418 



JUAN FERN ANDES VOLCANOES. Feb. Mavcll 



lower, though he could not say exactly how much. A rush 

 of water might have shifted the loose sands of the bar ; but 

 whether the land had sunk seemed to me very doubtful. 

 Certainly, however, it had not risen. 



The island of Juan Fernandes was very much affected. 

 Near Bacalao Head an eruption burst through the sea, in a 

 place about a mile from the land, where the depth is from fifty 

 to eighty fathoms. Smoke and water were thrown up during 

 tlie greater part of the day, and flames were visible at night.* 

 Great waves swept the shores of the island, after the sea had 

 retired so much that old anchors were seen at the bottom of 

 the anchorage. 



This earthquake was felt at all places between Chiloe and 

 Copiapo : between Juan Fernandes and Mendoza. On the 

 sea-coast, within those limits, the retiring and swelling of the 

 ocean was every where observed. At Mendoza the motion was 

 evenly gentle. Copiapo, Huasco, and Coquimbo felt similar, 

 although rather more forcible undulations. Towns, and houses 

 which lay between the parallels of thirty-five and thirty-eight, 

 suffered extremely ; nearly all were ruined ; but northward 

 and southward of those latitudes, slight injury was done to any 

 building. In the parallel of thirty-three and a-half, Juan Fer- 

 nandes suffered, yet Valparaiso, opposite, escaped uninjured. 



As to the state of neighbouring volcanoes, so various were 

 the accounts of their action, both after and before the earth- 

 quake, that I had no means of ascertaining the full truth ; 

 but I heard from Valdivia that directly after the earthquake 

 all the volcanoes from Antuco to Osorno, inclusive, were in full 

 activity.-|- 



* The highest summit of Juan Fernandes was " found to be burned, 

 full of fissures and hot," in 1743. Ulloa saw a small flame there.— 

 Voyag-e of Juan and Ulloa ; translated by Adams. 



t Of another earthquake the " Araucano," of Dec. 8, 1837, states as 

 follows : 



" Talcahuano, Nov. 7, 1837. 

 " Fue bastante recio y duro como cuatro o cineo minutos, con la par- 

 ticularidad notable de haberse advertido un pequeno retroceso de la mar 

 a cia su centre en Talcahuano, y haber quedado interrumpido por algunos 

 dias el flujo y reflujo de sus aguas." 



