The Hawaiian gazette., 1896-06-16

owing TO the Circumstance that the
huoyant effect OF the water practically
reduces the SPECIFIC gravity of the rock
at least one-third- Now let US see il
we cannot explain some of the anon
allies have pointed out We can under
stand better. at any rate, how il hap
pens that the windward side of the ISL
and is so quickly and so extensively
undermined. / remember how utterly
incredulous I was when first told that
/ the Hamakua and Hilo cliffs were be-
lieved to be due simply to the action of
the ocean swell could see that this
must mean encroachment of the ocean
half . mile or mile into the base of
! the mountain Besides. there is deep
water, right up TO the base Of these
cliffs. Now the action of sea waves
is ordinarily limited to a depth of a
few fathoms only, so that as they eat
into the land a platform is left, that
very soon prevents the waves from
breaking with any power directly on
the coast; they form instead a fringe
of breakers at little distance from
the shore. But grant that the compact
superstructure of the island rests on
comparatively loose heap of frag-
mental material. and you find no long
er difficulty in crediting the evidence
OF your eyes. Gig. ~
Look now again at the great preci-
pice have spoken of on the windward
side of the Kohala mountain. Notice
next that this line Of cliff is indented,
as you can easily see on the map.
Wares have the power of cutting OF
points and projecting angles of land.
They do NOS form bays or reeesses
Ike this Now suppose the cliff the re-
suit OF fault determined by the Civ
ing way OF the foundation, and all is
clear. The catastrophe may have been
caused Immediately By internal vol
eanic force. perhaps by a assure ad-
hitting water TO the heated interior of
the mountain; it was made possible
after all by the peculiar form and
structure Of the substratum-
But look again at the remarkable val
ley Of Waipio. at the extreme east end
Of the precipiee7a gorge with walls
nearly perpendicular. over which.
whenever it rains, scores of cascades
fling themselves. one perennial stream
plunging in series of leaps nearly
TWO thousand feet, without having
worn itself. as yet any deep channel In
the rock This gorge surely cannot be
the result Of erosion See how its
course turns almost at a right angle. |
so that its upper part is nearly par
ailel with the coast, and directly across |
the direction Of the slope of the nsaun-
tain Then look at that second WILEY |
al the west end Of the precipice and see
how that one also turns near its head
at right angie Do you see what it |
all means? We suppose that a block |
OF land has split OF from the noun
tain and been engulfed in the ocean: /
second block, it seems, split arav. but
did not quite 60 the way OF the first.
Can you find any other satisfactory 1
explanation Of the facts? / do not
know that any has been hitherto Of
Tered
In the light of this instability of the
foundation Of volcanic island, LOOK
again az the chasm which splits the
Of Haleakala, forming the Koo-
du ana haupo gaps IN its crater, and
observe how II can be accounted for
5y supposing that the western half of
he mountain has slipped away, from al
Yielding Of its underpinning- Then
study the coast hne and find vertical
'ion OF the ths0ry IN the evidence you
vii see that the coast here has actual
y been submerged The fact has been
pointed out; its significance seems not
o have been recognized
The deeply cleft mountain Of west
laui, with its stupendous chasms. can
De explained. no doubt, in q similar
Fay. and such explanation is the more
probably correct since this mountain.
= vel a. HaIeakala. is more steep
han the average lava cone
Southern Hawaii furnishes several
Of tines Of fault running pay-
'Ilsl With fha coast and Ct no great