478 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1885. 



On February 16, 1885, the French Academy of Sciences appointed a 

 <',ommiftee to consider communications regarding' volcanic and seismic 

 phenomena. The members of this committee are MM. Uanbree, Jamiu, 

 Hebert, Fouque, and A. Gandry. {Compt. tiend , c : 438.) 



SEISMOLOGY. 



The earthipiake of January 2, 1885, in Maryland and West Virginia 

 was studied by Professor Rockwood, and the results were published in 

 Science (v: 129), with a map of the area affected. It was most severe in 

 the southern part of Frederick County, Maryland, and affected an area 

 of about 2,500 square miles, whose center was somewhat south of Lees- 

 burg, Va. 



On May 13, 1885, and following days, a destructive earthquake oc 

 curred in Cashmere, and the series of shocks was renewe<l at intervals 

 for at least a month thereafter. Many villages were destroyed, with 

 the formation of crevasses and landslides, and the loss of life reached 

 3,0S1 persons, besides 25,000 sheep and goats and 8,000 cattle. The 

 number of dwellings destroyed was estimated at 75,000. The Indian 

 Grovernment sent a geological surveyor to report on the scientific 

 aspects of this catastrophe. [Mature, xxxii : 207.) 



The earthquake which has attracted the most attention duiing the 

 past year occurred in the provinces of Granada an^l Malaga in Southern 

 Spain. It was made the subject of special investigation by commis- 

 sions appointed by the Si)anish Government and by the French Acad- 

 emy of Sciences. The first and most violent shock occurred on the 

 evening of December 25, 1884, but the shocks were repeated at frequent 

 intervals through the lemaining days of December, and through flanu- 

 ary, 1885, and even in March and April they were still felt occasionally. 

 The connection of this earthquake with the disturbed geological charac- 

 ter of the Peninsula was discussed in various places by J. Macphersou, 

 A. F. Nogues, and others, and most interesting results were reached, 

 l)ut they (;annot be stated with suflicient brevity for insertion here. 

 (See Co7nptes Bendus, La Nattire^ Nature, cfcc.) 



The commission appointed by the Spanish Government, as above 

 mentioned, made a preliminary report of their labors and conclusions up 

 to March 7, 1885. {Bibliography, No. 21.) It forms a pamphlet of 107 

 pages octav^o, accompanied by two reproductions of photographs of the 

 destruction caused l)y the shock. It deals quik' fully with tiie matter 

 in hand, and states conclusions which, though often only negative, are 

 yet of interest. Beginning with a statement of the theeries pro])osed 

 by various writers to account lor earthquakes, it proceeds to give a de- 

 scription of the orogra})hy and hydrography of the two provinces of 

 Granada and Malaga, and then devotes tventy-on(^l)ages to the geology 

 of the same district, describing in detail the rock formation, with the 

 location and <lirection of its principal fault lines. The area affected by 

 the earthquake is described as bounded toward the north by Madrid 



