VI MOUNTAINS 245 



give rise to areas of high temperature, and 

 consequently to volcanoes. We must also 

 remember that the real mountain chains of 

 our earth are the continents, compared to 

 which even the Alps and Andes are mere 

 wrinkles. It is along the lines of the great 

 mountain chains, that is to say, along the 

 main coast lines, rather than in the centres of 

 the continents, which may be regarded as com- 

 paratively quiescent, that we should naturally 

 expect to find the districts of greatest heat, 

 and this is perhaps why volcanoes are gener- 

 ally distributed along the coast lines. 



Another reason for regarding Volcanoes as 

 local phenomena is that many even of those 

 comparatively near one another act quite 

 independently. This is so with Kilauea and 

 Mouna Loa, both on the small island of 

 Hawaii. 



Again, if volcanoes were in connection 

 with a great central sea of fire, the erup- 

 tions must follow the same laws as regulate 

 the tides. This, however, is not the case. 

 There are indeed indications of the exist- 

 ence of slight tides in the molten lake which 



