FISH AND VOLCANOES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1503, 27 July 1912, Page 6

FISH AND VOLCANOES.

GEOLOGY OF COOK STRAIT. '" • SOME INTERESTING THEORIES. Lately there have bcon various explanations of-the cost-up fish, the ono most commonly accopted being tho theory that there has been, an eruption, -under Cook Strait. There is also offered in corroboration of that a statement that a mariner ■heard a. detonation, nnd that at the samo 'time a big wave hit his ship. It was to fc'et some authoritative statement on these cutters that n Dominion reporter yesterday sought out Jlr. Alexander Jl'Kay, BOiue time Government Geologist, and a leeognised authority in his subject. . "First of all," said Mr. Jl'Kay, "Hochstetter, speculating on the geology of Cook jStrait, stated that there was a troublesome.point somewhere between tho mouth ■uf thp harbour and Cape C'ainphcll, and rthat is the only authority- whatsoever for supposing that volcanic action takes place nn the istraits. I haven't the shadow of '«n idea that any such thing has occurred. No Eruption for Millions of Years. "You must distinguish clearly between n volcanic eruption nnd an ordinary earthquake. ■;'.Volcanic eruptions are usually 'distinguished by tho butfloiv of molten inattor, or...the showering of ashes over land or. sea. Earthquakes, us yc.knmr them, in~the neighbourhood of Wellington hre simply' deep-sea tod slips and fractures tot the earth which produce motion, and »t the surface sometimes capsize houses, jl have studied tho rocks oi the neighbourhood through all formations to at (least, the • commencement of secondary time. If I were to speak of the period i.should have to talk of millions of years. jAnd certaiulv- no volcanic eruption has jtnken."place iri" tho southern portion of jthis .island on the shores of Cook Strait Whco at".least tho Jurassic period. The ■ (rocks'from I'ictoh to Capo Campbell likeWviso show no indications whatsoever of fyolcauic eruption , . Tho fact that' there Vero troubled waters In Cook Strait does 'jiot necessarily imply that there has been, in , that throe, is now, existing a volcanic trater or submarine orifice.in Cook Strait, ttt is 'true that Cook Strait is of veryjnodern origin, lvut.it exists through the (occurrence ,of a ..great Vault, . and- not through any volcanic, '.' '. The Fish Phenomenon. "Even ii there were poisouous fumes or gases rising from the ssa bottom, the feamo phenomenon was observed in tho ■earthquakes in Wellington of sixty years ngo, when the ground opened between the Old Identities' Hotel and the Duke of '(Edinburgh Hotel. It is said that then noxious I'umcs escaped from that opening, to the'annoyance of inhabitants. If any ifault took place in tho bottom of Cook fitrait whereby the .ground was opened, it is possible -that noxious fumes could lescape and'-'cbiild "destroy-fish. My, explanation of.the dead fish is quite nnbther thing. But .this is not the" first jtinie, nor .the .tenth time,. that fish have jbeen ,knded on tho shores of Cook Strait Su precisely tho same-fashion, always in te'very case subsequent to a storm. Theretfore we must look "for tho cause in the etorms; unless it. is that storms -may (produce what we call fumes by stirring [lip the bottom of the sea. Immediately' off-shore we have comparatively deop sea, jieoplefl by fishes' which are not usually Suet on.the'immediate coast line. If from'any'cause during a high storm deepeea fishes hug close to the land, then it nnly requires a.-very heavy tea, in which waves.vstrike the "bottom, to involve the fish, rush'them ashore, and kill them by hundreds." • '■;• . • ■ ~.-' ' ' Our; Faulty Crust. "There ar three .faults converging on Wellington," said Mr. il'lCa'j, going back to the question of earthquakes and faults. "One ; extends throughout tho . whole ■Jcngth of tho South, and through the North Island "to Mahia Peninsula. This Ss the-great Clarence fault, discovered by Ine in ISSS. -Then-there is.'the ICaikoura fault, which was active in causing the rarthquake of 1889.. And there is tho Wairau fault.. Ono runs along the side of the Tinakori Hills, another comes up from 'Island Bay, nnd the third runs through Lyall Hay to Evans Bay. Theso earthquake vents have caused' displacements amounting in' some cases to many thousands of feet. Here is distinct evidence of 500 feet of down-throw on the city side as compared with Karori. The line,of fracture can !>e readily' traced by anyono standing in Hill Street and looking first" towards Karori Tunnel and then tracing the depression along the range north-east to Kaiwarra. There it gets to Bea level and produces that most remarkable feature of the sudden sheering and ■cutting-off of all the spur ends along the Railway line. A proof of the fault is that every little creek comes on to the shore lline by.; a fall;"- ~-.;-. WHAT WAS IT?, . LIGHTHOUSE-KEEPER'S STEANGE ■ • ■■/-} ';■;■ -STOKY; ■■■■■-■■.. : , The occurrence.? mentioned iri'the above Article, 'taken in conjunction with the Following remarkable story show that Strange.things, which need a good deal of explanation,, happen from time to time'in 'and near Cook Strait. In April, 1908,"the Marine Department' was furnished with nn extraordinary' report from one of the lighthouse-keepers at Farewell Spit, de-Ecribed-as a solid reliable man, with a good record, and a teetotaler. This it is considered necessary 'lo,state on account bf the puzzling story fhe man tells, Tho iepoi't reads as follows :— "On Monday ni-rlit, March 9, I was on 'duty in tho lighthouse from 8 p.m. till jiiiidnigM. I wound up the revolving machinery at 10 p.m., and then stepped out 'on tho balcony floor. A red flar'o of light Bttracted my attention, about twenty miles {north-north-west, from where I stood, and about .ten miles north-east of tho Capo [headlands. The Cape itself showed up very, .plainly,- and around the vicinity framed just iike a sundown in an overcast sky. The light, or fmy seemed blood-red, )end appeared from, the slope very like a '(large vessel on"fire,-although I am quite tpo-dtivo it was not a vessel, as the length of the iiro appeared to be about 200 or' 300 ifpet high, though the shape or obstacle ■ Iriombled a ship broadside on to me. On (the water's edge appeared oncjong red mass of solid fire, and above this' was one (long black mass, and above this'again one ilons retl mass running, say, from 'bow to etern. In the middle of the . top of tin mass- of firo 'appeared a dome .of solid fire, about 200 or 300 feet high.'- Them was no smoko or. steam visible, end the Water around for alreut h<;o tir fcee miles eeeroed in great commotion, bubbling and sparkling. The Have of fire- was not in +ne sky, but appeared to be 'in the water, land I am i|Uite sure of this, because 1 ■could plainly i'es the sky and water.line 'en th.3 horizon.— T-he whole-.exposition" lasted sixteen minutes from the time I Baw it first until .tho time it died out. About three or four minutes before I iwurid up the machine there was nothing .visible. Herewith I oncloso a rough sketch of til:© fire as it appeared to me. Had I ■the least thought that it was a vessel on ,firo I would have reported thp matter by !,vire the following meriting. "F. -JI'GAHEI', Principal Keeper." .