40 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



Lat. 49 North, Long. 159-9 East, being south of Onekotan Island, off 

 the southern extremity of the peninsula of Kamtchatka and on the 

 margin of the Kurile Deep. It may be stated that in plotting by 

 the stereographic method and using the Klotz Tables the intersection 

 of the various arcs from the several stations used did not all intersect 

 exactly at the same point; however, the weighted intersection had the 

 above geographical co-ordinates. A year after the above published 

 value a photographic copy of the seismogram of the above earthquake 

 was received from Perth, Australia, a beautiful record with sharply 

 defined P and S which cannot be mistaken. From this gram the 

 deduced distance to the epicentre was found to be 9,280 km. Com- 

 bining the distances of Perth, Zi-Ka-Wei and Honolulu, the last two 

 the nearest stations to the seismic regions, we obtain an epicentre 

 off the Island of Urup, i.e., in or along the Kurile Deep. The evidence 

 seems irrefutable that we have an epicentre oft' Onekatan and one off 

 Urup, both on or in the Kurile Deep. Re-reading and measuring 

 on the 30-inch globe the various distances of other stations giving 

 good records to the nearest point along the line joining the above two 

 epicentres, better accordances are secured than if we tried to join 

 them all to one point — to one epicentre. The conclusion is forced 

 on one that we have to deal here with a breakdown along a fault 

 line 500 km. long, running in a North-east-South-west direction, the 

 trend of the well-known Kurile Deep, and the seat of much seismic 

 action. Perth lies approximately on the great circle passing through 

 the Kurile Deep. 



It is believed that this is the first instance of an attempt at locat- 

 ing a submarine fault. There is no reason to doubt that in time 

 submarine faults along which seismic disturbances occur will be 

 definitely located in all the oceans. This knowledge will have a 

 thoroughly practical bearing on submarine cables, in determining the 

 position of breaks, which is determined electrically by the cable itself 

 as explained in the article "Cable Laying." pp. 404-407, by the writer 

 in the volume, "Annals and Aims of the Pacific Cable," 1903; and also 

 in future cable laying in pointing out danger lines to be avoided for 

 the cable route. 



With reliable seismograms and more particularly with accurate 

 and correct interpretation a wide panorama of interesting and valu- 

 able results looms up. The location of epicentres will expand to 

 location of fault lines, and furthermore, when our absolute times of 

 record are reliable within a second we will have the means of following 

 the breakdown from beginning to end. At present we deal with earth- 

 quakes on the assumption that it is one sudden break at a point or- 

 along the line or surface of adjustment of stresses. If this is not the 



