THE WONDER BOOK OF
VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES
[Illustration: MOUNT VESUVIUS IN ERUPTION]
THE
WONDER BOOK
OF
VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES
BY
Professor EDWIN J. HOUSTON, Ph.D.
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
Publishers
Copyright, 1907, by
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
_All rights reserved_
_October, 1907_
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We take this opportunity of acknowledging the courtesy of the
following publishers, who have helped us in connection with the
illustrations of this book:--
Henry Holt and Company ("Physiography," by Rollin D. Salisbury).
D. Appleton and Company (Figs. 13, 35, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 and
46, "Volcanoes: What They Are and What They Teach," by J. W. Judd;
Fig. 15, "Principles of Geology," by Sir C. Lyell).
The American Book Company ("Manual of Geology," by James Dwight Dana).
G. P. Putnam's Sons ("Earthquakes in the Light of the New Seismology,"
by C. E. Dutton).
The Clarendon Press ("Geology: Chemical, Physical, and
Stratigraphical," by Joseph Prestwich).
THE PUBLISHERS.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE VOLCANIC ERUPTION OF KRAKATOA IN 1883 1
II. SOME EFFECTS OF THE ERUPTION OF KRAKATOA 12
III. THE VOLCANIC ISLAND OF HAWAII 26
IV. THE VOLCANIC ISLAND OF ICELAND 46
V. VESUVIUS 58
VI. OTHER VOLCANOES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN 73
VII. ORIZABA, POPOCATEPETL, IXTACCIHUATL, AND
OTHER VOLCANOES OF MEXICO 85
VIII. COSEGUINA AND OTHER VOLCANOES OF CENTRAL AMERICA 91
IX. THE VOLCANIC MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH AMERICA 97
X. VOLCANOES OF THE UNITED STATES 105
XI. THE CATASTROPHE OF MARTINIQUE AND THE VOLCANIC
ISLANDS OF THE LESSER ANTILLES 117
XII. SOME OTHER NOTED VOLCANIC MOUNTAINS 125
XIII. JORULLO, A YOUNG VOLCANIC MOUNTAIN 130
XIV. MID-OCEAN VOLCANIC ISLANDS 137
XV. SUBMARINE VOLCANOES 141
XVI. DISTRIBUTION OF THE EARTH'S VOLCANOES 148
XVII. VOLCANOES OF THE GEOLOGICAL PAST 153
XVIII. LAPLACE'S NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS 157
XIX. THE EARTH'S HEATED INTERIOR, THE CAUSE OF VOLCANOES 165
XX. SOME FORMS OF LAVA 178
XXI. MUD VOLCANOES AND HOT SPRINGS 193
XXII. THE VOLCANOES OF THE MOON 207
XXIII. EARTHQUAKES 219
XXIV. SOME OF THE PHENOMENA OF EARTHQUAKES 231
XXV. THE EARTHQUAKE OF CALABRIA IN 1783 245
XXVI. THE GREAT LISBON EARTHQUAKE OF 1755 252
XXVII. THE EARTHQUAKE OF CUTCH, INDIA, IN 1819 257
XXVIII. THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE OF APRIL 18, 1906 262
XXIX. SOME OTHER NOTABLE EARTHQUAKES 269
XXX. SODOM AND GOMORRAH AND THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN 281
XXXI. INSTRUMENTS FOR RECORDING AND MEASURING EARTHQUAKE
SHOCKS 290
XXXII. SEAQUAKES 296
XXXIII. THE DISTRIBUTION OF EARTHQUAKES 303
XXXIV. THE CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKES 308
XXXV. EARTHQUAKES OF THE GEOLOGICAL PAST--CATACLYSMS 319
XXXVI. THE KIMBERLY DIAMOND FIELDS AND THEIR VOLCANIC
ORIGIN 326
XXXVII. THE FABLED CONTINENT OF ATLANTIS 335
XXXVIII. PLATO'S ACCOUNT OF ATLANTIS 344
XXXIX. NATURE'S WARNING OF COMING EARTHQUAKES 364
FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
