|
VOLUME 1
|
|
|
Front Matter
|
|
I
|
Geology defined – Compared to History – Its relation
to other Physical Sciences – Its distinctness from all
– Not to be confounded with Cosmogony
|
|
II
|
Oriental Cosmogony – Doctrine of the successive
destruction and renovation of the world – Origin of this
doctrine – Common to the Egpytians – Adopted by the
Greeks – System of Pythagoras – Of Aristotle –
Dogmas concerning the extinction and reproduction of genera and
species – Strabo's theory of elevation by earthquakes
– Pliny – Concluding remarks on the knowledge of the
Ancients
|
|
III
|
Arabian writers of the Tenth century – Persecution of Omar
– Cosmogony of the Koran – Early Italian writers
– Fracastoro – Controversy as to the real nature of
organized fossils – Fossil shells attributed to the Mosaic
deluge – Palissy – Steno – Scilla –
Quirini – Boyle – Plot – Hooke's Theory of
Elevation by earthquakes – His speculations on lost
species of animals – Ray – Physico-theological
writers – Woodward's Diluvial Theory – Burnet
– Whiston – Hutchinson – Leibnitz –
Vallisneri – Lazzoro Moro – Generelli – Buffon
– His theory condemned by the Sorbonne as unorthodox
– Buffon's declaration – Targioni – Ardinino
– Michell – Catcott – Raspe – Fortis
– Testa – Whitehurst – Pallas –
Saussure
|
|
IV
|
Werner's application of Geology to the art of Mining –
Excursive character of his lectures – Enthusiasm of his
pupils – His authority – His theoretical errors
– Desmarest's map and description of Auvergne –
Controversy between the Vulcanists and Neptunists –
Intemperance of the rival Sects – Hutton's theory of the
Earth – His discovery of granite veins – Originality
of his views – Why opposed – Playfair's
illustrations – Influence of Voltaire's writings on
Geology – Imputations cast on the Huttonians by Williams,
Kirwau, and De Luc – Smith's map of England –
Geological Society of London – Progress of the Science in
France – Growing importance of the study of organic
remains
|
|
V
|
Review of the causes which have retarded the progress of Geology
– Effects of prepossessions in regard to the duration of
past time – Of prejudices arising from our peculiar
position as inhabitants of the land – Of those occasioned
by our not seeing subterranean changes now in progress –
All these causes combine to make the former course of Nature
appear different from the present – Several objections to
the assumption, that existing causes have produced the former
changes of the earth's surface, removed by modern discoveries
|
|
VI
|
Proofs that the climate of the Northern hemisphere was formerly
hotter – Direct proofs from the Organic remains of the
Sicilian and Italian strata – Proofs from analogy derived
from extinct Quadrupeds – Imbedding of Animals in Icebergs
– Siberian Mammoths – Evidence in regard to
temperature, from the fossil remains of tertiary and secondary
rocks – From the plants of the coal formation
|
|
VII
|
On the causes of vicissitudes in climate – Remarks on the
present diffusion of heat over the globe – On the
dependence of the mean temperature on the relative position of
land and sea – Isothermal lines – Currents from
equatorial regions – Drifting of Icebergs –
Different temperature of Northern and Southern hemispheres
– Combination of causes which might produce the extreme
cold of which the earth's surface is susceptible – On the
conditions necessary for the production of the extreme of heat,
and its probable effects on organic life
|
|
VIII
|
Geological proofs that the geographical features of the northern
hemisphere, at the period of the deposition of the carboniferous
strata, were such as would, according to the theory before
explained, give rise to an extremely hot climate – Origin
of the transition and mountain limestones, coal-sandstones, and
coal – Change in the physical geography of northern
latitudes, between the era of the formation of the carboniferous
series and the lias – Character of organic remains, from
the lias to the chalk inclusive – State of the surface
