or 
— 
Or 
TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION C. 
TUESDAY, AUGUST 6. 
The following Papers and Reports were read :— 
1. A Catalogue of Destructive Earthquakes. By Dr. JounN Miune, F.R.S. 
Nearly all our large earthquake catalogues are lists of disturbances which vary 
greatly in their intensity. Very old registers referred to earthquakes which have 
devastated towns and cities, but as we approach modern times these large dis- 
turbances are altogether outnumbered by tremors which in many cases may not 
have had sufficient intensity to rattle a window. The admixture of large and 
small disturbances has had its effect upon the analysis of earthquake statistics. 
For example, one conclusion to which they lead us is that in modern times 
seismic activity has greatly increased. To determine whether this and other con- 
clusions which seismologists have reached are to be accepted, a catalogue has been 
nearly completed which only refers to shocks which have had an intensity suf- 
ficient, to cause structural damage. These are arranged chronologically and 
according to countries, whilst the extent of damage each occasioned is indicated 
by anumeral. One inference is that between 1150 and 1250 large earthquakes 
were very frequent; the next great increase commenced about the year 1650, and 
it is still in progress. The material to form this compilation was chiefly obtained 
from the publications of learned societies in various parts of the world. An 
attempt was made to obtain information respecting recent earthquakes from our 
leading daily papers, but this was far too meagre to be of any value. For those 
who have to insure and proportion rates to risks the value of this catalogue must 
be self-evident. 
2. Mountain Building and Seismology. By Professor F, Frecu. 
The most important earthquakes are those connected with mountain building. 
Those produced by the breaking down of continental fragments in the Atlantic and 
Indian Oceans, of the Alpine and Eurasian chains, or of the Cireumpacific moun- 
tains and islands belong to types altogether different. The Alpine and Pacific 
mountains differ from one another in the distribution of earthquakes, faults, and 
volcanoes. The seismic intensity diminishes with the geological age. The more 
important earthquakes are principally restricted to regions dislocated in Tertiary 
times. In the later Paleozoic ranges earthquakes are rare, and in the earlier 
Paleozoic and Pre-Cambrian masses they are almost entirely wanting. 
3. Report on the Fossiliferous Drift Deposits at Kirmington, 
Lincolnshire, &c.—See Reports, p. 325. 
4. Note on a New Section in the Glacial Gravels of Holderness. 
By T. SwepparD, F'.G.S., and J. W. Statuer, F.G.S. 
The North Eastern Railway Company has recently been making some exten- 
sive excavations in a hill situated between the well-known Kelsey Hill and Burst- 
wich Gravel Pits, in central Holderness. At the present time the section exposed is 
probably the finest of its kind in the country. The cutting is made through the 
heart of the hill, and the exposed section is 1,300 feet long and 45 feet high in the 
centre, from which the section gradually slopes. The sides of the hill are flanked 
by boulder clay, and irregular masses also occur at intervals in the gravel. There 
are two types of boulder clay visible, the upper or Hessle clay, containing a pre- 
ponderance of Cheviot rocks, and the purple or middle boulder clay with its 
carboniferous limestones and basalts. The gravels are somewhat similar to those 
described by Mr. Clement Reid at Kelsey Hill as interglacial, but the present 
authors consider them to be merely part of the terminal moraine of the North Sea 
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