MT. VESUVIUS IN ERUPTION Frontispiece
STONES AND LAVA THROWN UPWARDS--ERUPTION OF
MOKUAWEOWEO, HAWAII, JULY 4-21, 1899 fac. 36
COTOPAXI 102
THE LAVA FLOW OF THE CRATER OF KILAUEA, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 184
A SAN FRANCISCO PAVEMENT TORN BY THE EARTHQUAKE 266
ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT
FIG. PAGE
1. THE SUNDA ISLANDS 3
2. KRAKATOA BEFORE THE ERUPTION 4
3. KRAKATOA AFTER THE ERUPTION 4
4. VOLCANIC DUST AS IT APPEARS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE 19
5. THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 27
6. HAWAII 29
7. PANORAMA OF MOKUAWEOWEO 35
8. VIEW OF THE CRATER OF KILAUEA FROM THE VOLCANO HOUSE 35
9. CRATER OF KILAUEA 40
10. SECTIONS OF KILAUEA AT DIFFERENT PERIODS 42
11. ICELAND 47
12. THE MEDITERRANEAN 59
13. THE VOLCANIC DISTRICT AROUND VESUVIUS 60
14. MT. ETNA 77
15. STROMBOLI, VIEWED FROM THE NORTHWEST, APRIL, 1874 79
16. MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA 86
17. SOUTH AMERICA 98
18. THE UNITED STATES 106
19. PANORAMA FROM THE MESA AT THE EDGE OF MT. TAYLOR 110
20. VOLCANIC NECKS, EDGE OF MESA AT MT. TAYLOR 111
21. THE LESSER ANTILLES 118
22. GRAHAM'S ISLAND--A RECENT VOLCANIC ISLAND 143
23. ALEUTIAN ISLANDS 146
24. MAP OF THE WORLD, SHOWING LOCATION OF ACTIVE AND
RECENTLY EXTINCT VOLCANOES 150
25. VOLCANIC VESICLES 183
26. THREAD-LACE SCORIÆ FROM KILAUEA 185
27. THREAD-LACE SCORIÆ FROM KILAUEA 185
28. FROST-LIKE LAVA CRYSTALS 187
29. FROST-LIKE LAVA CRYSTALS 187
30. BASALTIC COLUMNS, ISLE OF CYCLOPS, ITALY 188
31. COLUMNAR AND NON-COLUMNAR BASALT 189
32, 33. DRIBLET CONES 190
34. LAVA STALACTITES 191
35. CRATER OF THE GREAT GEYSER OF ICELAND 202
36. GIANT GEYSER 203
37. BEE HIVE 203
38. BEE HIVE GEYSER OF ICELAND 205
39. HEAVY STONE OBELISKS TWISTED BY CALABRIAN EARTHQUAKE
OF 1783 229
40. CIRCULAR HOLLOW FORMED BY CALABRIAN EARTHQUAKE 239
41. SECTION OF CIRCULAR HOLLOW FORMED BY CALABRIAN
EARTHQUAKE 239
42. MAP OF THE CALABRIAN EARTHQUAKE OF 1783 246
43. FISSURES CAUSED BY THE CALABRIAN EARTHQUAKE 249
44. MAP SHOWING DISTRICT VISITED BY THE EARTHQUAKE OF
CUTCH OF 1819 258
45. SINDREE BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1819 259
46. SINDREE AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1819 260
47. MAP OF WESTERN COAST OF CALIFORNIA SHOWING POSITION
OF SAN FRANCISCO 263
48. NEW ZEALAND 274
49. MAP SHOWING REGION AFFECTED BY THE CHARLESTON
EARTHQUAKE OF 1886 277
50. SYRIA 282
51. COMPLEX RECORD OF SEISMOGRAPH 293
52. LONG DISTANCE SEISMOGRAM 293
53. VICENTINI VERTICAL PENDULUM 294
54. VICENTINI PENDULUM AND RECORDER 295
55. DAVISON'S EARTHQUAKE MAP OF JAPAN 306
THE WONDER BOOK OF
VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES
THE WONDER BOOK OF VOLCANOES
AND EARTHQUAKES
CHAPTER I
THE VOLCANIC ERUPTION OF KRAKATOA IN 1883
Krakatoa is a little island in the Straits of Sunda, about thirty
miles west of the island of Java, and nearly the same distance east
of the island of Sumatra. It is uninhabited and very small, measuring
about five miles in length and less than three miles in width. Its
total area is only thirteen square miles. This little piece of land
made itself famous by what took place on it during the month of
August, 1883.
