Evening journal., 1902-09-15
FRESH SPRINGS
FROM OCEANS Bid
Origin Of River Having Gut
let Under Persian Gulf
Never Explained

ocean. not very far from the land, a
number Of openings have been discoy- |
cred in various parts of the world |
through which water as pure and fresh |
as that Of any bubbhng spring mingles |
with the salt water Of the sea. Anoth- !
er remarkable class Of fresh water
! springs Is those that sink out Of sight
or perhaps never come TO the surface
but follow hidden channels under the
land and under the sea until they final
ly come to the open air on an island
Both Of these types Of underground
rivers are perhaps most remarkably H.
! lustrated near and ON Bahrein island.
IN the Persian gulf. place that Is also
noted as one of the chief sources Of
pearls
Bahrein island, the largest of the
group of islands bearing that name, is
about twenty miles off the coast Of
Arabia in the Persian gulf AS the is
land has almost no rainfall it Is
dead level of sandy desert relieved only
by palm groves and patches Of vegeta-
I. tion where water springs to the sur
face from the mysterious underground
channels. In many places the water
does not reach the surface, but is found
by sinking wells. the water being rails
ed to the surface by donkeys and bul-
locks and poured into the channels
from which the date palms and other
crops are irrigated. These springs cam
, not possibly be derived from the island,
and it is no more likely that they come
. from the sandy wastes Of neighboring
Arabia. The Arabian shore as far as
can be seen IS low and devoid Of water
= except at El-Katlf where similar
I springs are found.
Arabs say that these streams come
straight from the Euphrates river
through an underground channel by
which the great river, in part. flows be
meath the Persian gulf. Biologists,
I however, have dismissed this theory.
Though the origin Of the springs has
= mot yet been satisfactorily explained.
: the most favored theory is that they
II come from the well watered slopes OF
h the Persian mountains far to the north.
r II this theory Is correct, it means that
l. the rainfall sinks into the earth's crust
r until It reaches impermeable rock
: strata along which It is carried for a
= great distance to the south out under
the sea until the rock. sloping upward,
"A lagaln brings the water near the sur
a face on Bahrein island. Some of thG
q wells that are thus supplied are enor
II nous, and one of them, the Adari
serves for the irrigation Of many miles
Of date palms through a canal of an
cient construction. The Adari well Il
one of the great sights of Bahrein, be
=. ing a deep basin of water % by A
u yards in size. The fact that 1t comes
from a far higher source is shown b!
es the force with which it enters the well
e. Divers, driven back by the strong cur
es rent are unable to reach the bottom.
ID There being no wells within miles o
l. some Of the coast towns OF Bahrein
rs they obtain water from springs tha
Issue from the bottom Of the gulf no
10 far from the shore. These springs o
he course have the same origin as tn
s. wells. Divers. with goatskins unde
el their arms, dive through the salt waite
sy and fill the skins with the cold, fresl
De liquid at the bottom. The water oh
to tained in this way usually contain
co slight admixture of salt water. 81
that the mixture is just a little brack
ish. At some of these openings at tn
sea bottom the head Of water entering
- the sea is so strong that when hollow
bamboos are pushed down into Il tn
- water rises through the tubes deliver
~ ing the fresh water directly into YES
II sells that are held by men and womel
a who are sitting in the boats tina
brought them from the land. Tn
force of some of the streams as the
come from the earth is so considerabl
that 1t pushes back the salt water, an
~ ~ the spring is not mixed with the Sc
~ water for quite a space around tn
n place Of entrance.
" 1t has been practically determine
or within the past few years that the wa
ters of a small river in West Afric
which disappeared in a fresh waite
swamp that has no visible outlet fin
their way by an underground chann'
90 into the Atlantic and mingle with th
81 sea through an opening in the bottol
cd that has been discovered few mile
from Cape Verde. A channel has bee
found on the sea floor which, appal
entity, was cut by some fresh waite
stream. During some soundings tina
es were made in 1895 for the purpose G
- finding and raising a broken cable tn
- vessel engaged in the work was sun
he rounded by swamp vegetation that wa
at- continually rising to the surface.
was evidently brought through the VI
1erground channel from the swamp.
The breaking Of n cable off the mout
of the Rovuma river in East Afric
on has been attributed to the desructiy
to action Of a strong current Of swee
ed, water entering the sea level sever;
op miles from the land. Another remarl
at able example of a submarine river
ns found to the north of the city of Aric
at on the Pacific coast Of South Americi
me A river from the Andes that is graz
ually swallowed up in the sand Ia
been found to make its way invisibl
"a into the sea. with which it unites som
- miles from the land.-New York Sun.