EARTHQUAKES. 26 1 



insomuch that between the years 1800 and 1842 no 

 less than 162 earthquakes were recorded in these 

 places. Undoubtedly we may trace these disturbances 

 to the great mountain chains which traverse this part 

 of Asia. The subterranean forces which upheaved the 

 great Himalayan range, for instance, may be assumed 

 to be still existent, though now for a while dormant, 

 or 'perhaps,' says Sir John Herschel, 'expended in 

 maintaining the Himalayas at their present elevation.' 

 On the other hand there are some regions wholly 

 free from earthquake shocks. Among such may be 

 mentioned the great alluvial plains of America east of 

 the Andes, the plains on the north-east of Europe, and 

 the northern parts of Asia. There are monuments, 

 natural and artificial, which prove the absolute fixity 

 of some regions. The slightest shock would have 

 flung down that strange mass which is perched upon 

 the summit of the Peter Botte mountain, 1,500 feet 

 above the sea-level. Pompey's Pillar justifies the 

 assertion of Strabo that Egypt has long been free from 

 earthquakes ; though nothing short of subterranean 

 convulsion could have flung down the more ancient 

 obelisks which lie prostrate amidst the sands of Western 

 Lower Egypt. Even that masterpiece of Egyptian 

 labour, the Great Pyramid, though surpassing all other 

 human erections in stability, shows unmistakable evi- 

 dence of the slow action of subterranean forces.* In 

 Mexico, again, in the very centre seemingly, of earth- 



* ' The quantity of the post-pyramid tilt,' says Professor Piazzi 

 Smyth, 'appears to be about thirty-seven seconds,' as given by the 

 corner angles of the Great Pyramid. 