Krakatoa is one of the many islands that form the large island chain
known as the Sunda Islands. The most important islands of this chain
are Sumatra, Java, Sumbawa, Flores, and Ceram. Between Sumatra and
Java, the largest two of these islands, there is a channel called the
Straits of Sunda that connects the waters of the Indian Ocean with
those of the Pacific Ocean. The Straits of Sunda is an important piece
of water that forms one of the great highways to the East. Shipping
is, therefore, always to be found in its waters.
As can be seen by the map, Krakatoa is not far from the Equator,
being situated in lat. 6° 7' S. and long. 105° 26' E. from Greenwich.
Since there are about sixty-nine miles in every degree of latitude,
Krakatoa is about 420 miles south of the Equator, and is about
twenty-five miles from Java. Java is part of the Dutch East Indies,
which includes Java, Celebes, the Spice Islands, and parts of Borneo
and Sumatra. Batavia, the principal seaport of Java, near the
northwest coast, is a great shipping centre, visited by vessels from
nearly all parts of the world. It has, however, no harbor, but is
approached from the ocean by means of a canal two miles in length, the
sides of which are provided with massive brick walls. Besides Batavia,
which is situated about one hundred English miles east of Krakatoa,
there are many smaller towns or villages, the most important of which
is Anjer, a thriving seaport town, where sailing vessels obtain their
supplies of food and fresh water. Before the eruption of Krakatoa,
Anjer was provided with a strong, stone lighthouse.
Java is especially noted for its production of coffee, in which it is
second only to Brazil. Its area is about the same as that of the State
of New York. Java is one of the most densely populated parts of the
world, containing nearly four times as many people as the whole State
of New York.
These facts about the situation and surroundings of Krakatoa are
necessary to an understanding of the wonderful thing that happened on
it during the month of August, 1883. In that month Krakatoa suffered a
most tremendous explosive volcanic eruption, for it is a volcano.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. THE SUNDA ISLANDS]
A volcano is a mountain or hill, generally conical in shape, having
at the top a nearly central opening, called a _crater_, from which
at times melted rock and lava, vapor and gases escape. The lava
either flows down the side of the mountain in a liquid condition, or
is thrown upwards into the air. If the distance the lava is thrown
upwards is sufficiently great the melted matter solidifies before it
falls to the earth. In such cases the largest fragments form what are
called _volcanic cinders_, the smaller pieces, _volcanic ashes_, and
the extremely small particles, _volcanic dust_. If, however, the lava
is thrown to a comparatively small height, it is still melted when it
falls, and is then known as _volcanic drops_ or _driblets_.
[Illustration: FIG. 2. KRAKATOA BEFORE THE ERUPTION]
It is not surprising that Krakatoa is a volcanic island, since it lies
in one of the most active belts of volcanic islands in the world, and
near the coasts of the most active of these islands; i. e., Java.
This belt, as shown in the map, includes, besides the Sunda Island
chain, parts of Gilolo, Celebes, Mindanao and the Philippine Islands.
These islands lie between Asia on the northwest and Australia on the
southeast.
[Illustration: FIG. 3. KRAKATOA AFTER THE ERUPTION]
There is no other part of the world with, perhaps, the single
exception of Japan, where so many active volcanoes are crowded in
so small a space. The island of Java, small as it is, has nearly
fifty volcanoes, of which at least twenty-eight are active. They are
situated in a lofty range running from east to west, some of the
peaks of which are more than 10,000 feet above the level of the sea.
Volcanic eruptions are so frequent that the island is seldom free from
them.
As will be seen from the map shown in Fig. 2, Krakatoa consists of
three groups of volcanic mountains, the southern group giving the name
of Krakatoa to the island. Strictly speaking, this mountain was called
_Rakata_, but as it is now generally known as Krakatoa, it would be
unwise to attempt to call it by any other name. The central mountain
or group of mountains is known as Danan, and consists largely of part
of an old crater. The group of mountains which lies near the northern
end of the island was known as Perboawatan. From the centre of this
latter group of mountains are several old lava streams consisting
of a variety of lava resembling a dark-colored glass, known to
mineralogists as _obsidian_, or _volcanic glass_.
