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This water cannot, of course, find its way back into the ocean, 
for were there an opening the whole of these caverns below the 
sea level would naturally fill, How, then, can it be accounted 
for? I think the steam constantly issuing from the craters of 
volcanoes may, in a measure, do so; it need hardly be remarked 
that what is commonly called the smoke of a volcano is, in reality, 
steam alone, except in cases of active eruption. 
But it may be contended that admitting the fact of possible 
inpour of water on the seaboard, this would not account for 
earthquakes in the interior; but are there not large supplies of 
water apart from the seas? Are there not many instances noted of 
rivers disappearing, and lakes with large inpour and no apparent 
outlet 2 May there not be clefts and caverns into which water 
may fall in the passage of torrents through mountain gorges, 
sufficient to produce vast quantities of steam ? 
In various parts of the world there are cases of regular though 
intermittent eruptions of different kinds apart from volcanoes ; 
all more or less influenced by steam. The geysers of the Yellow- 
stone Park are amongst the most remarkable of these. But I will 
briefly allude to one that I have visited in Japan, which appears 
to me to show the result of water acting on subterranean heat 
without apparently any assistance from electricity or other power. 
At aplace called Atamé, close to the coast, and at very little 
elevation above the water-line, there is a regular eruption of 
steam, followed by boiling water at intervals of four hours. 
Between these eruptions you perceive merely a slight curl of 
steam arising from the small cleft in the rocky ground ; then, as 
the time approaches, you feel a shaking of the ground and hear a 
deep rumbling sound ; this is followed by a noise like a mighty 
sobbing ; then comes a furious rush of steam, and then boiling 
water wells out like the blood from an artery; this lasts a few 
minutes only, and all is again quiet. When this is witnessed at 
night the steam appears somewhat luminous. The water is 
highly impregnated with sulphur, and is used for baths by the 
