Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-04-11
Etns and His Neighbors-

/ Mount Etna 5 eruption Is only u
partial success this time. but even Il
partial eruption from Etna means more
I than "A complete activity IN many other
! volcanoes The volcanic chain in South
en Italy, Sicily and the adjoining
| islands is one of the most interesting in
the world. From its position i'll the
centre of civilization the system has for
nearly twenty five hundred Years afford
ed the best means of studying the phen-
Omena of volcanoes. and it is safe to
say that every symptom of Nesuyius
and Etna has been observed and that all
the important symptoms have been re-
ported since the days of Pliny. The
Bay of Naples itself Is now believed by
geOlOgists To be the remains of an enOr-
nous crater, along whose edges small
jets still exist, Nesuyius being the most
important. Thus for miles along the
shore hot springs, rumblingS, sulphur
beds and other evidences of internal
dynamic energy are met with. At
POZZuOli. a suburb of Naples, is blind
crater known rs the SOlfatara, and
beyond is Lake Ayernus, an extinct
crater filled with water. The island of
Ischia, at the northern entrance to the
bay, is crowned by a volcano. Mount
EpOmeO. which lay dormant for five or
six centuries. and that burst into erup-
tion only a short time ago. Proceeding
towards Sicily we come To a cluster of
small islands. the hest known of which
is StrombOli, which is almost continual
" in state of activity. There, accord
70, 1a,rat.slS sItrnfaI ha
forge of old Vulcan, whence sparks
and cinderS were perpetually emitted.
Etna itself is the largest volcano Of the
system. and differs from the others in
structure. aS well as in magnitude.
NeSuviuS has only a single opening. and
sO has Stromboli; but all along the sides
of Etna secondary Jets, several hundred
in number. are found, in addition to the
enormous crater at the summit. But
even Etna Is not a tirSt-claSS volcano.
For them we must go To the Andes,
and study ColopaXi and Coyamhe, or 10
the Cordiller0s to Popocatapetl. OF to
the terribly energetic systems of the
East Indies. Mauniloa. III the sand
wich Islands, must also he ranked
among the largest and most active of
volcanoes. being, i'll fact, the nucleus of
the Sandwich Islands. MaunilOa and
others of its formation discharge lava,
and sometimes boiling water; some of the
Andes system belch forth scoriR. stones
and ashes; while Etna and NesuviuS
vary, sometimes sending streams of
burning lava down their slopes, and at
and at Others projecting stones and huge
cinderS far into the air, accompanied
usually by dense shower of ashes
which are carried many miles 10y the
last which buried Pompeii eighteen
hundred years ago. while HercUlaneum
was covered chiefly by deep stream of
lava. This accounts for the fact that
POmpen is comparatively easily eXcayat-
ell, while Herculaneum must be- hewn.
rs it We're, out of the solid rock. Pop
ulJr opinion has always laid cunSidera-
ble stress upon the fact that most vol
canoes are either upon the SeaSh0re or
within a short distance of il, but
scientific men today differ IN the
amount of weight which they attribute
to this coincidence. The most trust
worthy of them have not vet decided
just what influence the proximity of the
sea has upon the development and ener-
" of these huge Vent-holes through
which the mighty subterranem forces
occasionally speak To the inhabitants of
the earth thin crust.