The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-01-21
BELOW THE SURFACE.
rent Cavorns I'm tho Earth From Which
Hot Rivers May Flow.

IN
Yfcat Cavorns I'm tho Earth From which
Hot Rivers May Flow.
# Las 1T over occurred to tho reader
Alat tho earth is not solid" rs wo COM
only say, but "honeycombed" with
enormous cavities, or cavorns, of all d.
&Penslons? If SO, why should these
fYerns not DO numerous everywhere in
8ee crust OF tho earth, some easily dis
2&Pvored, as the Great Mammoth Cave OF
81 entucky, and others novor yot soon by
ortal eye? These hugo cavities,
originally formed whom those portions
w tho earths crust wero In q melted
8Eato, and results OF tho unequal cooling
aF diifcront materials Of tho compost
4son and OF other Causes, il SO situated
10y form tho basis of worry interesting
l3speories. For instance, they may be
S3enerauy filed with wator, and thorc
S'ay exist great underground inland
S#as.
4 Tho source Of the Gulf Stream has nj
nays boon disputed question. This
35roas body OF warm wator is nothing
$H'or0 nor less than n stroam or rivor in
mo ooosn. flowing through tho coldc,
Sater. 1t was formerly thought tina.
33,pls stroam was formed in tho eouato-
5fal regions, where tho surface wator of
INC ocean was heated by tho sun, and
afSeon began to flow northward. But of
3fte theory has been advanced that
Sahis stream, which is just as
Fell defined off tho Florida coast
5as OFF tho Grand Banks, is stream of
lot wator Which issues from an or
35dco at tho bottom Of the sea somc.
|Shero among the Florida reefs Recent
lg tho photographic Office of tho Navy
department has boon endcavoring to do
Hermino If il is SO. and efforts lavo been
pade to find this orifico by tho uso of the
!soundlnE line. But if u stream of hot
water of tho proportions of tho gulf
|3tream docs issue from an orifico in tho
ped OF tho 4ca, thon what mighty boil
Ut thero must DO somewhere in tho bow
&ls OF tho earth, and wherever those
enormous fires burn through tho rocky
jjvalls of jho boiler, and tho water rush
sng in H. instantly converted into steam,
70 wondcrif explosions onsue that cause
2ho everything waters and tho carth's
crust to vibratc in great waves, which
Hvo call earthquakes. Very probably
&hls is tho case, for abundant evidence
ri, thoso explosions caused by tho con
Aact of fire and water whom tho oarth's
Rrust was first commencing to form is
everywhere apparent, only the effect Of
atmospheric changes has covered tho
siardncss of the face of tho earth with
KINDLY soil. and vegetation has clothed
Shls soil with tho smile of life. hut
SvhnrnVnr hf,r ct,
audiences of these steam explosions.
/ There is one great rock in tho Yosem
Ito Valley, several thousands of fec.
9iigh, standing alone, from which some
great CONFUSION of nature has split Oft
n hugh fragment and hurled it no ono
Knows whittier. But in tho course of
Hlmo tho carth's crust has grown thick
pr, and we at present know littlo of
Shese subterranean explosions, except
SShen the solid earth tremblcs in an
earthquake. Or, perhaps, it is tho
ormation of steam that raises tho lava
10 the mouth OF tho volcano and forces
i out upon tho plain, until another wall
Pas been built between tho fire and tho
Ssatcr in the depths of tho earth. Then,
POO, tho hot springs may show tho OK
3stcnco OF the subtcrrancous waters.
There are numerous other peculiar
which seem 10 be ex-
blaincd by this theory. For instance, it
Is said that great storm on the Atlantic
boast of tho United States is accompani-
fd by action of the gcyscrs of tho Vel
}owstono Valley, and this might be OK
planned If it could be proved that sub
|errancous wator way from ocean to
springs existed. 1t may be that this
bub-watcr protects tho surface Of tho
harth from great heat However, if
Pho earth DO not "salid,' as we generally
suppose, but pcrmeatcd with seas, chan
ncls and passageways of various kinds,
1T gives reasonable basis for somo OF
Jules Vcrne's stories, and probably ex-
plains many occurrences that at present
aro only mysteries. 1t remains for tho
future submarine vessel to solve this
problom.-Boston journal.