Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1895-11-20
EARTHQUAKES IN AMERICA.
&las as ChAsiIstou Was Tslf as . Distane(
OF 600 AnsG

S<S0 s0SOrA\SS NV t%"8UbSSS
Aas q chAsilston Was Tslf at . Distanes
! Of 600 Anss
tJThere have been three great earth.
| lakes in the United States during
he present century," said Professor
| hilbert the geologist, TO q writer for
he Washington Star. "One that
Vas very remarkable occurred in 1911
nd 1872 near the head of the delta
the Mississippi It embraced q
lumber of severe sho ks at short in.
ervals during several months. In
act, the disturbance lasted for about
wO years. The ground was moved
visible waves by which the trees
the forest were rocked and in some
ases uprOOted their branches be ng
entangled that it was impossible
o separate them. GreIt cracks in
he earth yawned and closed again at
ach shock, while from the fissures
nud was thrown into the ar so vio-
emily as to lodge in the branches of
rees. Some lakes we're drained Dy
he escape of their water into the
;hasms which were opened, while
'thers weSe created by the sinking OF
he land. One great sunken area
hus produced was eighty miles long
~ thirty five miles broad. The other
;wO big Quakes to which refer &C.
,urred so lately - to be remembered
~ the present generation. One OF
hem happened IN the Inyo Valley of
Callforn a 1t was caused by a re-
lewed movement on what we geolo.
:ists call a great fault plane at the
eastern base OF the Sierra Nevada
Mountains In that part of the
world there Is extensive 'faulting' in
The structure Of the mountain ranges,
Zach range consisting of one or more
nuge blocks of rock bound by faults
and lifted above its neighbOrS. A
iault is made by the sinking of one
mass Of rock in such a manner as TO
change the relation of its elevation
TO that Of mass ad Oi1tn9. The
creation of such faults is often Incl
dental to earthquakes. The renewed
along the great fault limo
Of the Inyo Valley In 1872 produced
n tremendous seismic disturbance.
The shocks continued Tor fourteen
Great assures were formed
along the base Of the mountain range
for q distance Of forty miles the lanI
west of the fault rising and east OF
1t falling several feet A fence was
parted for a distance OF fourteen feet
In one spot. Owens River was TEN.
pOrarilyswallOwed up, and the numer-
Gus other phenomena excited the as
isl .A o1 <,P <,h,
The memory Of the Charlie ton
OF 1856 is yet vivid. Th
focus Of the disturbance was about
fifteen miles west of the city. Numc !
Dus big cracks opened Ia the earth of
the surround ng country. Water and
mud were thrown up, and railway
tracks were disiocated and buckled.
The tirst great shock lasted for about
\ minute, Others following with
gradually decreasing violence At
The end Of four weeks they ceased to
be destructive, but tremOrs were felt
for several months.
Twenty-seven people were killed out
right. The invention of the delicate
re Ording instrument called the
'seismOgraph' has revealed the fact
that earthquakes are far more num-
erOus and frequent than used to he
Imagined. In some parJ; OF the
world feeble shocks occur almost
daily. Probably there is no part Of
the earth where they cannot be de-
tected at short intervals One of the
most remarkable quakes of this cOun,
try took place in 1923. On that Oc.
basiOn several hundred miles OF the
coast were lifed a number OF feet It'll
has been recKOned tina: enough rock
was thus elevated to make a mount
ain the 81 e of Mount Etna The
harleston earthquake was felt dis
tinctly at distance Of 900 miles A
of time showed that the !
shock Travelled at the rate of l1,OoU
feet second. The assures In the
earth's crust, which are among the :
most terrifying of seismic phenomena,
must be Of great depth sometimes,
though nobody has ever tried to !
fathom them. They have been
known to swallow rivers for days
being filed up Severe shocks
are commonly accompanied by sounds
ike explosions near or distant |,
: euakes under the sea produce waves
On the surface like those created by
pebble thrown into a pool, and some.
lines such waves rush up on the
and, doing a great deal of damage.
There has been much dispute as
20 the causes of earthquakes They
ire often associated with volcanic
phenomena When the lava of a
'olcano contains much water the
after is converted into steam and
produces explosions which jar the
,round for miles. The explosion OF
he great mine at He'll Gate, In New
fork, Occa Toned trem mblings of the
'arth which were observed LIS miles
way"
Love OF the Fantastic.
When we behold the wonderful re.
ults obtained by florists who bring
,lantS notably roses panSicS and