when these deposits originated – Great accession of land,
and elevation of mountain-chains, between the consolidation of
the newer secondary and older tertiary rocks – Consequent
refrigeration of climate – Abrupt transition from the
organic remains of the secondary to those of the tertiary strata
– Maestricht beds – Remarks on the theory of the
diminution of central heat
|
|
IX
|
Theory of the progressive development of organic life considered
– Evidence in its support wholly inconclusive –
Vertebrated animals in the oldest strata – Differences
between the organic remains of successive formations –
Remarks on the comparatively modern origin of the human race
– The popular doctrine of successive development not
confirmed by the admission that man is of modern origin –
In what manner the change in the system caused by the
introduction of man affects the assumption of the uniformity of
the past and future course of physical events
|
|
X
|
Division of the subject into changes of the organic and
inorganic world – Inorganic causes of change divided into
the aqueous and igneous – Aqueous causes –
Destroying and transporting power of running water –
Sinuosities of rivers – Two streams when united do not
occupy a bed of double surface – Heavy matter removed by
torrents and floods – Recent inundations in Scotland
– Effects of ice in removing stones – Erosion of
chasms through hard rocks – Excavations in the lavas of
Etna by Sicilian rivers – Gorge of the Simeto –
Gradual recession of the cataracts of Niagara –
Speculations as to the time required for their reaching Lake
Erie
|
|
XI
|
Action of running water, continued – Course of the
Po – Desertion of its old channel – Artificial
embankments of the Po, Adige, and other Italian rivers –
Basin of the Mississippi – Its meanders – Islands
– Shifting of its course – Raft of the Atchafalaya
– Drift wood – New-formed lakes in Louisiana
– Earthquakes in the valley of the Mississippi –
Floods caused by landslips in the White mountains –
Bursting of a lake in Switzerland – Devastations caused by
the Anio at Tivoli
|
|
XII
|
Difference between the transporting power of springs and rivers
– Many springs carry matter from below upwards –
Mineral ingredients most abundant in springs – Connexion
of mineral waters with volcanic phenomena – Calcareous
springs – Travertin of the Elsa – Baths of San
Vignone, and of San Filippo, near Radicofani – Spheroidal
structure in travertin, as in English magnesian limestone
– Bulicami of Viterbo – Lake of the Solfatara, near
Rome – Travertin at Cascade of Tivoli – Ferruginous
springs – Cementing and colouring property of iron –
Brine springs – Carbonated springs – Disintegration
of Auvergne granite – Caverns in limestone –
Petroleum springs – Pitch lake of Trinidad
|
|
XIII
|
Reproductive effects of running water – Division of deltas
into lacustrine, mediterranean, and oceanic – Lake deltas
– Growth of the delta of the Rhone in the Lake of Geneva
– Chronological computations of the age of deltas –
Recent deposits in Lake Superior – Deltas of inland seas
– Rapid shallowing of the Baltic – Arguments for and
against the hypothesis of Celsius – Elevated beaches on
the coast of Sweden – Marine delta of the Rhone –
Various proofs of its increase – Stony nature of its
deposits – Delta of the Po, Adige, Isonzo, and other
rivers entering the Adriatic – Rapid conversion of that
gulf into land – Mineral characters of the new deposits
– Delta of the Nile – Its increase since the time of
Homer – Its growth why checked at present
|
|
XIV
|
Oceanic deltas – Delta of the Ganges and Burrampooter
– Its size, rate of advance, and nature of its deposits
– Formation and destruction of islands – Abundance
of crocodiles – Inundations – Delta of the
Mississippi – Deposits of drift wood – Gradual
filling up of the Yellow Sea – Rennell's estimate of the
mud carried down by the Ganges – Formation of valleys
illustrated by the growth of deltas – Grouping of new
strata in general – Convergence of deltas –
Conglomerates – Various causes of stratification –
