produce the
result described by Mr.. Herring, they
would have to sink ut the rate OF about
twenty-five feet month, which rate wohld
enable them to "git out - OF the State in
Iirt,iy