The record-union., 1891-01-18
TIDAL INFLUENCES.
THE THEORY OF ONE WHO HAS
MADE CLOSE OBSERVATIONS.
Why the Strait of Carquinez Always
Swallows the Immense Masses of
Floods From the Valleys.

Floods From the Valleys.
The greatest valley floods never yet
raised the flowing tide in this potential
tlde-bearer the major fraction of foot
probably never so much as tenth of a
loot, according to the casual observation
OF nautical men frequenting and expert
enced in it (the best authority in such a
case on such matter, for the eye of the
practical sailor or waterman notes habit
ually and almost by instinct, the pro-
gress, regress and peculiarities of tides.
Yet from time to time, during the gener-
elton last past, grave doubts and alarms
rs to the capacity of this giant factor of
the ocean have been raised on the very re-
spectacle and very weak opinions of
landsmen and lubberly land engineers.
l well wot of a really accomplished
average civil engineer, who, once in the
presence of an official body having ap-
propriate functions, became pathetic in
prophecy of terrible disaster because Car
quine2 wasn't big enough to take and
carry great valley floods. 1t was one of
those VagarieS without q single fact to
support its theory, that are hatched and
too often tledged under color of scientific
pretension. and which, by the sheer effect
OF promulgation in the name of science,
carry doubts and something of disnay
into the public mind without so much as
g shade of a shadow of demonstration.
In view OF the undisputed history of
CarquineZ Strait and its all-time past
performances in the discharge of valley
floods, | cannot doubt its power to dis
pose at once of any body OF flood water
that may be presented at the northern
lobe Of open water in Suisun Bay by a
tidal channel through the MontezuIna
peninsula.
Whether backset of water would tenn
porarily result upon the bay islands can
never be known by computation, from
any data existing or attainable. without
the operation of the MontezuIla Channel
itself, which would solve the question
conclusively, without computation at all.
Doubtless acres of figures could be made
to apparently prove anything and really
prove nothing, and regiments OF mathe-
NAUTICAL physicists be found to make and
verify them to the best of their knowledge
and belief. Nothing OF that kind in this
matter should be trusted or tolerated.
Every possible net damage to property
ought to be, and under the elementary
law of our State would be paid. Such
damage, If ever found at all, could be no
more than an infnitesimal offset against
legions of great benefits of most substan-
tial kind, even the general habilitation Of
q new earth OF prime worth in these val
leys.
OF the things that I do not know,
which are many. Of my firm beliefs,
which are few, perhaps the chiefest Of all,
next to the supremacy of Di-
vine intelligence, is the belief
that flood waters delivered by the
Montezuma Channel, If ii is TO be, viii be
no more floods, except as copstitu-
ents Of the mighty ,ebb and flow, until
resurrected again by evaporation from
old ocean and again transported and de-
posted by the powers Of the air upon
this or another land.
just here charity, as against current
scientific opinion in the main, L venture a
thought that a thorough tidal current at
ebb has greater power and capacity for
DISCHARGE than a non-tidal or Seui-tidal
river current of like vertical section.
The practical paraphrase of this thought
was expressed by the writer in a publica-
ton made September 2l, 1878, il the fol-
lowing words:
"Fhe home of the tides is very slightly
perturbed by the river floods that de-
vastate the river margins so grievously.
r The flowing tides frcm the sea, that man
tendS OFT SO easily and effectualiy have
power to drag after them at cob the
whole riyer food that defies him and his
works. any quantity of water appear
ing at the door of the tide Will pass out
high tide worthy OF remark. 1t IS this
truth that gives such paramount import
ance to q tidal channel through the Monte
yuma. :"
During these twelve years, since those
words were indited, they have been vim
dicated and verified by the elements OF
more than one heavy river flood, as they
heretofore had been guaranteed by un-
numbered floods preceding them. But ]
here return to my theory of tidal forces
and boast nothing.
River currents are the effect of gravita-
ton operating in the direction OF the
earthS radl, and causing progress on
lines of inclined planes such as the
earth's surface may happen to indicate
for them. The inherent cohesive prop
erty OF water cuts small figure as q factor
in the progress of flowing stream solely
impeiled by gravitation, toward tie
earths center. The prevailing character
istic of rivers is thai OF the greater de-
clivity near the source and the lesser neal
the debouchure.
The tractile effect of cohesion is thus
neutTanzed by the more rapid current
near the source, which thrusts the slower
current forward instead of being itSelt
drawn forward by cohesion to the latter
The exceptions, such as the Falls Of the
Nile, the Niagara, the Congo, only prove
the rule, to-wit: That the water of rivers
glides, rolls, rushes, tumbles, etc., with
slightly appreciable assistance from the
tractile property incident to the cohesion
of its particles, which traction when in
maSsed volume under tidal influence, is
brought into steady and most effective
action, together with the earth's gravity
as well.
Most effective,.I say, for the motor
OF the ocean tidai rise is not the effect OF
gravitation toward the earth's center, but
the forces operating in quite different
direction, as instance the attraction o.
(grayitation toward) the sun and the
moon, the centrifugal force of the earth's
diurnal revolution. and so on. That the
inducements to the tides are but imper.
fectly understood by those best informed
in them is non-eSSential and indeed
hardly Preferential to my theory of the
power Of the ebbing tide to draw along
with it great accommodations of water
not placed by the flowing tide ut all, but
by floods from the inland watershed. Ii
is quite sufficient for my purpose to know
the mode in rise and fall of tides as III
ferred from these two facts, respectively
seen and universally admitted.
Ocean tidal elevations occupy immense
surfaces on the planet and advance with
stupendous velocity; yet the water com.
posing them advances almost not ut all
it is simply lifted up, and when the tida
elevation has passed by and the water
falls, it recedes not at ali, except from is
elevation. 1t is lifted and lowered in
mass, the surface and the depths stimuli
taneously. Ifonly the surface water was
affected by the rise, surface radii currents
darting toward the eliminating point o
the rise. We know no such thing hap
pens. Hence, repeat, the surface ant
the depths rise in correspondence, and al
IS serene. Nor can we imagine that tbs
whole mass OF ocean is lifted clear Of it