The Hawaiian gazette., 1902-05-27
SEISMIC CALIFORNIA.

II is not SO very long ago that earth
auakes and volcanoes played havoc
with California. When Commodore
Stockton anchored in San francisco
bay, in 1876, old Pablo, an lndian, 'oiu
him that in the days of his grandfath-
err. the Golden Gate was split opeh by
a great shock, letting the waters OF the
sea flow into the valley of the Sacra-
mento Before that time, said the IN
dian, the river entered the sea some
where beyond the San Jose mission
There were scientists on board the nag
ship who wanted to know whether this
story could be confirmed by the testi-
mony of the rocks. and. on looking at
the mighty cleavage of the Gate, they
decided that the opening was OF COM
paratively late origin. The fact re-
called to them that Sir Francis Drake
could not find any bay where Is now
the port of San Francisco and was
forced to content himself with enter
ing Half Moon bay, a little distance to
enc side. At a later time sclehtihc
men found the old bed of the Sacra-
nento near San Jose and also MADE up
their minds that the Islands in san
Francisco bay were the crests of sub
merged hills.
John Muir than whom no one better
knows the California mountains, thinks
that the cinder cones of Lassen We're
In active eruption about one hundred
or one hundred and fifty years ago
He judges by the age of trees growing
in the craters together with the fact
that the Eel river Indians date the out
break-wbich their traditions graph
.cally describe-some four generations
back.
II we accept the view that volcanic
eruptions are sometimes caused by
chemical reaction-and there Is Sood
reason to do so-then II follows that
California is not yet out OF danger. Az
the Geysers where strange springs Doll
and squirt and where steam blows out
Of great holes with enormous force.
there is n marked showing of chemical
energy. Some of the chemical waste
appears in pink terraces like those OF a
famous volcano in New Zealand. All
over the State hot springs abound and
these are usually held to have some
relation to the causes that produce
eruptions. 1t was the presence OF a
hot spring in the crater OF an old vol
cano of Japan, supposedly extinct
which led Prof. Milne to warn the pub
lie that the mountain was not dead
The next year its cap blew off, destroy
ing three townships. Shasta, the great
snow clad peak in northern California
has warm spring in the crater; bu'
it Is a great while since lava came from
that mountain. When it did, however
places forty miles away got more thar
their share OF 1t.
In the southern part of the STATE
signs OF volcanic action abound, espe
cially in Inyo county where the earth
auakes of 1868 were so severely felt
The Colorado desert. where the remain
of a whale were found the other day
was raised bodily above the water
that once covered II, Sea shells ar
scattered on its sandy surface. 4 littl
further south, in Mexican california
there Is a large area of active mu
geysers and bubbling inky lakes.
So II IL far from certain that Cali
fOrnia, which now has nothing wors
than earthquakes to contend with, ma
not one day see an ancient crater re
sumo business. Perhaps such thint
assuming no catastrophe to follow
would be a gain: for clearly. the in
prisoned gases under California, an
which give II SO many seismic shock
need a vent such as an active volcar
only can provide.