THE HEART-BEATS OF LAKE WAKATIPU.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12551, 3 January 1903, Page 8

THE HEART-BEATS OF LAKE WAKATIPU.

(Bt Ctbr Wakatiii; Correspondent.) A few week*/ago jthe Wakatip Mail reI ferrcu to «, phenomenal occurrence in Lake AVakatipu—viz., the rhythmic heaving and falling of the bosom of the lake. At tho time the remark was made the public mind was otherwise occupied and in little mood mL . ' ) . ore< ' with?£cientifio dissertations, "he'. excitement having passed, the borement may go down by way of an' .antidote: What makes this phenomenon all the.more interesting is that it has not.been observed in any other of the cold lakes of Otogo, nor, ■ as far as tho Writer knows, in lakes in I other parts of tho world.. It is similar to giant heart-beats, or tho : breathing and heaving of the human breast _ during or after violent exercise. Any ordinary gauge is capable of showing the degree, in inches of the rise and fall, so that there can be no doubt as to the faqt of tbVoccurrence, nor .iil there any room for suspicion, of deception'or illusion of any kind. ■ , PREVIOJIS OBSERVATIONS. , . The phenoitionori referred to was noticed and discussed privately by; a- few early observers, , amongst whom'was the late Mr Wortiilngton, at that '■ time Government m.ireorological observer' at Queenstown. '-Mr •fforthington in or about 1873 drew public attention to the fact by "an article in the Wakatip Mail, without, however, setting up any theory explaining tho'.phenomenon, or otherwiso investigating its, .cause. The .phenomeon reappeared- with every sudden rise in the lake," every' observer setting up his own original theory for its explanation. In 1877 Mr H. P. Higginson, G.E.; independently made the observation of the regu- ' lar. rise and fall of the lake,' though it and the weather were perfectly calm, but there was at the time a sudden influx of snow water into the lake. Mr Higginson in the following year road a paper, before, the New Zealand Institute on tho subject, which is recorded in the " Transactions and Proceedings," vol. X, page 180. In it he says: "As I found it difficult to account for this [the rise and fall]'.l made. more careful observations for upwards of an Jiour, tho Tcsult of which was that I ascertained there was a rise and fall of 3in in tho level of the water at intervals of, five minutes, which was maintained with perfect regularity. Tho riso and fall was .extremely, gradual, so that it was quito imperceptible on tho smooth surface." . - Mr Worlhington, if I remember right, had on several occasions .noticed a differonce of 9in and a-fraction between tho rise and fall; and the observer.in..the .Wakatip Mail also stated it to be 9in or lOin. The writer,Jn company with others, observed Gin upcm one occasion and . Bin a few years later. All these observations were made in Queenstown B.iy,. which is in the. shape of a long ."culde sac," and if is therefore - possible that the- nse and fall are hero more accentuated, whatever their causo may be. Mr HiGoixsox's Tiikonr. Mr Higginson ascribed the rise and fall to the current of the 1 water paid into the lake at , its head by the Dart and. Hccs Rivers,. which togothcr have a drainage area of 400 square miles, the .current being directed into v Quoonstown Bay by the contour of tho lake. There are several objections to this theory. In (ho first place, it would require a strong current to raise the , surface of the lake over 3in; in the second ] place no strong current has ever been de- ■ tccted in the lake. .Then,' again, allowing 'that the current accounts for the rise, it could not bo made, to account for the fall also. Besides, it. must be" considered that an appreciable quantity of water is paid into tho Like .by. tho Lccky River,' halfway between Queenstown and Kingston,. and though much inferior in volume to that coming from tho' head, the L'eclty supply must not be overlooked, the action of the two currents being similar in-effect though differing in degree. ■■ - ANOTHER THEORY. ' Accepting the current theory, which at best is a very weak one, as a kev to the mysterious movement of the lake, it is just possible that the current coming • from' the" head meeting that corning from the lower extremity in the neighbourhood'of.Queenstown Bay may together cause, a rhythmic rise and fall of the lake, )>y the momentary stowing up of the waters, 'followed by a momentary collapse at- regular intervals.. This theory lacks support from observed and woll-establishcd facts. Observation has 'shown that thoro is at best 'drily a very feeble' current in "the lake. The'distance from the head of the lake to-Queenstown Bay is, roughly taken, 30 miles—a distance long enough to exhaust the; force, .of any current, seeing tho surface of the. lake-is a dead level. The current from L'ecky River travels about 10 miles to tho point where it meets the former, also a greater -journey than any current is likely to- survive in dead water. . ■ •: From ' this • fact ..■■ alortc it is plain that neither current by ■ itself, nor both combined, is able to raiso the surface of the lake the lowest observed rise—namely, 3in, —and some other cause must be. looked for to explain tho mystery. "' STILL ANOTHER THEORT.' Whatever currents there are in the. lake must he, in the mam, in the ..direction of its outlet, from whatever port of the lake they may come. So much' is self-evident. That-from the head of the take-and. that from the foot are. the only two current l ) that are possible in the lake, The outlet of Wakatipu is an insignificant rock-bound gorge at the end of an'insignificant arm of tho lake, over n rapid which is neither 'very steeii nor very high. . , ' . \ .When heavy rain' or melting snow, or ]joth combined, occur, a volume of 'water is paid into 'the lak.fi far. beyond' what the narrow outlet can. discharge. Nevertheless, this- volume naturally makes., for. the exit. Arrived there, the water that''is not discharged is literally piled up, raising the level of. t'e lake by so mamy inches above the general average level, deadening at the same time whatever current there mighthave been when tho supply; is no. more than the outlet could discharge. The piling up of waters causes a reflux, as water will ! always find its level This, piling, up and reflux of tho water causes a rise aiid fall at rythmic intervals, agitating, tho whole 120 square miles that make up the surface of the lake. In this manner thcrsurface level of the lake is raised, causing 'the water to flow and ebb, as it were, .at regular-'intervals, the whole surface swaying back, and forward in obedience to 'the rate th'o water rashes or falls into the lake. i . When it was stated ahave that Wakatipu was the only lake in which this .phenomenon occurred, the writer spoke from tho scope of liis information of the subject' only, and it goes without saying tliat wherever the same conditions obtain, the cause and the effect must bo the.same as in Lako Wakatipu. ''.'■' ' .' „•'. Another. principle comes imto nlay, and must be taken into account. All moving water flows by impehis. Although the water in a race may carry a float man even and apparently uninterrupted course, there is a flow and reflux in the water.. One of the prettiest and most interesting experiments to which running water lends itself proves this statement. If to the discharge' end of a water race.a chute of-wood, or ariv other material,'is fixed, afanangle 'of- no't more than 15 or 20 degrees from the vertical, itwill be observed, provided the chute' be lon* enough-say 50ft or 60ft-thaf • the water rushes down the .chute in lepra divided by intervals of time measuring quite a number of seconds, varying as tho angle .of dip or the chute is increased or decreased the intervals being longer the steeper-the cbnto is inclined, or vice versa,; until'the phenomenon seems 'to disappear altogether. ' At the outlet of Wakatipu wo have some such arrangement.' There is a'fall forming | rapids, not very.; steep nor very high, yet high and steep enough to show that the discharge' from the lake is bv leans mid bounds, corresponding with '.the ' observed rise and fall of its surface.', In times of a sudden rise, the mighty lake belches forth its overcharge of storm water in roaring, violcmt rushes, at regular intervals.of time, just as was seen in the above-quoted experiment. •-....-.■-•.

