chambered temple of Maghareh and Serabit he has found many examples of a non-Egyptian writing akin to the Phoenician, or early Hebrews, in the mines upon squares marked out side by side on the walls, also in the temple upon rough images-too rough to be of Egyptian design, and he concludes beyond doubt that this was the writing of Semitic labourers. And further, he asks, in view of this evidence and that of the Tell-Amarna letters, "Can it be supposed that the" Israelite "officers, who were responsible for the amount of work" (done at Ramses and Pithom-Exod. v, 10, 11) "were left without any of the training in writing and registering which was essential to every Egyptian ?"]

Professor HULL, in replying, expressed his pleasure at the interesting discussion which his paper had called forth, and asked to be allowed to convey to Professor Petrie the thanks of the meeting for the loan of the lantern slides which had helped so much to elucidate the subject of the paper.

The CHAIRMAN put the question, which was carried unanimously. The meeting then terminated.

ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING.*

DAVID HOWARD, ESQ., D.L., V.P., IN THE CHAIR.

The Minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed and the following candidates were elected :—

ASSOCIATES.-Lieut.-Col. W. W. Baker, R.E., Bombay. Malcolm W. Searle, Esq., K.C., LL.D.

The following paper was then read by Col. Hendley, in the absence of the author :

THE SAN FRANCISCO AND VALPARAISO EARTHQUAKES AND THEIR CAUSES. BY WARREN UPHAM, M.A., D.Sc., F.G.S.A. (Hon. Corresponding Member). (With map.)

FOUR

OUR months after the terrible earthquake and resulting conflagration which destroyed more than half of San Francisco, the largest city on the Pacific coast of North America, a similar appalling disaster, with much greater loss of life but less of property, has stricken Valparaiso, the largest South American Pacific seaport.

THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE.

Briefly noted, the Californian earthquake, most disastrous in San Francisco, but also dealing much destruction throughout a large area both north and south of that city, occurring in the early morning of Wednesday, April 18th, 1906, at 12 minutes and 6 seconds past 5 o'clock, killed probably in all the stricken region nearly 1,000 people; and the shock and ensuing fires inflicted a total property loss, according to the lowest careful estimates, of about $300,000,000.

The sudden horror of the first and most violent earthquake shocks, as told by witnesses, and the harrowing experiences of

* Monday, January 7th, 1907.

many during the next three days in escaping from the wide devastation of fire, are so fresh in the memories of those who were there, and of all who have read the accounts given in newspapers, magazines, and books already published, narrating and portraying the awful events and scenes, that they need not be again recited. In this paper attention will be directed mainly to geological description and explanation, so far as can be determined, of the causes of these two earthquakes, which came so near together, bringing ruin temporarily to the fairest and most prosperous cities on the Pacific coast of both the northern and southern American continents.

The first and greatest shock in San Francisco and the contiguous country had a duration of one minute and five seconds, as recorded at the observatory of the State University in Berkeley. It was followed within an hour by twelve minor shocks. During the same day the number of the secondary shocks was thirty-one; and they continued for many days, generally diminishing in frequency and intensity, as is the usual history of great earthquakes. The ensuing minor shocks are due to secondary adjustments of the faulted rocks after the principal fractures and slips have relieved, almost instantaneously, the greater part of the stress which was pent up and growing through many years.

An area about 400 miles long from north to south and averaging fifty miles in width displayed in more or less degree the destructive effects of this earthquake. Its tremors were slightly felt much farther, from Coos bay in Oregon south to Los Angeles, and eastward across California into Nevada, being especially notable along the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada.

To much greater distances, and indeed all the way around the world, the rock waves or vibrations ran rapidly and were recorded by the seismographs of observatories. Particularly important records of this paroxysm were thus obtained at Tokyo in Japan and at Potsdam in Germany.

Marvellous speed of transmission of the earth tremors or waves, similar to that ascertained in the case of the Charleston earthquake in 1886, was shown by the time of observations in Washington, D.C., and in Sitka, Alaska. Professor C. F. Marvin, of the United States Weather Bureau, writes of the transmission of the earth vibrations to the city of Washington:

"The great circle distance from San Francisco to Washington is about 2,435 miles, whereas the distance through the crust is about 40 miles shorter, and the straight-line path cuts below the surface