New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-10-08
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
WHAT THE sHR1NKAGE OF OUR GLOBE
PRODUCES.

of all natural phenomena, are no" Nei'
erally attributed by experts TO the Sill "
our globe as result OF the STEADY rau'""o" -
heat The readjustment Of rock strata anu NV
.xnr,sion ~ matter from huge vents occur Oh
,ourso IN the vicinity Of such cracks as may
have been previously formed by the wrinNhhs
~ the terrestrial she'll These faults OF
essures ore particularly liable to exist II mas
heen noticed on the edges OF continents whose
shores dip rather steeply into the sea 1ne
pac,ac Ocean is almost completely enclrcieu "s
inst such conditions. and there is an lrres"'"'
hut well-defned chain OF volcanoes anu ea 90
ouake- haunted lands all the way aro"hu :"
Nev-Zealand f. at one heel or hui
which extends up through the East iiu'N''
Jansn and Kamscnatka, and down asdi" A
Alaska to the southern extremity OF ''0 am
As between the two classes OF ols'ui JAM
the volcanic Is the more picturesque Il.
manifestations. has the greater snare III '''"i
ing the earth's surface, and leaves 'he INV,
substantial record OF its operations MI o.'i'
does Professor Russell confine himseI 10 'n.s
branch Of the subject. but he limits hifsel sum
further. SO far as his detailed study goes u ~"
r.,.or wing between the Isthmus Of Panama
and Behriag Strait. Incidentally ho"cVe'' nv
,arers ~ volcanoes elsewhere. Stromboh' TOT
xtantIv renewed cloud OF vapor. but wh'ch
rarely elects any solid material serves IA" q"
a spec,men Of the mildly active and deciifihs
49,. U,hvr,,ar.s description Of an eruption OF
Cotonaxi IN 1880, as seen from the summit Oh
c,,,rhora,o "a quoted as an illustration or the
explosive force manifested at times. "lIhi"
s,neIs minute dark column shot upward TO an
elevation Of twenty thousand feet above tHe
crater and IN O. few hours no less than TWO
r,,,,on tons Of dust was ejected The grandes'
axn,b,t,on Of volcanic power In modern times
&horgb was that on a little island In the straits
Of Sunda. in 1883 After great rumblings anu
nre,in,nary ouakings for forty-eight hours had
civsn notice that something was amiss with
I<rakatoa. an explosion occurred which rent the
mountain in pieces. and blew more than one
third OF It away into the sea- The sound was
hazard at least two thousand miles away. ana
some Of The finer particles that were shot UP
into the higher atmospheric currents completely
encircled the globe.
II Il pointed out that the more sudden and
disastrous eruptions are probably due TO the
leakage Of water into the region OF molten rock
Whether the former fluid has been hidden IN the
earth for incalcuable ages or has worked us
way downward from the surface Professor hus-
sell finds II difficult TO say. He inclines TO the
latter view To a considerable depth-not eX-
ceeding six miles. however-there Is great
deal of water stored away IN cavities ana
channels in the rocks; and when any serious
disturbance OF the latter occurs near volcano
the LIQUID Is brought in contact with intensely
heated masses, and Is Instantly vaporized.
Steam. if generated abruptly, IS almost as potent
an agent as ntro-glycerine.
Inasmuch as the West Indies are more IN
timately associated with South America than
North America, both geographically and Geoiog-
icaly. they hardly come within the scope OF Pro-
fessor Russell's work Iceland the scene OF con-
siderable volcanic activity IN recent times prop
erly belongs to Europe. while in Greenland there
Is no evidence Of either active or recently eN-
,inct volcanoes Passing reference is made 70
the basaltic columns of Lake Superior and the
palisades trap-sheet to show how molten rock
Is sometimes forced UP through vertical crew
ices. or out sideways between horizontal strata.
Another curious phenomenon Is the bodily up
lifting Of thick sheets Of rock into a broad fat
dome when there is intrusion from below
without a vent above. "Subtuberant mountains
NJ this class have been found in Wyoming and
South Dakota. If the Black Hills region could
be restored TO the condition IN which 1t existed
before the weather began 70 wear away the
bulge II would be discovered that the centre OF
II was seven thousand feet above the level OF
the surrounding country, and the area affected
was en- Irregular oval measuring so by 100
miles.
The belt to which Professor Russell devotes
his attention principally is divided into three
sections Central America and part or Mex
leo constitute one: Northern Mexico. the Pacific
coast region Of the United States and part OF
Canada, another; and Alaska the third At least
half Of the sixty-hve volcanoes noted in the
frst OF these sections are extinct; the re-
manning ones are either active or liable TO
become so The volcanoes Of our country
are all extinct, at least dormant. In Alaska.
from Mt Calder on the Prince Of Wales Island.
10 the furthest end Of the Meutian procession
there are at least ffty-seven craters, Of which
TWENTY-FIVE have shown some activity in recent
years.
The Youngest OF the Central American VOL
canoes still a snail one. rose from Lake
Ilopango, in San Salvador. in 1879. In 1880,
Conseguina, in Nicaragua, was rent by an x
plosion that had but one parallel On SumatI a..
until Krskatoa broke the record. Sand v as
showered over a region one thousand five hun
dred miles in diameter and the eruption was fol-
lowed by famous earthquakes in South America.
The latest important outbreak in Mexico &C.
CURED In 1893. Tuxtle was the scene Of il, and
In violence the Consegu,na eruption was nearly
approached. Coima. however. has shown mild
activity OF late notably IN 1869. 1872. 1873, and
1885 Since 1870 Ceboroco near San Blas) has
emitted steam continually; and SO have the
Three Virgins. on the peninsula Of Lower Call
fornia. for the last forty years.
Most Of the volcanoes in the United stares are in
the Cascade range. beginning with Lassen's Peak
and Mount Shasta, in Northern California. and
ending $50 far as we know at present. with
Mount Baker, in Washington. After describing
each one IN detail Professor Russell ventures
to dissent from one OF the widely accepted
theories of the origin OF this range. 1t has been
believed that the whole mass Is composed OF
volcanic rock. one layer superimposed upon
another owing to many successive outhows. The