This explanation of the mysterv. commonplace and prosaic, as it may'-be,'it is to be feared, will' have-'to servo until a bet'ter one is forthcoming. A FINAL TnEOl'.V. Thero is still another theory, which is altogether unanswerable, because' it is legendary. -.'.."' Maori mythology fables of a : -giant who lived in the snowy mountain of the interior of the South Island. He was so largo that he could step from oho mountain ton lo another. This monster sorely troubled'the Natives of the coast, carryiug'off their maidens to his mountain home, shd committing., other ravages. '-OnceUpon-a time he had carried off a/great daughter, who was about to be married to a, young chief. This young' chief .'went in search of and found his betrothed,'but she Was tied to the monster, who was fast' asleep; unfit' the.ground. hy ; a thong made'of the ski" ■:'.( the t'-vo-hcaded -i3o:x,-which 'tp' cut'. tharr ivav no to' Mftflrl','crsiji-. To lie.' I'.j'.iht. . ,vas i!icverp'rd;;'impdss;bio,

and the maiden, with tears in her eyes, prayed her lover lo leave her, for if the monster awoke it would bo sure death to him. But ho refused, and the maiden cried on -until Iter tears fell upon the thong at her-waist. And, 10, behold! the tears of true love ate away the thong that not even the sharpest greenstone mere-mere could have cut.. The couple got away together, and when the monster awoke he was raging mad,-and was just about to start in pursuit when the cast wind sprang up and took away his strength. He fell upon the ground like a man in a dream. When the young Maori chief and tho maiden arrived at their pah, they wanted the tohunga to marry them, but he refused, sayimg to tho young chief: "Go at once and pile up wood around the sleeping gianifc, and set fifo to it, and it will burn him all up before he awakens." Tho young chief did as he was bid. And tho fire, it burned and burned and burned, until the giant was alt. burned-np, except Ids heart. And there was peace in the land henceforth, for the giant was all burned up. And the tohunga married the young chief rmd the maiden in reward for the good they had done for tho people of the land, and they lived happy ever after. • When the fire stopped there was a great hole burned in the ground, and tho hole was in the shape of a man lying upon his Bide with his knees drawn tip,-and tho one end of it is the head and the other the foot of the lake, as it was with the giant. And the hole filled with water, but the giant's heart that was not burned, sank to the bottom of the lake, whero it rests. But when the winds howl and tho storms come and the snow fills the air, and the rainis and the creeks and rivers roar and'rage- with the waters the dark heavens have .sent,' tho great heart heaves and beats, and the waters of Wakatipu rise and fall accordingly.