Direction of laminae – Remarks on the interchange of land
and sea
|
|
XV
|
Destroying and transporting effects of Tides and Currents
– Shifting of their position – Differences in the
rise of the tides – Causes of currents – Action of
the sea on the British coast – Shetland Islands –
Large blocks removed – Effects of lightning – Breach
caused in a mass of porphyry – Isles reduced to clusters
of rocks – Orkney Isles – East coast of Scotland
– Stones thrown up on the Bell Rock – East coast of
England – Waste of the cliffs of Holderness, Norfolk, and
Suffolk – Silting up of Estuaries – Origin of
submarine forests – Yarmouth estuary – Submarine
forests – Suffolk coast – Dunwich – Essex
coast – Estuary of the Thames – Goodwin Sands
– Coast of Kent – Formation of Straits of Dover
– Coast of Hants – Coast of Dorset – Portland
– Origin of the Chesel Bank – Cornwall –
Lionnesse tradition – Coast of Brittany
|
|
XVI
|
Action of Tides and Currents, continued – Inroads
of the sea upon the delta of the Rhine in Holland –
Changes in the arms of the Rhine – Estuary of the Bies
Bosch, formed in 1421 – Formation of the Zuyder Zee, in
the 13th century – Islands destroyed – Delta of the
Ems converted into a bay – Estuary of the Dollart formed
– Encroachment of the sea on the coast of Sleswick –
Inroads on the eastern shores of North America – Tidal
wave called the Bore – Influence of tides and currents on
the mean level of seas – Action of currents on inland
lakes and seas – Baltic – Cimbrian deluge –
Straits of Gibraltar – Under currents – Shores of
Mediterranean – Rocks transported on floating icebergs
– Dunes of blown sand – Sands of the Libyan Desert
– De Luc's natural chronometers
|
|
XVII
|
Reproductive effects of Tides and Currents – Silting up of
Estuaries does not compensate the loss of land on the borders of
the ocean – Bed of the German Ocean – Composition
and extent of its sand-banks – Strata formed by currents
on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean –
Transportation by currents of the sediment of the Amazon,
Orinoco, and Mississippi – Stratification –
Concluding remarks
|
|
XVIII
|
Division of igneous agents into the volcano and the earthquake
– Distinct regions of subterranean disturbance –
Region of the Andes – System of volcanos extending from
the Aleutian Isles to the Moluccas – Polynesian
archipelago – Volcanic region extending from the Caspian
Sea to the Azores – Former connexion of the Caspian with
Lake Aral and the Sea of Azof – Low steppes skirting these
seas – Tradition of deluges on the shores of the
Bosphorus, Hellespont, and the Grecian archipelago –
Periodical alternation of earthquakes in Syria and Southern
Italy – Western limits of the European region –
Earthquakes rarer and more feeble in proportion as we recede
from the centres of volcanic action – Extinct volcanos not
to be included in lines of active vents
|
|
XIX
|
History of the volcanic eruptions in the district round Naples
– Early convulsions in the island of Ischia –
Numerous cones thrown up there – Epomeo not an habitual
volcano – Lake Avernus – The Solfatara –
Renewal of the eruptions of Vesuvius A.D. 79 – Pliny's
description of the phenomena – Remarks on his silence
respecting the destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii –
Subsequent history of Vesuvius – Lava discharged in Ischia
in 1302 – Pause in the eruptions of Vesuvius – Monte
Nuovo thrown up – Uniformity of the volcanic operations of
Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields in ancient and modern times
|
|
XX
|
Dimensions and structure of the cone of Vesuvius – Dikes
in the recent cone, how formed – Section through Vesuvius
and Somma – Vesuvian lavas and minerals – Effects of
decomposition of lava – Alluvions called "aqueous lavas"
– Origin and composition of the matter enveloping
Herculaneum and Pompeii – Controversies on the subject
– Condition and contents of the buried cities –
Proofs of their having suffered by an earthquake – Small
number of skeletons – State of preservation of animal and
