144 
The American Geologist. September, 1904. 
metric maps, allows the conclusion that the same tendency has been 
present operative in this part also of the earth's crust since the earli- 
est times. For the explanation of the equatorially directed tension and 
movement of great parts of the earth's crust in Asia from Kwenlun 
Tsinling on, the same ground does not appear; it may perhaps be ex- 
plained, if doubtfully, through changes in the velocity of rotation of 
the earth and the displacement of mass condition thereby." 
In connection with the above statements by von Richthofen 
it is interesting tO' note that Woodworth in his interesting paper 
on the fracture system of joints* has called attention to the 
direction of the fracture lines indicated by the volcanoes off 
the coast of Asia, and has suggested that the arrangement in 
crescents may be explained through curved lateral crustal frac- 
tures in a system such as he has described in much detail., but 
in small specimens only. Woodworth's figure to illustrate this 
structure has been reproduced in Fig. i. To the present writ- 
FlG. 1. Fracture Sj'steins of Asian volcanoes. 
er it seems better to explain such lines of fracture through the 
intersection of a number of faitlt lines in zigzags meeting un- 
der the requisite angles. 
MANCHURIA. 
The structure and geolog}^ of Manchuria have been dis- 
cussed in a recent paper by von Cholnoky describing a journey 
in that country diu'ing the years iSqG-'qS.I According to v. 
Cholnoky Manchuria can be looked upon from the orographic 
standpoint as separated into two parts, one of which lies south- 
east of the rivers Liau and Songari, the other to the north- 
west of the same line. 
* J. B. WooDWOKTii. "On the Fracture System of Joints with Remarks 
upon Certain Great Fractures." Proc. Bos. Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. xxvii, pp. 
163-183. 
t EuGKN VON Cholnokv. Kurze Zusammenfassung der wissenschaftlich- 
en Ergebnissc meiner Reise in China und in der Mandschurei in den Tahren 
1896-98. Verh. d. Oesellscli. f. Erdkunde zu Berlin, vol. xxvi,lS99, pp.l.'51-61. 
