The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-07-19
AKTESIAN WELLS.
PeculiaritIes and Temperature The GeySer
and other Hot Springs.

Peculiarities and Temperature Geyser
and other Hot Springs.
Artcsian wells are carried in some insian-
ces, "A third of u mile below The surface, and
so abundant l. tEcir supply of water that II
single well ut the kind near Paris has been
computed Ia yicd more than 100000 gallons
OF water daily, The elevated end may be sew
eral hundred miles distant, it matters not how
far Parts of Algeria bordering on Sahara,
once considered an irreclaimable desert, have
been supplied with water, and thus rendered
habiahlc by means of artesian wells.
There are three conditions essential 10 the
successful boring of an altesian well; |. \
fountain. head more elevated than the locality
where the boring is To he undertaken, J. n
moderate downward DIP OF The strata toward
the site of the well. \ steep or high angle of
inclination of dip Is unfavoiable, rs the water
is apt to flow away beyond the reach of the
boring which must needs pass at an acute an
Gle through few layers of rock 3. Altcrna-
tons Of porous and impclvlouS strata beneath
the surface soil. 1t is sometimes the case that
the head of water is at so high an elevation
that the column bursts forth from the ground
as Il fountain, throwing Hp continual jet.
The principal is precisely that Of artificial
fountains
The first artesian well bored at Artoi-,
France, over century ago, has since then
flowed steadily, the water rising eleven feet
above the surface at the rate of $50 gallons Il
minute.
The famous Grcnclc well in the Paris basin
was commenced in 1898, with the expectation
Of obtaining water at 200 or 800 feet, in the
secondary green sand formation which under
lies the chalk, the uppermost of this series.
Al 300 feet the Government would have alb
andoned the enterprise but for the urgent ap
peals of NJ. Arago. IL was continued till on
February %, 1871, at the depth of l.91 feet the
boring rcd suddenly penetrated the arch of
rock over the subterranean waters and fell
fourteen feet. In IA few hours the water rose
to the surface IN an immense volume and has
continued since. 1t is well known that at the
depth OF few feet below the surface of the
earth the temperature never changes.
At st. Louis, Mo, the temperature Of water
at 800 feet below the surface is Is degrees
higher than the mean temperature at the sur
face, makingt the increase degree for S3i,
feet descent; and, strange to say, the increase
of temperature is / in every j2ls feet at Char
lesion, s c. The hot springs that flow out TO
the surface in many parts OF the world are ma
tural artcSlan wells rising from great depths.
In Virginia these springs are iouni along the
',~ u, ,.,..' !.' = 80 ."al~ IL lhr ~Iallc;i-
ito O. l.'' ck~ r.. nh.rh formations usually
=
contact with each other.
There is class OF no, springs called geyscrs
whose force would be as scrvlceable rs that of
the hydrostptic presses if 1t were practicable
to use ii. GeyscrS or cruptlvc fountains of
boiling water, are found in different parts OF
the world. There are some very large geysers
III the southern part Of Iceland In a circuit
Of about two miles are more than 100 springs
which send forth hot water These springs
are OF different dimensions and exhibit differ
ent degrees of activity. Geysers are to be
found in California and in New Zealand. The
two principal geysers IN Iceland are called the
Great Geyser and the Strokr or Chum. The
Great Geyser, when quiet, presents the appear
ance of II circular mound Of siiCeouS nCrus-
tations, inciosing pool with sides sloplng in
ward and outward The height of the mound
is about twenty feet. The diameter of the ba-
sin varies from fifty to SIXTY feet, and It's aver
age depth is about four feet. In its center is
the mouth OF the vertical tube which connects
1t with the subtcrrancan passages. The tube
Is about nine feet in diameter at its mouth and
severity feet in depth. When the geyser is in
active the basin is filled to the edge with clear
water, which has Il mean temperature OF 1SJ
deg Fair, and runs gently down the mound
emitting clouds ct steam but for several hours
after an eruption the tube is empty to the
UcDlH Oh lOuI Ol HNtlcCl Az Intervals Oh ABOUT
an hour and IA half a rumbling noise is heard
and the water heaves up IN the center throw
ing an increased quantity over the margin
The great eruptions take place at irregular in
tervals sometimes exceeding thirty hours At
these times loud explosions are heard beneath
the surface the water is thrown into violent
agitation ii bolls furiously, and at last Is sent
forth in succession of Jets, which increase IN
force until they become an immense fountain,
that is lost 10 view in the clouds of steam IN
which II is envelOped
The heights reached by these Jets are almost |
incredible. Van Troll, travelling in Iceland in |
IRE, saw an eruption OF boiling water from
the Great Geyser which assembled ninety-two
feet. Sir John Stanley, in 1879, saw one nine.
ty-siX feet. Lieut.. Olshen IA Danish officer, in
1904, saw an eruption or jet which rose to the
height OF PIP feet
This intermittent action Of the Great Geyscr
is supposed to be owing to the sudden prOduc-
ton O. steam, in subterrancan chambers con
nectcd with iLr channels through which the
waters flow. The water from the geyser has
It's origin in mountain land, and in issuing
forth is only seeking its level. 1t is hot and
in some instances boiling because it comes up
from an immense dcpth--trom Il depth where
the earth Is Of II nigh an uniform temperature.
The water OF the geyscrs i, always boiling at
the time of an eruption.
The temperature of cold springs Is also uni
form, because they take their origin at some
depth from the surface and below the influence /
of the external atmosphere. The same spring
water which is decmad warm in winter is .
deemed cold in summer. But it is really of
the same temperature at all seasons, the differ
enCe being thai in summer il is surrounded |
by warmer atmosphere and objects than IN
winter
Visiting the sick.
Nothing requires more care, judgment and
saNs the Now York IimeS