vegetable substances – Rolls of Papyrus –
Probability of future discoveries of MSS. – Stabiae
– Torre del Greco – Concluding remarks on the
destroying and renovating agency of the Campanian volcanos
|
|
XXI
|
External physiognomy of Etna – Minor cones produced by
lateral eruptions – Successive obliteration of these cones
– Early eruptions of Etna – Monti Rossi thrown up in
1669 – Great fissure of S. Lio – Towns overflowed by
lava – Part of Catania destroyed – Mode of the
advance of a current of lava – Excavation of a church
under lava – Series of subterranean caverns – Linear
direction of cones formed in 1811 and 1819 – Flood
produced in 1755 by the melting of snow during an eruption
– A glacier covered by a lava stream on Etna –
Volcanic eruptions in Iceland – New island thrown up in
1783 – Two lava-currents of Skaptár Jokul in the same year
– Their immense volume – Eruption of Jorullo in
Mexico – Humboldt's Theory respecting the convexity of the
Plain of Malpais
|
|
XXII
|
Volcanic Archipelagos – The Canaries – Eruptions of
the Peak of Teneriffe – Cones thrown up in Lancerote in
1730-36 – Pretended distinction between ancient and modern
lavas – Recent formation of oolitic travertine in
Lancerote – Grecian Archipelago – Santorin and its
contiguous isles – Von Buch's Theory of "Elevation
Craters" considered – New islands thrown up in the Gulf of
Santorin – Supposed "Crater of Elevation" in the Isle of
Palma – Description of the Caldera of Palma – Barren
island in the Bay of Bengal – Origin of the deep gorge on
the side of "Elevation Craters" – Stratification of
submarine volcanic products – Causes of the great size of
the craters of submarine volcanos – Cone of Somma, formed
in the same manner as that of Vesuvius – Mineral
composition of volcanic products – Speculations respecting the
nature of igneous rocks produced at great depths, by modern
volcanic eruptions
|
|
XXIII
|
Earthquakes and their effects – Deficiency of ancient
accounts – Ordinary atmospheric phenomena – Changes
produced by earthquakes in modern times considered in
chronological order – Earthquake in Murcia, 1829 –
Bogota in 1827 – Chile in 1822 – Great extent of
country elevated – Aleppo in 1822 – Ionian Isles in
1820 – Island of Sumbawa in 1815 – Town of Tomboro
submerged – Earthquake of Cutch in 1819 – Subsidence
of the delta of the Indus – Earthquake of Caraccas in 1812
– South Carolina in 1811 – Geographical changes in
the valley of the Mississippi – Volcanic convulsions in
the Aleutian Islands in 1806 – Reflections on the
earthquakes of the eighteenth century – Earthquake in
Quito, 1797 – Cumana, 1797 – Caraccas, 1790 –
Sicily, 1790 – Java, 1786 – Sinking down of large
tracts
|
|
XXIV
|
Earthquake in Calabria, February 5th, 1783 – Shocks
continued to the end of the year 1786 – Authorities
– Extent of the area convulsed – Geological
structure of the district – Difficulty of ascertaining
changes of relative level even on the sea-coast –
Subsidence of the quay at Messina – Shift or fault in the
Round Tower of Terranuova – Movement in the stones of two
obelisks – Alternate opening and closing of fissures
– Cause of this phenomenon – Large edifices
engulphed – Dimensions of new caverns and fissures –
Gradual closing in of rents – Bounding of detached masses
into the air – Landslips – Buildings transported
entire, to great distances – Formation of fifty new lakes
– Currents of mud – Small funnel-shaped
hollows in alluvial plains – Fall of cliffs along the
sea-coast – Shore near Scilla inundated – State
of Stromboli and Etna during the shocks – Illustration
afforded by this earthquake of the mode in which valleys are
formed
|
|
XXV
|
Earthquakes of the eighteenth century, continued –
Java, 1772 – Truncation of a lofty cone – Caucasus,
1772 – Java, 1771 – Colombia, 1766 – Chile,
1760 – Azores, 1757 – Lisbon, 1755 – Sinking
down of the quay to the depth of six hundred feet – Shocks
felt throughout Europe, Northern Africa, and the West Indies
– Great wave – Shocks felt at sea – St.
