The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-10-20
LOCAL GEOLOG|STS
SUGGEST REAS(M.1
FOR EARTHQUAKE
Volcanic Theory Not Cred
tied as Causing Disturb
ance Here-Birmingham
the Center

The quake that shook the south from
in Birmingham.
This is the conclusion reached after re.
viewing reports from the tremoring area
In Birmingham and Montgomery, the vi
brations of the earth were severe enough
to cause chimneys to be toppled ovel
by the shock. In Chattanooga. the shock
was perceptible, but in the other cities
the earthquake was hardly perceived ny
the residents.
No official report has been made of the
quake by the government bureaus, and
none is anticipated until the lapse of a
week, The Washington seismograph re-
ported that it was believed that the CEN
ter of the quake was 800 or 400 miles
from the central station. This is not
borne out by news reports. Birmingham
is over 450 miles on an air line from the
capital
Birmingham biologists are not positive
of the cause of the earthquake. T. IL.
Aldrich, one of the leading biologists in
the city, said that he believed the quake
probably would be attributed to some
fault of the earth near the Caribbean
sea. 1t is generally regarded that the
earth tremors were due to a slipping OF
the earth. and not to the low pressure
that prevailed, the storm or volcanic re-
action.
In regard to the quake, J. Campbell
Maben, Jr., considered as a widely in
formed student of geology and science, is
or the opinion that the shock came from
the southeast and travelled northwest.
AN earthquake is a series of vibra
tons begun in some region by local dis
turbances in the earth's crust, and prop
agated upward and outward from this
place as a center" he said Earth
quakes are of two great classes those
caused by vapors suddenly produced,
causing ruptures and friction, and those
produced by sudden movements or slips
along old or new fractures The first
class is commonly referred to as quakes
due to volcanic action, while the second
class occurs in the vicinity of mountain
GUS regions, where old fractures exist.
The earthquake of Wednesday is eng
NAUTICAL, in that it occurred in an old
country. Earth tremors of the more Sc
we're nature generally are felt near the
coast as attested by that of San Fran
cisco and Charleston. In Japan and on
the islands, most of the quakes are
traced to volcanic action. AS the area
aHected yesterday was of an old and
established terrain, it is an enigma 20
students of quakes."
At the weather bureau e. C. Horton
local forecaster. said that he had re-
eeived no official reports of the mat
ter, as it was not the custom of the
bureau to furnish Geographic reports
AS there is no seismograph availa-
Bile, l could not trace the source from
whence the quake came Earthquake
vibrations are generally supposed to
be due@to wave-like movements in the
interior liquid mass of the globe. This
motion is supposed to destroy the
equilibrium of certain sections with re-
sultant vibrations. 1 am no authority
on quakes. The barometric pressure
yesterday was 1880 inches, rather low,
but still I cannot attach any impor-
lance to this insofar as causing a
quake.
THE earthquake remains an enigma
to ALL
In 1878, the Orkney Island devasta-
ton occurred under similar circum-
stances, in that there was hurricane
and a quake at the same time.