Recent Earthquakes

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 28, 1879

Recent Earthquakes.

The earthquakes in the world in 1878 amounted to 103, and were most numerous in winter and autumn, only 18 being noted in both spring and summer, while there were 39 in winter and 26 in autumn. This number, however, states Herr Fuchs, who annually records these disturbances, includes as units many periods in which shocks occurred at intervals for days and weeks. The most destructive earthquake took place on January 23, in Tarapaca, South America, and another notable disturbance occurred in San Salvador. In Europe, one shock on January 28 affected Southern England and part of France; Switzerland, the Black Forest, the Tyrol, Lisbon, and Piedmont also suffered at different times; while the earthquakes on the shores of the Bosphorus in April and May were felt by the British fleet. The lower Rhine earthquake, beginning on August 26, affected a region of over 2,000 square miles. There were 12 volcanic eruptions—an unusually high number—and these occurred at places far apart, and mostly proceeded from little-known volcanoes.