Domingo, 1751 – Conception Bay, 1750 – Permanent
elevation of the bed of the sea to the height of twenty-four
feet – Peru, 1746 – Kamtschatka, 1737 –
Martinique, 1727. Iceland, 1725 – Teneriffe, 1706 –
Java, 1699 – Landslips obstruct the Batas vian and
Tangaran rivers – Quito, 1698 – Sicily, 1693 –
Subsidence of land – Moluccas,1693 – Jamaica,1692
– Large tracts engulphed – Portion of Port Royal
sunk from twenty to fifty feet under water – The Blue
Mountains shattered – Reflections on the amount of change
in the last one hundred and forty years – Proofs of
elevation and subsidence of land on the coast of the Bay of
Baise – Evidence of the same afforded by the present state
of the Temple of Serapis
|
|
XXVI
|
Magnitude of the subterranean changes produced by earthquakes at
great depths below the surface – Obscurity of geological
phenomena no proof of want of uniformity in the system, because
subterranean processes are but little understood – Reasons
for presuming the earthquake and volcano to have a common origin
– Probable analogy between the agency of steam in the
Icelandic geysers, and in volcanos during eruptions –
Effects of hydrostatic pressure of high columns of lava –
Of the condensation of vapours in the interior of the earth
– That some earthquakes may be abortive eruptions –
Why all volcanos are in islands or maritime tracts – Gases
evolved from volcanos – Regular discharge of heat and of
gaseous and earthy matter from the subterranean regions –
Cause of the wave-like motion and of the retreat of the sea
during earthquakes – Difference of circumstances of heat
and pressure at great depths – Inferences from the
superficial changes brought about by earthquakes – In what
matter the repair of land destroyed by aqueous causes takes
place – Proofs that the sinking in of the earth's crust
somewhat exceeds the forcing out by earthquakes –
Geological consequences of this hypothesis, that there is no
ground for presuming that the degree of force exerted by
subterranean movements in a given time has diminished –
Concluding remarks
|
|
|
Index
|
|
VOLUME 2
|
|
|
Front Matter
|
|
I
|
Changes of the Organic World now in progress – Division of
the Subject – Examination of the question, Whether Species
have a real existence in Nature? – Importance of this
question in Geology – Sketch of Lamarck's arguments in
favour of the Transmutation of Species, and his conjectures
respecting the Origin of existing Animals and Plants – His
Theory of the transformation of the Orang Outang into the Human
Species
|
|
II
|
Recapitulation of the arguments in favour of the theory of
transmutation of species – Their insufficiency – The
difficulty of discriminating species mainly attributable to a
defective knowledge of their history – Some mere varieties
possibly more distinct than certain individuals of distinct
species – Variability in a species consistent with a
belief that the limits of deviation are fixed – No facts
of transmutation authenticated – Varieties of the Dog
– The Dog and Wolf distinct Species – Mummies of
various animals from Egypt identical in character with living
individuals – Seeds and plants from the Egyptian tombs
– Modifications produced in plants by agriculture and
gardening
|
|
III
|
Variability of a species compared to that of an individual
– Species which are susceptible of modification may be
altered greatly in a short time, and in a few generations; after
which they remain stationary – The animals now subject to
man had originally an aptitude to domesticity – Acquired
peculiarities which become hereditary have a close connexion
with the habits or instincts of the species in a wild state
– Some qualities in certain animals have been conferred
with a view of their relation to man – Wild elephant
domesticated in a few years, but its faculties incapable of
further development
|
|
IV
|
Consideration of the question whether species have a real
existence in nature, continued – Phenomena of hybrids
– Hunter's opinions as to mule animals – Mules not
strictly intermediate between the parent species – Hybrid plants
– Experiments of Kölreuter – The same repeated by
Wiegmann – Vegetable hybrids prolific throughout several
generations – Why so rare in a wild state –
Decandolle's opinion respecting hybrid plants – The
phenomena of hybrids confirms the doctrine of the permanent
distinctness of species – Theory of the gradation in the
intelligence of animals as indicated by the facial angle –
Discovery of Tieddemann that the brain of the foetus in mammalia
assumes successively the form of the brain of a fish, reptile,
and bird – Bearing of this discovery on the theory of
progressive development and transmutation – Recapitulation
