The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1896-10-09
TIDAL WAVES.
The Tremendous Speed at Which
They Sometimes Travel
Recorded Movements ot Recent Up
heavaIs in Pacific Ocean-Terri-
BILE Destruction Caused
by Them.

The recent tidal disturbances observed
at Vancouver island and at New river, in
Mcndocino county, indicate unerringly,
according to the gent 'eman locally con-
nected with the coast and geodetic sur
Ney, that one or more earthquakes have
tken place since the awful wave, that
caused the loss of 10000 or more lives IT
NessO. of June -. The exact date of
the tida disturbance at Vancouver
island is not known, so that there may
bC Il question whether the manifeSta-
tion there and at New river worked the
same natural convulsion. The register
attached TO the tidal gauge at Sausalito
told of the Yesso calamity before many
of the facts had been received by cable.
But the extent of the information
traced on the maregram at Sausalito, as
it is called, was only that there had been
an earthquake which had caused the
ocean to undulate in an unusual way.
The observer at Sausalito reports that
when the pencil attached to the tide reg
lister was recording the Japanese tidal
wave he could not see anything unusual
in the appearance of the water.
Earthquake waves or those given rise
by earthquakes are transmitted with
such enormous speed that the Japan dis
aster was recorded about - hours after
it occurred.
There are valuable records in the
Office OF the coast and geodetic survey
which show beyond question that
speed of six miles minute, or 300 miles
an hour. is to be expected under such
conditions.
The overwhelming of Simoda. town
on the island of Niphon, appears to have
been almost complete parallel in ply
steal manifestations with the recent oc-
currencc at GesSo. On the 23d of De-
cember, 1854. sharp earthquake shock
was felt in Simoda and upon the ship
| ping at a. IN. This was followed al
| quick intervals for half an hour. At
| $50 the sea was observed washing into
| the bay in one immense wave, 80 feet
! high. with awful velocity.
! In an instant the town of Simoda was
| overwhelmed and swept high from its
! foundations. This advance and reces-
sion of the water occurred many times.
! The Russian frigate Diana was hurled
| about ny the rising and falling of the
waters. which varied from less than
| feet to more than 20 feet.
Capt. II. y. Adams wrote of the ST.
mOda disaster that the sea rose live
| .fathoms above it's usual height. "over-
| flowing the town and carrying houses
! and temples before il in its retreat.
| When ii fell i left but four feet of water
| in the harbor- 1t rose and sank this
| way five or six times, covering ,he
shores Of th., bay with the wreck of
| boats, junks and buildings. Only 16
houses were left standing in the whole
! place. The entire coast of Japan seems
to have suffered"
That terrific happening was recorded
! by the tide register at San Francisco 10
hours and IS minutes later. The dis
tance between Simoda and San Fran
cisco is 4.527 nautical miles. The wave
trausmisSion varied. according to two
estimates. from 35S miles per hour to
80 miles per hour. or 6.2 miles per min
! ute. which is about siN times faster than
! the most speedy railroad train travels.
The tide gauge was established AT
| Fort Point about 1872 and was removed
to Sausalito by Prof. George Davidson
! in 1877. The first large earthquake re
| corded on the gauge mt this point was
that the Simoda. The great conVulsIon
atKraktOa. in The Strait of SuEda. hich
toc3, place only few years age. was reg
/ :stcrCd at the SauSalito tide gauge. ana
the news thata great earthquake had 0c-
Cured was made public by Prof. David
son weeks before the information was
| otherwise known. From calculations
based on the record made by the tide
gauge at Fort Point after the Simoda
disaster of 1854 the coast and goedclic
survey st mated the average depth of
the paci .ic ocean. and the accuracy of the
estimation has been subsequently dem
onstratcd by deoP-sca soundings. l. is
an interesting fact in view of the recent
calamity at Nesso, that the loss of life Icy
earthquake disturbances up to 1896 on
the entire earth has been at least IL, 900,
| OOO-San Francisco Call.