﻿1864.] 
  AUSTIN 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  IN 
  ENGLAND. 
  381 
  

  

  which 
  shook 
  the 
  country 
  and 
  alarmed 
  the 
  people 
  on 
  the 
  6th 
  of 
  Oc- 
  

   tober 
  1863, 
  from 
  its 
  greater 
  amount 
  of 
  violence, 
  has 
  aroused 
  atten- 
  

   tion 
  to 
  the 
  subject. 
  

  

  The 
  disturbance 
  may 
  be 
  denned 
  as 
  extending 
  from 
  a 
  point 
  

   in 
  St. 
  George's 
  Channel 
  40 
  or 
  50 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  north-west 
  of 
  Pem- 
  

   brokeshire 
  (it 
  was 
  felt 
  by 
  the 
  captains 
  and 
  crews 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  

   one 
  vessel 
  when 
  off 
  the 
  "Welsh 
  coast), 
  to 
  its 
  eastern 
  limit 
  in 
  York- 
  

   shire, 
  though 
  there 
  is 
  some 
  doubt 
  if 
  it 
  extended 
  quite 
  so 
  far 
  in 
  

   an 
  easterly 
  or 
  northerly 
  direction. 
  It 
  was 
  certainly 
  not 
  felt 
  at 
  

   Scarborough 
  in 
  Yorkshire, 
  nor 
  at 
  Ashford 
  in 
  Kent 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  felt 
  

   at 
  Gad's 
  Hill, 
  near 
  Rochester, 
  which 
  may 
  therefore 
  be 
  considered 
  

   as 
  its 
  eastern 
  limit 
  in 
  the 
  southern 
  counties. 
  The 
  northern 
  limit 
  

   was 
  not 
  much 
  beyond 
  Clay 
  Cross, 
  near 
  Chesterfield. 
  

  

  The 
  earth-movement 
  was 
  experienced 
  with 
  different 
  degrees 
  of 
  

   intensity 
  over 
  a 
  great 
  part 
  of 
  England, 
  without 
  any 
  particular 
  re- 
  

   ference 
  to 
  the 
  geological 
  features, 
  except 
  that 
  the 
  western 
  and 
  older 
  

   stratified 
  rocks 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  most 
  violently 
  affected. 
  The 
  

   area 
  affected 
  includes 
  rocks 
  which 
  extend 
  from 
  the 
  lowest 
  Cambrian 
  

   to 
  the 
  Chalk 
  and 
  Tertiary 
  beds 
  inclusive. 
  

  

  It 
  appears 
  that 
  the 
  chief 
  focus 
  of 
  disturbance 
  originated 
  in 
  the 
  

   bed 
  of 
  St. 
  George's 
  Channel, 
  and 
  extended 
  through 
  the 
  ancient 
  sedi- 
  

   mentary 
  rocks 
  of 
  Wales 
  and 
  Herefordshire, 
  across 
  the 
  Severn, 
  to 
  

   Bristol, 
  and 
  from 
  thence 
  with 
  gradually 
  diminishing 
  intensity 
  east- 
  

   ward, 
  until 
  the 
  earth-wave 
  died 
  out 
  in 
  Kent. 
  

  

  The 
  bed 
  of 
  the 
  Irish 
  Channel 
  was 
  violently 
  acted 
  on, 
  as 
  adduced 
  

   by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  agitated 
  turbid 
  water, 
  four 
  miles 
  in 
  dia- 
  

   meter, 
  was 
  seen 
  in 
  Carmarthen 
  Bay. 
  The 
  water 
  was 
  of 
  a 
  dark- 
  

   brown 
  colour, 
  and 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  impelled 
  forward, 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  

   an 
  elongated 
  heap, 
  towards 
  Monkstone, 
  and 
  thence 
  some 
  miles 
  out 
  

   to 
  sea. 
  It 
  was 
  also 
  observed 
  at 
  Tenby. 
  

  

  About 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  other 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  earth's 
  crust 
  were 
  

   under 
  perturbation. 
  On 
  the 
  4th 
  of 
  October 
  the 
  shock 
  of 
  an 
  earth- 
  

   quake 
  was 
  felt 
  over 
  a 
  great 
  part 
  of 
  Normandy 
  ; 
  on 
  the 
  6th, 
  a 
  new 
  

   island 
  was 
  discovered 
  on 
  the 
  Cherki 
  Rocks 
  or 
  Reefs, 
  off 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  

   Africa 
  (Tunis). 
  The 
  island 
  is 
  described 
  as 
  120 
  metres 
  in 
  length, 
  

   and 
  situated 
  in 
  long. 
  8° 
  30' 
  E. 
  and 
  lat. 
  37° 
  50' 
  N. 
  Earth-movements 
  

   and 
  strong 
  shocks 
  had 
  also 
  been 
  felt 
  at 
  Tunis. 
  

  

  The 
  earth-movement 
  in 
  England 
  was 
  clearly 
  from 
  about 
  W.N.W. 
  

   to 
  E.S.E., 
  with 
  some 
  little 
  variation 
  in 
  its 
  direction, 
  according 
  to 
  

   geological 
  peculiarities 
  of 
  structure 
  ; 
  detached 
  or 
  corner 
  houses 
  facing 
  

   any 
  point 
  from 
  west 
  to 
  north 
  were 
  more 
  violently 
  shaken 
  than 
  those 
  

   standing 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  a 
  row. 
  

  

  Though 
  the 
  barometric 
  and 
  thermometric 
  indications 
  varied 
  con- 
  

   siderably 
  in 
  different 
  localities, 
  yet 
  no 
  material 
  disturbance 
  was 
  re- 
  

   corded. 
  "The 
  sky 
  was 
  cloudless, 
  the 
  wind 
  west, 
  barometer 
  sta- 
  

   tionary, 
  and 
  the 
  temperature 
  31°. 
  The 
  motion 
  of 
  the 
  earthquake- 
  

   pendulum 
  at 
  Beeston 
  was 
  W.N.W. 
  to 
  E.S.E., 
  and 
  the 
  displacement 
  

   of 
  the 
  chalk 
  by 
  the 
  thirty-feet 
  rod 
  was 
  half 
  an 
  inch, 
  the 
  index- 
  

   needle 
  moving 
  the 
  chalk 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  leave 
  an 
  oval 
  or, 
  rather, 
  a 
  length- 
  

   ened-oval 
  hole," 
  as 
  reported 
  by 
  Mr, 
  Lowe 
  ; 
  Observatory, 
  Beeston, 
  

  

  VOL, 
  XX. 
  — 
  PART 
  I. 
  2 
  E 
  

  

  