The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-25
IT sPoUTs Sixty FEET.
A Curious Phenomenon of Natur al
Santa Cruz, Cal.

A Curious Phenomenon of Natur at
Santa Cruz, Cal.
From the San Francisco Examiner.
One of the strangest things to be seen at
Santa Cruz these days is queer spouting
rock, or rather tunnel and rocky aperture,
through which the sea water boils and
bubbles furiously. Hundreds of people
have been out to see It, The queer spouting
rock was developed during the recent great
storm. Every two or three minutes alter
nately, volume of water 80 feet high
shoots into the air. To view 1t wholly from
the surface 1t appears to be a gigantic gey-
ser, compared with which those of the
Yellowstone park are at times Insignificant.
The water, which is thrown up in such q
great volume, is salt brine from the Pacific
ocean. For thousand years possibly, and
may be more, or,,nobody. knows, the waves of
the ocean have been playing such an
earnest game of hide-and-go-seek with
themselves and the rocky shore that they
have worn great chasms and tunnels into
the land
It is rock-bound shore. but the rock for
the most part is not very hard. 1t is mainly
silioious or micaoious sandstone of
light yellow hue, and if you walk over it
while IL is wet you must be cautious for
IL is almost as slippery as soapstone. In
this curious stone the waves have cut long
avenues and dug out caves for inland over
which people walk and never mistruss that
if the top should fall they would be
preoipitated into the sea.
In some.places the tops have already fallen
or partly ESQ. and one may peer over
the edge and look through queer circular
holes 80 feet down into the seething blue
waters. The tunnels, open outs and this
strange squirting rock are two miles south
Of Santa Cruz, not.far from the Esplanade
and in full view of the crescent BAY, the
mouths Of the Salinas and San Lorenzo
rivers and the white shaft erected TO the
memory OF the Franciscan friar, Junipero
Sierra. The azure OF the ocean, the faint
blue of the two wings of the Cascades and
the varied oolors Of the sky, with the other
surroundings, make the place one of singu-
lar beauty.
Il was odd to see such column EXTEND
ing out of what appeared to be a level
stretch of land, covered thckly with grass,
which for much of the year was reiolent of
wild flowers. Very fantastic the water ap-
peared. Day and night, at intervals of
two and three minutes, the column would
shoot up, and as suddenly fall only to APP
pear again as before. Throngs went to see
1t and wonder at its fantastic oolors. The
wilder the storm the loftier the column.
IL varied from 40 to 90 feet high, according
to the force of the waves.
An examination of the ground thereabouts
revealed novel things 1t was found
that a long. narrow groove or cut led into
the shore. IL was widest at the sea end.
like wedge, and grew narrower as it
reached into the land. Il extended about so
feet
Into this the waves thrashed and ham,
mered as they rolled in from toward the
mountains across the bay which border the
Salinas river. As the waves crashed
against the end of the tunnel they kept
wearing away the soft sandstone which
composed it and portion of the roof above.
At length the waves extended far beyond
the weak portion OF the roof, and there was
rebound which was very powerful.
GRADUALLY il ate away the roof.
Suddenly during the storm it burst
through, making an aperture about two
feet square and looking much like a hopper
TO grain mill. 1t appears to have been
at point where peculiar strain was put
on portion of the caprock, which cracked
and fell. When this occurred the water was
partially freed from the queer underground