438 Chronicles of Science. [July, 



7. GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. 



{Including the Proceedings of the Geological Society, and Notices 

 of Recent Geological Works.) 



Few regions of the earth present to the physical geologist a more 

 wondrous display of volcanic phenomena on a grand scale than the 

 Hawaiian group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. These remote in- 

 tertropical isles (twelve in number) are all of volcanic origin with 

 the exception of the ancient elevated coral reef and resulting hme- 

 stone. 



Since their first discovery by the Spaniards they have been 

 repeatedly visited by government exploring expeditions, but by far 

 the largest share of their i:)hysical history has been collected by one 

 man, the Eev. Titus Coan, for more than thirty years a most de- 

 voted missionary at Hilo on Hawaii, the largest of the group. 

 This gentleman sends to ' Silliman's American Journal,'* some in- 

 teresting notes on the recent volcanic disturbances of Hawaii. 

 Although not on so grand a scale as many of the eruptions which 

 have occurred in former years, yet Mr. Coan's account furnishes 

 information on many points of great interest to the geologist. One 

 feature frequently observed in the volcanic outbursts on these 

 islands is the opening of lateral subterranean rents, into which the 

 overflowing craters discharge their pent-up lava-streams. In the 

 case of the outburst of April, 1868, when the craters of lulauea 

 and Mauna Loa both seem to have been m a state of eruption, their 

 united lava-streams appear to have discharged into a line of fissure, 

 having a south-westerly trend, along which they flowed subter- 

 raneoiislyfor a distance of more than thhty miles, appearing on the 

 surface near Kahuku, running thence for ten miles hke a vast 

 serpent through the beautiful pasture-lands, and giving off various 

 minor branches, they finally reach the sea in two great streams 

 only 1000 feet apart, enclosing between them an island five miles 

 in length. On this narrow belt of land three houses ai-e left stand- 

 ing near the shore, and some thirty head of cattle were rescued 

 alive (though terribly scorched) after the flow had ceased ; so rapid 

 was the rush of the lava-rivers that cattle grazing on the plains 

 were surrounded before they were aware of their danger. A family 

 of four persons m a house were enclosed on an island formed by the 

 igneous flood, and remained prisoners for ten days, when they were 

 able to leave their retreat unharmed. 



Along the whole hue from Kahuku to Kilauea, the subterra- 

 nean flow was marked by fissures and displacements of the ground, 

 through which jets of steam and lava issued in several places, 



* Vul. XLVIL, No. laO, p. 89. 



