The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-05-16
MAY AFFECT
CANAL ROUTE
INTERESTING THEORIES PUT
FORWARD BY SCIENTIST.
NICARAGUA IN FIRE ZONE
Volcanic Disaster Will Encourage Al.
vocates Of the Panama
Canal Route.

FL -.....Na" S0sb0 GNOOSVs ..
Philadelphia, Pa, May 14.-"Apart
from its appalling characteristics the
eruption of Mt. Pelee, on Martinique,
and the volcanic disturbances on the
adjacent island of st. Vincent have a
most important bearing upon the prob
lem Of trans-isthmian canal construc-
ton. It emphasizes to the geologist
very plainly the danger to which a
canal will be subjected which is plan
ned on the Nicaraguan route with ac-
tive and sentative volcanoes located
directly on the line and Immediately
about it. On the other hand, the route
of the Panama canal is not menaced
by either active or semi-extinct vol
canoes"
This statement was made last night
by Prof. Angelo Heilprin, of this city.
Prof. Heilprin is one Of the highest
authorities of geology and volcanic
phenomena in the country. He was
recently elected president of the Geo
graphical society of Philadelphia, and
is a member of the Academy of Natur-
al Sciences and of the board Of d.
rectors of the American Geographical
society.
Continuing, Prof. Heilprin said:
With the emphasis which is now Civ
en- by the present eruption to the sim
liar catastrophe events that have pre-
coded it in the last half century, it
would hardly be less than folly to en-
bark upon an enterprise of such vast
magnitude and importance as is con-
templated in this canal along the
route which has been first recommend
ed by the isthmian canal commission,
when there is a choice of routes left
to us in another region which has
thus far shown itself to be entirely
free from destructive manifestations
of this nature.
There is no eason to assume that
any new volcanoes will be suddenly
constituted in that region. Earth
quake disturbances, which are so
largely associated with the region and
which are in a great measure depend
upon volcanic phenomena are, as
compared with those of the Nicara-
guam region, notwithstanding truly
destructive earthquake having been
known in Panama since 1921.
"The sudden disturbance in the
present instance would seem to be
due to an almost instantaneous gen.
GRAFTON of steam. But Pelee, as well
as the volcanoes of st. Vincent and
the ~neighboring Caribbean islands, is
situated in a region of extreme weak
ness OF the earth's crust, which has
it's parallel in the Mediterranean bas-
in on the opposite side of the Atlantic.
This American region of weakness
extends westward from the Lesser
Antilles across the gulf into Mexico,
are some of the Hottest vol
canoes of the globe, such as Popocat-
epetl and Orizaba, both now in a SOM
nolent condition, and in the more
westerly volcano of Colima, which has
been in almost continuous eruption
for ten years.
The same region of weakness in
cludes almost the whole of Central
America, the volcanoes of Costa RIGA
and Nicaragua having been repeated
ly active almost up to our own time.
'The assertion has been made that
there has been a decrease in the vol
canic potentaility of these volcanoes,
but no geologist is in a position to
assert that this is so, and it should
be no surprise to any student were
some of the volcanoes to burst out
with the same vigor and intensity as
did Mt. Pelee or La S%oufriere, of St.
Vincent.
"The latter have demonstrated the
condition of extreme weakness which
exists in that entire region and which
had it's beginning ages ago in the
breaking down of the Andean system
of mountains and the consequent for
nation of the Caribbean and Gulf
basis. That part of Martinique which
has been covered with flowing lava
will remain a barren rock for centur-
les and it will take almost as long for
decay to start in the cinders which
have been spread on other parts of
the island.
Until that shall happen there will
no soil on which the former lux
rriant vegetation could take root. It
would not be surprising if the great
overflow Of lava from the volcano
left SO great a cavity underneath the