The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1894-08-25
descriptive Srtirles.
FALL OF A BIG MOUNTAIN.
Details of the Great Landslide in the
Himalayas.
cyrus G Adams in n. Y. Sun Of August -.

Cyrus C. Adams in N. Y. Sun of August 70.
Many of the readers of the the Sur
may recall the great landslide in the White
Mountains of New Hampshire in 1926
when mass of earth, weighing hundreds
of thousands of tons, became so weighted
by the waters of heavy rain and and SC
! loosened from the earth beneath it that il
slid down the slope by force of gravity
burying the Wiley family, who had fled
from their house, spreading deluge Of
stones over the valley, and leaving the
house itself intact, protected as it was from
the rushing torrents of rock and earth by
an enormous rock mass behind it which
warded off the stream. Landslides, how
ever, are not of frequent occurrence or great
importance among our Appalachians. They
are among the Oldest mountains of which
We have knowledge, and most Of their
strata which occupied an unstable position
were long ago removed. 1t is very differ
ent among the comparatively young Him.
alayas, where the process of mountain de-
graduation is rapidly going on, and land
slides and mud avalanches are leading feat
ures in the work. Every little while lakes
are formed among these lofty and precipi-
tous mountains by land slides that fall en-
tirely across the narrow valleys, damming
up the rivers. Early in June last we
heard of the bursting of one of those dams
in northern India, and the pent-up waters,
that had formed deep lake, poured down
the valley with very disastrous results.
In September, last year, occurred one Of
the greatest land slides that has been re-
corded among the Himalayas 1t was a
typical Himalayas landslip on very large
scale, and the first detailed information
about it has just been published by Ma
tire, together with picture of the lake
that now deeply covers the valley where a
river had taken its course This material
was collected by Mr. T. H. Holland of the
Indian Geological Survey, and most of the
facts in this article are from his report.
The scene of the catastrophe was in the
central Himalayas, British Gurhwal, where
the little river Birahi Ganga. until its
stream was damned up, flowed westward
to the Alaknanda, one of the principal
tributaries of the Ganges. The bed of
the river is 1900 feet above sea level, and
the valley is nearly mile wide. On either
side rise mountains, steep and sometimes
precipitous, many of whose tops are two
miles above the sea. The spectator is sup
posed to be standing on the dam that was
so suddenly thrown across the little river.
In the foreground he sees the river waters
which, hemmed in by the great barrier,
have spread out over the valley, filling it
from side to side We see the narrow
gorge above, through which the river enters
the new lake, and the jagged mountains in
the background, nearly four miles high,
whose eternal SHOWS are the source of the
stream that is now attracting so much at
tention. This lake view gives an added
charm to the typical wild and grandiose
Himalayan landscape. The steep mountain
sides, green with fir and oak, slope to the
blue green waters of the lake, while to the
east Tirsul and two other snow and glacier
clad SUBMITS are in striking contrast with
the softer tints and scenic effects nearer at
hand
Along this valley were well-tilled fields,
now buried hundreds of feet under the
water mass A few small clusters of
houses dotted the banks of the river The
valley was smiling with peace and plenty
when, on Sept 6 last, came the catastrophe
that has so marvellously changed its as
pect. II was toward the close of the rainy
season that the great hill, known to the
natives as Maithana, seemed to pitch bodily,
rather than to slide, into the valley
Very little could be seen of the terrific
occurrence, for clouds of dust instantly
arose that darkened the neighborhood aud
fell for miles around, whitening the ground
and trees until they seemed to be snow
covered. This hill was spur of higher
mountains behind it, and was over l / 900
feet, or about two miles high 1t rose
almost vertically from the edge of the val
ley slope on the north side of the river.
The foot of this towering mass had been
undermined by springs until there was no
longer an adequate base, and in the twink
ling of an eye large part of the mountain
slid down, pushed forward, and shot across
the valley, presenting to the little river a
lofty and impervious wall against which its
waters have ever since been gathering
Masses of rock were hurled mile away,
and knocked down trees on the slopes
across the valley. Many blocks of dolomit-
ic limestone, weighing from thirty to fifty
tons, were sent like cannon shots through
the air. The noise was terrific, and the
frightened natives heard the horrible din
repeated at intervals for several days, for
the first catastrophe was succeeded by a
number of smaller Sides Even five months
after the mountain gave way every rainy
day was succeeded by falls of rock; and it
was an imposing sight to see blocks of do
lomite weighing tons bounding from ledge
to ledge for more than 5000 feet over the
broken hill face.
A dam SO imposing and effective was
never built by human hands. A careful
II IL