|
|
V
|
Laws which regulate the geographical distribution of species
– Analogy of climate not attended with identity of species
– Botanical geography – Stations – Habitations
– Distinct provinces of indigenous plants –
Vegetation of islands – Marine vegetation – In what
manner plants become diffused – Effects of wind, rivers,
marine currents – Agency of animals – Many seeds
pass through the stomachs of animals and birds undigested
– Agency of man in the dispersion of plants, both
voluntary and involuntary – Its analogy to that of the
inferior animals
|
|
VI
|
Geographical distribution of Animals – Buffon on the
specific distinctness of the quadrupeds of the old and new world
– Different regions of indigenous mammalia –
Quadrupeds in islands – Range of the Cetacea –
Dissemination of quadrupeds – Their powers of swimming
– Migratory instincts – Drifting of quadrupeds on
ice-floes – On floating islands of drift-timber –
Migrations of Cetacea – Habitations of Birds – Their
migrations and facilities of diffusion – Distribution of
Reptiles and their powers of dissemination
|
|
VII
|
Geographical distribution and migrations of fish – Of
testacea – Causes which limit the extension of many
species – Their mode of diffusion – Geographical
range of zoophytes – Their powers of dissemination –
Distribution of insects – Migratory instincts of some
species – Certain types characterize particular countries
– Their means of dissemination – Geographical
distribution and diffusion of man – Speculations as to the
birth-place of the human species – Progress of human
population – Drifting of canoes to vast distances –
On the involuntary influence of man in extending the range of
many other species
|
|
VIII
|
Theories respecting the original introduction of species –
Proposal of an hypothesis on this subject – Supposed
centres or foci of creation – Why the distinct provinces
of animals and plants have not become more blended together
– Brocchi's speculations on the loss of species –
Stations of plants and animals – Complication of causes on
which they depend – Stations of plants, how affected by
animals – Equilibrium in the number of Species, how
preserved – Peculiar efficacy of insects in this task
– Rapidity with which certain insects multiply, or
decrease in numbers – Effect of omnivorous animals in
preserving the equilibrium of species – Reciprocal
influence of aquatic and terrestrial species on each other
|
|
IX
|
The circumstances which constitute the Stations of Animals are
changeable – Extension of the range of one species alters
the condition of others – Supposed effects which may have
followed the first entrance of the Polar Bears into Iceland
– The first appearance of a new species in a region causes
the chief disturbance – Changes known to have resulted
from the advance of human population – Whether man
increases the productive powers of the earth – Indigenous
Quadrupeds and Birds of Great Britain known to have been
extirpated – Extinction of the Dodo – Rapid
propagation of the domestic Quadrupeds over the American
Continent – Power of exterminating species no prerogative
of Man – Concluding Remarks
|
|
X
|
Influence of inorganic causes in changing the habitations of
species – Powers of diffusion indispensable, that each
species may maintain its ground – How changes in the
physical geography affect the distribution of species –
Rate of the change of species cannot be uniform, however regular
the action of the inorganic causes – Illustration derived
from subsidences by earthquakes – From the elevation of
land by the same – From the formation of new islands
– From the wearing through of an isthmus – Each
change in the physical geography of large regions must occasion
the extinction of species – Effects of a general
alteration of climate on the migration of species –
Gradual refrigeration causes species in the northern and
southern hemispheres to become distinct – Elevation of
temperature the reverse – Effects in the distribution of
species which must result from vicissitudes in climate
inconsistent with the theory of transmutation
|
|
XI
|
Theory of the successive extinction of species consistent with
their limited geographical distribution – The discordance
in the opinions of botanists respecting the centres from which
plants have been diffused may arise from changes in physical
geography subsequent to the origin of living species –
Whether there are grounds for inferring that the loss from time
to time of certain animals and plants is compensated by the
introduction of new species? – Whether any evidence of
such new creations could be expected within the historical era,
even if they had been as frequent as cases of extinction?
