In one portion of the volcanic territory is a body of water a quarter of a mile long, which is known as Lake Juala or Black Lake. Its waters, which are extremely warm, are inky-black, and the hands, when dipped therein, are stained. It is not known what minerals or chemicals are held in solution. It is probable that the waters are poisonous. It may be, however, that they have wonderful medicinal properties, and that they are destined to heal the ailments of humanity. However that may be, this somber sea is in keeping with the region—a fitting lake for the suburb of Hades.
Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence in the vicinity of the "Volcanoes." They are in line of the so-called "earthquake belt," which extends up and down the coast, California being the most frequently disturbed of the coast States.
Since 1850, when the record of these disturbances was begun, more than four hundred shocks have been felt in the State. Some of these have been slight and others have been severe. The earthquake, Christmas evening of 1900, destroyed the village of Hemet over against the western side of the desert and caused the death of six persons. In the year 1812, the mission of San Juan Capistrano was destroyed by an earthquake, and half a hundred lives were lost.
Certain changes are taking place in this region. Some portions of the land are slowly sinking and other points are rising. The same subterranean fires which keep active the hundreds of miniature volcanoes heat the waters of the Caliente and Matajala hot springs, and are doubtless responsible for the frequent shiverings of Mother Earth.
There was a time in the history of the earth—long before man was here to record the history—when a chain of volcanoes extended from Alaska on the north to Mexico and beyond, on the south. These monster spouters left their ineffaceable record upon the continent in the way of vast beds of lava and numerous craters, which the centuries have not been able to hide. The region known as the "Volcanoes" may be the remnant of that mighty volcanic period, or it may be the dawning of a new eruptive season. It is, in either case, a locality to be shunned.
[CHAPTER XV]
DESERT MISCELLANY—UNUSUAL AND PECULIAR FEATURES
There are several localities in the deserts, about which cling stories and traditions of unusual interest. Superstition Mountain, situated in the southwestern portion of the Colorado Desert, is one of these.