Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1895-08-01
ANOTHER DEAD SEA FORMING.
Curious Process OF Degeneration by Lake
GeneSaret.

Curious Process Of Degeneration by Lake
GeneSaret
palestine Letter i'm Philadelphia Timcs)
VIII there be another sea of SodOm?
Lieut.. Lynch of the United states navy
has established the fact previously not
known with consummatc accuracy, that
the depression of the dead sea (also
knokn as the Sea of Lot and in the Scrip
lures as the Salt sea- Is over 1900 feet be
low the level of the Mediterranean, while
that of Lake Genesaret is 500 feet lower
than the ocean. The measurements were
made 20 years ago, long period in a
volcanic region. Lake Genesaret is con
ncCted with the Dead sea by the Jordan
flowing through it from north to south.
and engineers and scientists are satisfied
that the bed of the Jordan is gradually
sinking. My observations of the shores
of Lake Genesaret and those of the in
habitants of the neighborng towns and
villages indicate that the lake Is continu-
ously falling toward the bottom, while
the water il becoming denser from year
to year. The salt strata in its neighbor-
hood are growing constantly, 1t seems,
and sulphur springs are becoming ire
quent on the plains surrounding It, IN
the north and east of the lake the palm
trees, some of them alive more of them
| dead and barren, rise above the water at
a distance of from % to 40 feet from the
shore That they should have taken root
in the water is impossible, and the suppo-
sition is that they originally stood on
little islands that were submerged with
the sinking of the lakes bottom.
The catastrophe which resulted in the
destruction of the cities OF Sodom and
Gomorrah and in the formation of the
Dead sea is computed to have occurred
about 1900 years before Christ. The Dead
sea has puzzled scientists ever since and
many of it's remarkable features have
now been explained. It's depression below
the level of the Mediterranean is the
deepest known on earth. The bottom or
Lake Gencsaret is on "A much higher level
at present but if it continues to sink as
| if has done in the last 20 years a rcpeti-
ton of the events of 1000 years ago is not
improbable. AS the world has not been
treated to a spectacle of terrestrial evo-
lutions on a grand scale within hundreds
of years the creation of a second Dead
sea within the compass of ordinary travel
would surely attract the attention of all
1 civilized nations, and at the same time
help to solve many problems of a scien-
tifiC nature.
Josephus who was born in 81 r. c.. re-
ports that the water Of Genesaret was
clear as crystal, sweet and wholesome.
| tried to drink of it, but found it putrid
and nauseating. 1t left salty taste in
the mouth ! asked the fishermen plying
their trade on the lake as in biblical days
whether the water was always unfit fol
drinking purposes, and received answer
that it grew more and more foul every
year.
This seems to indicate that the surmiseS
as to the change of conditions in the lake
are correct The water of the Dead sea
as is we'll known, is entirely unfit for use
by man. The stencil arising from it Gre
ates a pestilential atmosphere for many
miles round. l have never been able tc
approach the lake in summer but the
natives have informed me that about thi:
time of the year the water, even FOO
below tho surface, acquires a temperatur,
. of 30 degrees. 1t has been observed tha
past midnight the temperature of the
; water on the surface measured in the
, neighborhocd of 100 degrees. There is
however, one false impression in the pub
, lie mind to be corrected: The Dead sef
: is not dead as to animal life. Hawks
cartridges, frogs and pigeons are numer
Gus upon its shores, and all sorts o
: crawling insects abound there; the slug
, gish waters, too, are covered with ducks
in fact, the fauna is the same as that in
habiting the shores of Lake Genesaret
/; with this difference, however, all speci
mems of the animal world about the DeaC
sea are slate colored, while those enliVen
4 ing the shores and the surface of Lake
t Genesaret wear their ordinary plumag'
and scaly dress respectively.
The Lake Genesaret, also called the Sea
of Tiberias or Galilee is situated 60 mile
| north of the Dead sea. It's extreme
I length is Il miles, its greatest width sil
and three-quarter miles. The water il
very deep, even at the shores. In SOM
spots it's depth measures 1860 feet, in other
750 and more. In the northeast and north
n west the shores are fiat and swampy; tn
mountains of Safed approach the lake il
@ the north in the west We have the hill
a of El-Hamma and Hattin. The volcani
t plateau of Jaulan commences in the east
it is distinguished for many dead craters
t its greatest height is called Hermon AM
{ it wears an eternal snow cap. Palms tina
il bring forth no fruiting, papyrus plant
d and oleander flourish i'm the ncighbOrhoo
?, of the shore. The stones at the edge o
o the water are literally covered wit
II turtles, some of which grow over foo
It and a half long Ducks are plentiful i
= some parts; in others the pelican hold
= forth in large numbers.