414 On Mud Volcanoes and Salt Lakes in the Crimea. 



Tatar wells, sunk a few feet into the earth, have yielded 

 naphtha in former times, and it is evidently the result of the 

 experience of the Cossacks, who have been accustomed to dig* 

 for the rock oil to light their houses and cook their food, that 

 the wells must be sunk in a line of no great breadth, generally 

 running near that of the mud volcanoes, which is approximately 

 W.S.W. and E.N.E., and more or less nearly parallel to it. 



Still in the same direction, but ten miles beyond Boulganak, 

 is one of a number of remarkable salt lakes, characteristic of 

 this part of the Crimea. Its shape is roundish oval. It is 

 separated from the Sea of Azof only by a narrow belt of sand- 

 hills. It is only about three miles across in the widest part, 

 and its level is some feet below that of the adjacent sea. 

 The waters of this little lake are intensely salt, and totally 

 different from those either of the Black Sea or the Sea of 

 Azof. The following tabular statement will illustrate the 

 nature of the difference. It is taken from a Russian pamphlet 

 recently published in Odessa, by M. Haskagen of that city. 

 The specific gravity of the Tchokrak water is stated to be 

 1*13807. That of Black Sea water is considerably lower than 

 ordinary sea-water, which contains 3*4304 parts in a hundred 

 of salts of various kinds, in solution of which two thirds are 

 common salt, and one seventh is chloride of magnesium. 



Composition of the Waters of the Blade Sea and Lake Tchokrak, 

 and of the Mud of Lake Tchokrak. 



[One hundred parts of the water of the Black Sea left after 

 evaporation 1*5258 parts, and the same quantity of Lake 

 Tchokrak water left 14*079 parts. One hundred parts of wet 

 mud of Lake Tchokrak, taken in its ordinary state from the 

 shores of the lake, contained water sixty-one parts, residuum 

 thirty -nine parts. The sixty-one fluid parts of the mud con- 

 tained 12*964 parts of soluble salts and substances.] 



BIiACK TCHOKBAK TCHOKBAK 

 SEA. Wi'l'liE. MUD. 



Chloride of sodium 1*3021 6*650 5*860 



Chloride of calcium 0*0179 0*120 0*095 



Chloride of magnesium 0*0292 4*546 3*073 



Iodide of sodium 0*0004 0*050 0*041 



Bromide of magnesium 0*0008 0*008 



Sulphate of lime 0*0104 0*269 0*062 



Sulphate of magnesia 0*1481 2*358 2*080 



Sulphate of ammonia ... ... 1*659 



Organic matter and sulphur. . . 0*0169 0*078 0*094 



1*5258 14*079 12*964 