Although Krakatoa was always a volcano, yet between the years 1680 and
1883, it was in the condition of a sleeping or extinct volcano. There
had been a severe explosive eruption in the year 1680, that caused
great loss of life and property, but ever since that time all activity
had ceased and it seemed that the volcano would never again burst out.
In other words, it was generally regarded as a trustworthy, sedate,
quiet, inoffensive and perfectly safe volcano, that had become extinct.
The long continued quiet of Krakatoa was broken on the 20th of May,
1883, when the inhabitants of Batavia on the island of Java were
terrified by noises like the firing of great guns, that were first
heard between ten and eleven o'clock in the morning. These noises
were accompanied by the shaking of the ground and buildings. The
sleeping volcano of Krakatoa was evidently growing restless, but no
great damage was done and soon all was again quiet. The disturbances
were merely the forerunner of the terrible eruption soon to follow,
and confidence was soon restored. But suddenly, on Sunday, August
26th, 1883, almost without any further warnings, Krakatoa burst into
terrible activity and began an explosive eruption that has never been
equalled in severity in the memory of man.
That memorable Sunday of August 26th, 1883, came during a season of
the year known as the _dry monsoon_, a name given the season of the
periodical winds from the Indian Ocean. Batavia, and the surrounding
country, greatly needed rain, for in this part of the world it seldom
rains from April to October, although the air is very moist and damp.
For this reason the beginning of the wet season is always welcomed.
When, therefore, the rumbling sounds of the approaching catastrophe of
Krakatoa were heard in Batavia, the people, believing that the noises
were due to peals of thunder, rejoiced, for all thought they heralded
an earlier setting in of the wet monsoon. But when the rumbling
sounds increased and reports were heard like heavy artillery, it was
clear that the sounds were the beginning of a volcanic eruption, a
phenomenon with which they were only too well acquainted, but, as
volcanic eruptions were far from being uncommon in Java, no one was
very greatly frightened.
But this time the noises increased to such an extent that the people
became alarmed. Throughout the night the appalling sounds continued
and were accompanied by shakings of the earth sufficiently strong to
shake the houses violently. Sleep was out of the question. Many of
the people left their houses and remained all night in the open air,
fearing the shocks would bring the houses down over their heads.
The morning instead of heralding the dawn of a beautiful tropical day,
with its bright, cheerful sunlight, brought with it skies covered
with gray clouds that completely hid the sun. The rumbling sounds,
however, had decreased, and the people were beginning to congratulate
themselves that the dangers were over, when suddenly, the sky grew
darker, and there began a shower of ashes that soon covered the
streets and houses of the city. About seven o'clock on the morning of
August 27th, a most tremendous crash was heard. The sky rapidly became
so dark that it was soon necessary to light the lamps in the houses
of Batavia, and some of the neighboring towns in the western part of
Java. In addition to this the air was filled with vapor, while every
now and then earthquake shocks were again felt. These shocks were
accompanied by terrific noises like those produced by the explosion of
heavy artillery. The noises rapidly increased in number and intensity
until they produced a nearly continuous roar, the nature of which it
is almost impossible to describe since it is probable that such sounds
had never been heard before by man. It is a curious fact, which, I
believe, has never been satisfactorily explained, that in most cases
the people in the immediate neighborhood of the volcano, as, for
example, those on board vessels in the Straits of Sunda, did not hear
the terrific noises at all. Possibly they were too loud and simply
gave a single inward impetus to the drum of the ear and then held it
in position.
Probably some of my readers may remember that witty description given
by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes of an alleged effort made by all the
people of the world to find out whether or not there is a man in the
moon. This wonderful plan was as follows:
Careful calculations were made to ascertain when it would be the same
time over all the earth so that all the people of the earth could
simultaneously shout at the top of their voices. In this way it was
hoped that the man in the moon, if there were such a person, would
notice the noise.
The story goes on to tell how when the time approached for the great
experiment, and all were ready to shout as loud as they could, that
each person reasoning to himself or herself, that amid so great a
noise no one could notice whether his or her voice was omitted,
determined to remain silent, so as to be able to hear the noise and
the better to observe what the man in the moon would do when the sound
reached him. The result was that every person on the earth remained
silent and simply listened, so that the earth was never so quiet
before.
