The Earth's Shifting Crust by Charles Hapgood - wire of information

THE MOUNTAINS 11$
all the way from New Zealand to Hawaii, because there are striking
sympathies of eruptive data between the volcanoes of New Zealand,
Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii (235:23).
He lists a number of eruptions with their dates to show their
intimate connection. In particular he mentions the eruption
of August 31, 1886, on the island of Niuafoo, Polynesia:
. . . Only two months before, Tarawere Volcano was erupted dis-
astrously in New Zealand, indicating volcanic sympathy between two
craters hundreds of miles apart on the same general rift in the earth's
crust (235:95).
These observations imply that a connection may exist, at
least in some cases, between volcanoes at great distances from
each other, because of their being located along the same
crack in the earth's crust. This implies a connection between
the deep fracturing of the earth's crust and volcanism. We
have seen that Columbia scientists have just discovered a
vast connected system of rift valleys, or cracks in the crust,
and associ-
extending over the surface of the whole planet,
ated at the present time with constant seismic disturbances.
Jaggar makes it clear that volcanic eruptions, as well as earth-
be associated with such rifts. Since the crust is
quakes, may
that the molten
relatively thin, it is reasonable to suppose
rock erupting in volcanoes at great distances from each other
must come from below the crust, and that it is not created
by any processes occurring within the crust itself. All this is
confirmation of Daly's position.
Another theory of volcanic action that should be mentioned
briefly is that associated with the name of W. H.
Hobbs. It was his view that volcanic action could result from
horizontal pressure arching up a sector of the crust. This is
based on the fact that if a rock that is too hot to crystallize at
normal pressures is subjected to great pressure, it may take
the solid state. Subsequently, the release of the pressure is
all that is required to restore the rock to its liquid con-
dition. In the earth's crust considerable amounts of rock
may be held in the solid state by the pressure of overlying
strata. Then, if horizontal pressure arches the crust, the