WATERSPOUT ON THE REMARKABLES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2604, 10 February 1904, Page 30

WATERSPOUT ON THE REM ARK ABL ES .

Tho many tourists \i=itmg the charming alpme tov.nslup of Queenstown last week were aiiorded opportunity of witne^ii'g a tru.y remarkable and somevviiat startling spectacle in the shape of a majmawni aterspouc on tno Rcmarkablcs liiformation regarding tiio at in -spheric disturbuneo, and consequent downpour, was not supplied to Dun^um by telc^t-ph, and v.c aio n debted lo the Like Wakatip Ivia'l for paitaiu.ars. it a i- pears that tho phci.oir.oi'on — though it is open to question Wi'elhor an ch«-ci consequent upon natural caua.j3 oould bo styled a phenomenon, or, indeed, if there is such ti thing in 3S;ifare — followed upon a forenoon ct burn.ng calm, when, as far as the atmosphere was concerned, tho district might uave been m the neighbourhood of the overland telegraph line in Xoitl.crn Queensland. About 1 o'clock a report, soiuidiiig hke the discharge of a I.oavy piece of arciileiy, was heard, and the start. cd townspeople and visitors then observed a large column of water descending irom the top of the Remarkables to the right of the Double Cone, a waterspout of considerable magnitude having burst just over the tarn beneath the Cones Tho cloud effect* simultaneously were in themselves a spectacle of grandeur, and a magnificent exposition of little-known, laws of Nature. Huge volumes of dark, heavy-looking clouds rushed in different dirpctions, turning upon themselves and upon each other, raid clashing- together until the observers almost listened for the crash of the impact. Tho magnitude of the waterspout may bo gauged from the faob that it embraced five peaks of the range, and very shortly after the burst four streams of water were &c-en dashing down the precipitous slopes of the mountains, gradually lessening until, about 3 o'clock, the elements were agnin at per.ee. The next day a mild waterspout was experienced in Queonstown itself, following upon a heavy thunderstorm.