A Description of Active and Extinct Volcanos - With Remarks on their Origin, their Chemical Phaenomena, and the Character of their Products (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1826 edition. Excerpt: ... to have consisted of sulphuretted hydrogen. e Some days afterwards the neighbouring waters grew hot, and many dead fish were thrown upon the shore. A frightful subterranean noise was at the same time heard, long streams of fire rose from the ground, and stones continued to be thrown out, until the rocks became joined to the Wliite Island originally existing. r Showers of ashes and pumice extended over the sea, even to the coasts of Asia Minor and the Dardanelles, and destroyed all the productions of the earth in Santorino. These, and similar frightful appearances continued round the island for nearly a year, after which nothing remained of them but a dense smoke. On the 15th July, 1708, the same observer had the courage to attempt visiting the island, but when his boat approached within 500 paces of it, the boiling heat of the water deterred him from proceeding. He made another trial, but wasdriven back by a cloud of smoke and cinders that proceeded from the principal crater. This was followedhy ejections of red-hot stones, from which he very narrowly escaped. The mariners remarked that the heat of the water had carried away all the pitch from their vessel.. During lb? tell. $1bSeq1Bm years, the volcanic action had given rise to several other eruptions, but the same reporter states, that in 1712 all was quiet, and no other indication of szzvrozuzvo. the kind existed, excepting a quantity of sulphur and bitumen, which floated on, without mixing with, the waters. Its circumference at that time was about four miles. It is important, with reference to the natural history of volcanos, to remark that in this case, as in many others, the mountain appears to have been elevated, before the crater existed, or gaseous matters were...