The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-04-23
AS TO EARTHQUAKES.
o The Salt Lake Herald.

To The Salt Lake Herald.
Under the head of real causes of
earthquakes" as given in your issue
of the 18th inst, 1 see scientists are
not all agreed Some have, however,
given their theories. While not a pro-
fessional, have during the past fifty
years given that wonderful phenomena
considerable study from a practical
standpoint, having spent several years
in a volcanic country where earth
quakes were of frequent occurrence,
and have experienced hundreds, If not
thousands of different shocks, more or
less severe. Just previous to an erup-
ton as high as twenty to thirty have
been known to occur in a single day
1t is well known that the Sandwich
islands are Of volcanic origin, in fact
the eighteen islands comprising that
group have each in turn been formed
by volcanic eruptions and lava flows.
At first the lava flow comes UP through
the ocean from the bowels of the earth
beneath. These periodical flows con-
t1nue, perhaps. for a period of hun
dreds Of ages, adding layer upon lay
er of molten lava until a great island
mountain was formed in the ocean.
These volcanic islands vary in height
from 10000 to ZOO feet and in circum-
ference 200 to 400 miles. The discharge
of such vast quantities of molten ma
terial from the bowels Of the earth
would naturally leave immense chasms
below.
When the gases and fires in those
great chasms had become exhausted
another eruption would occur, perhaps,
200 miles away, when another island
building would begin, and thus con-
tinue until the smoldering internal
fire finally reached the site where it
commenced to build the great island
| of Hawaii and here the unextinguish-
able fire still burns. On this island is
the greatest living crater in the world
the wonderful Kilanea, which for
hundreds of centuries has been adding,
periodically, its thousands Of lava flows
to increase the sic of that huge island
of lava, now over 400 miles in circum-
ference, with three volcanic mountains
Il, 900, 1900 and Il, 900 feet high
The writer was an eye witness to
| three of those great eruptions of the
mighty Kianea when the lava flow
was forty TO sixty miles in length,
varying from one to five miles wide
and the depth, in places, several hun
dred feet.
| There are a number of causes for
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
| Following I give two theories:
| First, in those great subterranean
| chambers gas in large bodies is likely
! to accumulate when internal heat or
| smOldering fire coming in contact on
| the such bodies Of gas would explode
and an earthquake would be the result
! This theory has often been demon
| strated, on small scale, by the igni-
/ ton of gases which had accumulated
| in old workings in coal mines.
! Second-Water penetrating through
| the earth, and partly filing I'D those
great chambers, this water through the
! internal heat would become so intense
| ly heated that the accumulated COM
pressed steam would cause either an
| earthquake or possibly an eruption.
| Steam is frequently emitted from a vol
| canO before smoke and fire
| The theory of a faultring slip in the
earth's strata Is good but would scarce
| ly produce the kind of shock that
wrecked San Francisco. A faulting slip
/ has more the effect of opening a great
! chasm in the earth's surface in which
| a city with it's inhabitants would be
| engulfed in the yawning abyss
! As to the oil well theory, suppose the
vacuum caused by extracting the oil
were to fill with gas and that should
| by any cause ignite, the explosion
! would only be like that of a coal mine
a small affair. w. w. CLUFF,