82 THE WORLD'S LUMBER ROOM. 



jar, and a large tract on the eastern coast of England 

 would have been permanently upheaved. 



There is probably no place upon the face of the globe 

 which is entirely free from the vibration of earthquake 

 shocks, and these, therefore, contribute much, both directly 

 and indirectly, to the wear and tear of the earth's crust ; 

 for besides the destruction caused in severe earthquakes 

 by the trembling and rending of the rocks, we must not 

 leave out of sight the often worse destruction caused by 

 " earthquake waves," when the disturbance takes place 

 near the coast. The sea then feels the shock as well 

 as the land, its bed is frequently raised several feet, as 

 by a sudden jerk, which, of course, powerfully affects the 

 water above, arid enormous waves are produced, which 

 rush upon the shore, carrying everything before them. 

 In 1835 the great wave which swept along the South 

 American coast, left not a house standing in Concepcion 

 or Talcahuano, almost washed away even the ruins of the 

 latter place, and, breaking at the head of the b.iy in a 

 fearful line of white breakers, rushed up to a height of 

 twenty-three feet above the highest spring-tides. Its force 

 was so great that it moved a gun and gun-carriage, weighing 

 four tons, a distance of fifteen feet, but it advanced at 

 such a deliberate pace that the people had time to run up 

 the hills out of its way. 



After an earthquake which occurred in Japan in 1854, 

 the waves continued to come and go from 10 a.m. to 

 2.30 p.m. Not a house was left standing in the harbour 

 of Simoda, many junks were carried inland, one of them as 

 much as two miles, and a few hours after the disturbance 



