Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1908 — LOST SOUTH SEAS CONTINENT. [ARTICLE]

LOST SOUTH SEAS CONTINENT.

Australian Professor Seeks Solution of Anient Myste^f. Th® lost continent of thi Sonth seas is a pet study of Dr. Woolnough of Sydney university. The main difficulty In the way of reconciling existing conditions with an original great area was that depths df'2,ooo fathoms occurred between the islands. It was necessary to look for land evidence of faulting or breaking; to account for the submarine depths. The granite area In jViti Leva was found to be from 400 to 600 square miles in extent, underlying the modern volcanic rocks. A range of granite mountains with precipitous cliffs on each side gave evidence of heavy faults creating chasms of great depth. He found the rivers forming a marked- rectangular network, an upraised coral reef 200 feet above the sea level, conglomerate rock showing sea shells at a height of 800 feet above the sea, and certain tilts and tufts which had formerly been submarine and were now at a height of 4,600 feet All these indicated a tremendous uplift sufficient to cause greater faulting in the original continent The rivers of FIJI were of comparatively youthful development and even at present passing through the canon cycle.