The sun., 1906-12-24
EARTHQUAKE IN TUUKESTAN
EQUAL TO CALIFORNIA ONE,
SEISNOGR4PHS SHOW.
Registered All Over Italy, In Austria and
on the Isle Of Wlsht-Iust the Hima-
Iayas Growing. says Prof. Whine
Direct News From kOpal in siberia
Special Cabie Despatch 10 THE son.

Direct News From kOpal In siberia.
Special Cabis Despatch TO THE son.
KoPAL, Semiretchinsk, Dec. 2S.-An ex-
tremely violent earthquake lasting eleven
and half minutes was felt here at II 20
O'Clock last night. A large section OF kus-
sian Turkestan was affected.
ROME, Dec. 23The seismographs here
and at Bologna and Florence recorded last
night a violent earthquake at a distance OF
about 4 500 miles.
LONDON. Dec. 23.-Prof. Bear telegraphs
from Laibach:
Saturday evening a very severe earth
quake was registered here. The chief
tremor, about 1853 O'clock caused deVla-
ton Of "A millimetres on the seismograph.
at that moment was present and saw the
deviation Of the earthquake. which was
still continuing in a southeasterly direction
at a distance Of 4 .375 miles.
Sunday morning at SIS o'clock another
faint tremor was registered, followed by
stronger one at 8:s2 P. NJ. The latter earth
quake must have occurred more than $3.50
miles from Laibsch."
Prof. Milne says: AT s:3i o'clock
Saturday evening all my instruments at
Shide Hill House, Isle Of Wight, were set
In motion by the commencement OF a very
large earthquake, which attained its maxi
mum at 8'53 O'Clock. II had a duration
exceeding two hours and forty minutes.
It's greater motion was from north to south
It's east and west motion was somewhat
less.
From the interval OF time between its
commencement and maximum motion we
can cay with considerable certainty that its
origin was at a distance of at least 1900
kilometres or $500 geographical miles.
At this particular distance from Great
Britain we can look westward toward the
West Indies, an earthquake producing
centre, or toward that portion of central
Asia Immediately north of India.
although last year had earthquakes
at San Francisco and Valparaiso, which,
on account OF their destructive effects, at
tracted the attention of the world, still
larger earthquakes have taken place in
central Asia.
-The Himalayas and the mountains
north Of then are still growing, that is to
say the stratihed materials out OF which
they are m ade are still being bent, and
under the influence of this bending they
from time to time suddenly yield and snap,
1 and the jar accompanying the action may
give rise to vibrations which shake the
world.
About these earthquakes we hear very
little. for the districts are sparsely inhab-
tied. This earthquake which has occurred
| may be taken simply az a unit among the
sixty which, equally large, occur during
the given twelve months. The world is a
steady earthquake producing machine, but
the fact is not generally recognized because
big earthquakes only are reported when
they affect inhabited centres.
although / am inclined TO the belief that
Saturdays earthquake had its origin east
ward of Great Britain, still there is an equal
possibility that il occurred the same dis
tance to the west, but if this were the case
we should have telegraphic information.
Judging from the seismograms, Of which
we have four excellent examples at Shide
Hill House, l should say that this earth
quake was greater than the one which de-
stroyed Valparaiso and about the same as
that in central California in April"
Kopal is an important centre in the
eastern portion of Russian Turkestan. IL
lies 200 miles north of the Chinese border
and the great Thian-Shan range and 10
miles south OF Lake BalSash. Ii is tho
chief town of the Government of Semire-
chensk, a rich fruit. grain and cotton region.
The town has been Cossack station since
ls4I and numbers over 5 600 inhabitants most
Of whom are Cossacks. 1t is situated in
mountainous country trave rsed by the
Ala -taw, a spur Of the Than-Sha range.