Had Oliver Wendell Holmes, or any other person conceiving the witty
idea, lived during the time of the great explosive eruption of
Krakatoa, on that memorable August 27th, 1883, he might have taken
the opportunity of observing the man in the moon, had he not been
frightened by what was occurring, for certainly never before were
such tremendous or terrifying sounds produced, for these sounds, as
we shall see shortly, were actually heard for distances of more than
3,000 miles from the volcano.
There were two different kinds of waves produced in the air by the
tremendous forces at work in the eruption of Krakatoa; namely,
atmospheric waves and sound waves.
The atmospheric waves showed their presence in the air by means of
changes produced in the atmospheric pressure. Now, while these
changes cannot readily be felt by man, yet their presence can be
easily shown by the use of instruments called _barometers_.
There are in different parts of the world, buildings called
_meteorological observatories_, that are provided, among other
instruments, with recording barometers. These instruments caught
the great atmospheric waves that were produced by the eruption of
Krakatoa. In this manner, the astounding fact was learned that the
waves starting from the volcano travelled no less than seven times
around the world. When we say astounding, it must not be understood
that the formation of such waves was at all contrary to the known laws
of physics. On the contrary, provided the force of the eruption was
sufficiently great, such waves must have been produced in the great
ærial ocean. The astonishing, or wonderful thing, was that the force
setting up these waves was so great that it caused them to move seven
times around the globe.
The atmospheric waves were so powerful that it will be worth our while
to describe them in detail. Starting from the volcano of Krakatoa,
as a centre, these waves moved outwards in all directions, becoming
gradually larger and larger until they reached a point halfway round
the globe, or 180° from Krakatoa. The waves did not, however, stop
here, but continued moving onward, now growing smaller and smaller
until they reached a point in North America, immediately opposite
Krakatoa. Such a point on a globe is called an _antipodal point_.[1]
The waves did not stop at this point, but again advanced moving toward
Krakatoa, growing larger and larger until they again reached a point
halfway around the globe, or 180° from Krakatoa, when they again
continued moving but now continually growing smaller and smaller,
until they reached Krakatoa. Here they again began moving completely
around the globe, and this was continued for as many as seven times.
It must not be supposed that the waves ceased on the seventh time
around. On the contrary, they, probably, kept on moving for many
additional times, but they were then so feeble that even the sensitive
recording barometers were unable to detect their presence.
There was another kind of waves in the atmosphere that did not require
barometers for their detection. These were the sound waves, and can
readily be detected by the human ear.
Now, in the case of the great eruption of Krakatoa, the intensity of
the sounds was so great that the sounds could be heard distinctly at
distances of several thousand miles from Krakatoa.
The sound waves so closely resembled the explosion of artillery that
at Acheen, a port on the northern coast of Sumatra, 1,073 miles from
Krakatoa, the authorities, believing that an attack was being made on
the port, placed all their troops under arms to repel the invaders.
The sounds were also distinctly heard at Bangkok, in Siam, a distance
of 1,413 miles from the volcano. They were also heard at the Chagos
Islands, a group of islands situated in the Indian Ocean about 2,267
miles from Krakatoa.
Two steamers at Singapore, 522 miles distant, were despatched to find
the vessel that was believed to be firing guns as distress signals.
The sounds were distinctly heard in parts of South Australia, 2,100
miles distant, and in Western Australia, at 1,700 miles distance.
But it will be unnecessary to give any further details of the great
distances at which these sounds were actually heard. It will suffice
to say that they were heard as far off as about 3,000 miles.
It is difficult to picture to one's self such great distances.
Assuming the greatest distances to be in the neighborhood of 3,000
miles, it would be as if a sound produced, say, in Boston, New York,
or Philadelphia, was so loud that it could be heard in Amsterdam,
London, or Paris.
Some idea of the intensity of these sounds can be had from the fact
that in Batavia, when, in accordance with usage, a gun was fired from
one of the forts at eight o'clock in the morning, two hours before the
greatest intensity of the sounds had been reached, the sound of the
gun could scarcely be heard above the continuous roar.
While, of course, the principal reason the sound waves were carried
so far was the great force causing the eruption, yet these distances
were increased by the fact that the explosion occurred in a region
almost entirely surrounded by great bodies of water. The waves could,
therefore, be readily carried along the surface of the sea. Had there
been a high mountain wall, like the Andes of South America, on one
side of the volcano they would probably have been shut off in this
direction a short distance from where they were produced.