The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-07-25
SOIL FROZEN FOREVER,
Where the Ground IL Perpstuaiiy Fronen
90 . Depth OF ola Fset-curious
Facts About the Limits OF
Heat and Cold.

from the Lena river. says Goidthwaites
Geographical Magazine. a. every body
did In that far northern town. but he
would dig we'll and have water nj
his own door. So he set TO work with
pick and shovel. After his men had
dug through the few feet Of earth that
had been thawed by the summer sun
they declared that they had struck
solid rock. II was only frozen soil.
however. and the merchant kept them
at work all that summer. Noxt year
he courageously resumed work, ex-
pecting at every foot he dug 20 get
through the frozen earth; but after
penetrating los feet In solidly frozen
soil. he covered the big hole with
boards and decided that river water
was good enough for him
The Imperial Academy OF Sciences
at ST. Petersburg heard this remarkable
story, and they thought II good idea
TO see how far frost extended toward
the center OF the earth at Yakutsk.
They kept up the work for many
months When they had reached a
depth OF 1872 feet and were still in
solidly frozen ground. they gave xp
the job. carefully covered the well TO
exclude the external air. and finally
sent scientific man 10 take the tenn
perature throughout the well.
From these observations the conclu-
sion was reached that the ground on
which Yakutsk stands. excepting
few feet at the surface. which thaws
out In summer is perpetually frozen
10 depth OF 612 feet. In that region
the greatest depth OF permanently
frozen soil In northern ATTITUDES doubt
less exists. and the reason Is that there
is found the greatest cold that has
been experienced in northern ATTITUDES.
II Is a mistake 10 suppose that the
weather Is colder the further north one
goes. The northern pole OF greatest
cold is only about 800 miles northeast
OF Yakutsk, where the mean annual
temperature is little lower than in the
highest ATTITUDES reached by Mares
and Greedy 1000 miles further north.
The British Association has collected
a large amount OF data on the questio
OF the depth and geographical limits
OF permanently frozen soil. They have
already told us some curious things,
such as the fact that excellent wheat
lands north OF Manitoba overlie frozen
earth that never thaws Sometimes
biologists find strata Of rocks that they
are able TO show must have been
buried at remote age 20. 900 feet un-
der the surface. These upturned edges
OF rock, which some terrible convul-
sion lifted 10 the air. give us glimpse
OF the condition OF the interior some
ways below the greatest depth TO
which we can attain.
But after all. what we are able 20 ex-
anime In the earth beneath our feet Is
hardly more than what pin prick on
the skin OF an apple shows OF tho fruit
within. Tho workmen in the deepest
mines OF Europe swelter in almost in
tolerable heat and etthey have never
penetrated over one-seven thousandth
part from the surface to the center OF
the earth. In the lower levels OF
some OF the Comstock mines the men
fought scalding water. and could labor
only three or four hours az time
until the Sutro tunnel pierced the
mines and drew Oft some OF the terri
BILE heat. which stood at 1909. The
deepest boring ever made, that at
Spercnberg. near Berlin. penetrates
only 4. l72 feet about 900 feet deeper
than the famous artesian we'll at st.
Louis.
Some eminent physicists. for in
stance, like Sir William Thomson,
have believed that the crust OF the
earth Is NJ least 500 miles thick. The
majority adduce good reasons for be-
lieving that the crust Is only twenty
five TO fifty miles thick. All agree
that IL the temperature within the
earth continues 20 increase as IL does
near the surface-at the rate OF one
degree Fahrenheit for about every
hfty-fve feet of descent-all igneous
rocks must be fused nj no great depth.
In fact, at this rate OF increase, the
temperature nc 200 miles Is lS. 0O0s
Fahrenheit which Is Prof. Rosetti's
estimate OF the probable temperature
OF the sun.
II Is improbable, however. that this
rate OF increase Is maintained for a
great distance, and many physicists
believe that at some unknown. but not
very great depth, the increase In tenn
perature ceases
One OF the most wonderful things In
the study OF sciences Is the fact that
the mysteries OF one science are some
times completely or partly explained
by knowledge CLEANED In some other
department OF study. II Is thus that
naturalists who have investigated the
fauna and fora OF scores OF Pacific
islands have learned how far south
Asiatic types prevail. and have added
great weight 10 the conclusions of