pitch black 復習
16日の大地震後、熊本県にある水前寺成趣円の池が干上がってしまったそうです。
Pond in famed Kumamoto garden drying up after temblor
KUMAMOTO--The traditional Japanese pond at the renowned Suizenji Jojuen garden here has almost completely dried up following the massive earthquake that struck Kyushu in the early hours of April 16.
The vast pond began to lose its water after the magnitude-7.3 quake rattled Kumamoto. The April 16 temblor was confirmed by the Japan Meteorological Agency as the main tremor of a series of quakes that struck central Kyushu Prefecture from the night of April 14.
A priest from Izumijinja shrine, which manages the garden, checked on the pond at 3 a.m. on April 16 after the major earthquake struck. The 27-year-old discovered that the pond appeared pitch black at night rather than reflecting the moon and the lights of the city as usual.
Two hours later at the light of dawn, he observed that about 80 percent of the bottom of the pond was exposed. Its carp inhabitants were struggling to survive by swimming on their sides in the little bit of water that remained.
“Maybe the water source died out,” the priest said.
According to the priest, the pond was fed from underground springs. The park operator is currently trying to refill the pond by pouring in pumped groundwater, but the water levels have not yet returned to normal.
今回気になった表現はpitch blackです。
Oxford dictionaries.comでは” Completely dark”と定義されており、『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第五版、大修館書店）には(as ) black (dark) as pitchで「真っ黒（真っ暗）な （限定用法ではpitch-black）」とありました。
pitchにはお馴染みの「（音の）調子」などのほかに、「ピッチ、瀝青（れきせい）物質」（同上辞書）の意味があることが分かりました。
瀝青とは「天然のアスファルト・タール・ピッチなど、黒色の粘着性のある物質の総称。また、石炭を加圧下でベンゼンを用いて抽出したときの抽出物。チャン。ビチューメン。ビチューム。」（コトバンク）という物質のことです。
以上のことから、「いつもは夜になると月や街の明かりを反射しているのに、（干上がってしまって）今は真っ暗な池の底がみえる」と訳せるかと思いました。
未だに詳しい原因はわかっておらず、水位がもとに戻るまで時間がかかりそうです。(flyingbird)
過去にも先輩が取り上げられております。
