In Plate V, page 112, are given six figures representing various cracks
and fissures. No. 1 represents the cracks in the glaze of Japanese
pottery, magnified. No. 2 shows the mud cracks on the edge of a lake,
to the extent of two feet. No. 3 is a series of cracks in an asphalt
pavement, covering about two feet. No. 4 shows the form of cracks
in the surface of a mesa in Arizona, the result of the summer heat,
the length being about ten feet. No. 5 is a tracing from a drawing
by Professor W. H. Pickering showing cracks in the lunar crater
Eratosthenes, with an extent of fifty-five miles. The original drawing
represented a much greater widening of the lines which Professor
Pickering believes to be due to vegetation. I endeavored to trace
the centre of each line and Professor Pickering said in regard to my
tracing: "In one or two instances you have assumed that a crack went
through the middle of a broad space, whereas, for aught we know, it
may have gone along either edge, but otherwise the tracing obviously
follows the outlines of my drawing." It evidently gives a _cachet_
of what appears to be veritable cracks on the surface, and it is
interesting to compare this drawing with the cracks in the asphalt. In
No. 6 are two drawings; one marked A represents cracks in a region of
the Moon known as Flammarion's Circle, the other B represents the great
rift in southern Africa, probably the most stupendous phenomenon in
geological history. This rift has been traced from the Valley of the
Jordan through the Dead Sea, into the Gulf of Akaba, thence into the
Red Sea, which it follows the entire length, then turning southwesterly
into Africa and branching, one branch takes in Lake Tanganyika, and
the other branch Lake Nyassa. A portion north of Nyassa is still
problematical. Here is a crack 1,500 miles long, most of it filled with
detritus, water, or forest. It would be an interesting question whether
such a fracture would be visible even from the Moon. A glance at these
various figures will give one a conception of the similarity of cracks,
their irregular contour, their indeterminate origin, and ending. Cracks
arising from shrinkage vary only in the material in which the crack
takes place; the conditions resulting from shrinkage or pulling apart
are precisely the same.
[Illustration: PLATE VI
1. RAILROADS, ILLINOIS
37 MILES
2. STREETS, MONTREAL
1/2 MILE
3. IRRIGATION CANALS, ARIZONA
1-1/3 MILES
4. CANALS, GRONINGEN, HOLLAND
10 MILES
5. MARS, SCHIAPARELLI'S MAP
6. MARS, LOWELL'S GLOBE
ARTIFICIAL LINES
RAILWAYS, STREETS, CANALS, ETC.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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