– The question whether the existing species have been
created in succession can only be decided by reference to
geological monuments
|
|
XII
|
Effects produced by the powers of vitality on the state of the
earth's surface – Modifications in physical geography
caused by organic beings on dry land inferior to those caused in
the subaqueous regions – Why the vegetable soil does not
augment in thickness – Organic matter drifted annually to
the sea, and buried in subaqueous strata – Loss of
nourishment from this source, how supplied – The theory,
that vegetation is an antagonist power counterbalancing the
degradation caused by running water, untenable – That the
igneous causes are the true antagonist powers, and not the
action of animal and vegetable life – Conservative
influence of vegetation – Its bearing on the theory of the
formation of valleys, and on the age of the cones of certain
extinct volcanos – Rain diminished by the felling of
forests – Distribution of the American forests dependent
on the direction of the predominant winds – Influence of
man in modifying the physical geography of the globe
|
|
XIII
|
Effects produced by the action of animal and vegetable life on
the material constituents of the earth's crust – Imbedding
of organic remains in deposits on emerged land – Growth of
Peat – Peat abundant in cold and humid climates –
Site of many ancient forests in Europe now occupied by Peat
– Recent date of many of these changes – Sources of
Bog iron-ore – Preservation of animal substances in Peat
– Causes of its antiseptic property – Miring of
quadrupeds – Bursting of the Solway Moss – Bones of
herbivorous quadrupeds found in Peat – Imbedding of animal
remains in Caves and Fissures – Formation of bony breccias
– Human bones and pottery intermixed with the remains of
extinct quadrupeds in caves in the South of France –
Inferences deducible from such associations
|
|
XIV
|
Imbedding of organic remains in alluvium and the ruins caused by
landslips – Effects of sudden inundations – Of
landslips – Terrestrial animals most abundantly preserved
in alluvium and landslips, where earthquakes prevail –
Erroneous theories which may arise from overlooking this
circumstance – On the remains of works of art included in
alluvial deposits – Imbedding of organic bodies and human
remains in blown sand – Temple of Ipsambul on the
Nile – Dried carcasses of animals buried in the sands of
the African deserts – Towns overwhelmed by sand-floods in
England and France – Imbedding of organic bodies and works
of art in volcanic formations on the land – Cities and
their inhabitants buried by showers of ejected matter – by
lava – In tuffs or mud composed of volcanic sand and ashes
|
|
XV
|
Imbedding of organic remains in subaqueous deposits –
Division of the subject – Phenomena relating to
terrestrial animals and plants first considered – Wood
sunk to a great depth in the sea instantly impregnated with
salt-water – Experiments of Scoresby – Drift timber
carried by the Mackenzie into Slave Lake and into the sea
– Cause of the abundance of drift timber in this river
– Floating trees in the Mississippi – In the Gulf
stream – Immense quantity thrown upon the coast of
Iceland, Spitzbergen, and Labrador – Imbedding of the
remains of insects – Of the remains of reptiles –
Why the bones of birds are so rare in subaqueous deposits
– Imbedding of terrestrial quadrupeds – Effects of a
flood in the Solway Firth – Wild horses annually drowned
in the savannahs of South America – Skeletons in recent
shell marl – Drifting of mammiferous and other remains by
tides and currents
|
|
XVI
|
Imbedding of the remains of man and his works in subaqueous
strata – Drifting of bodies to the sea by
river-inundations – Destruction of bridges and houses
– Burial of human bodies in the sea – Loss of lives
by shipwreck – Circumstances under which human corpses may
be preserved under a great thickness of recent deposits –
Number of wrecked vessels – Durable character of many of
their contents – Examples of fossil skeletons of men
– Of fossil canoes, ships, and works of art – Of the
chemical changes which certain metallic instruments have
undergone after long submergence – Effects of the
subsidence of land in imbedding cities and forests in subaqueous
strata – Earthquake of Cutch in 1819 – Submarine
forests – Berkely's arguments for the recent date of the
creation of man – Concluding remarks
|
|
XVII
|
Imbedding of aquatic species in subaqueous strata –
Inhumation of freshwater plants and animals – Shell marl
– Fossilized seed-vessels and stems of Chara –
Recent deposits in the American lakes – Fresh-water
species drifted into seas and estuaries – Lewes levels
– Alternations of marine and freshwater strata, how caused
– Imbedding of marine plants and animals – Cetacea
stranded on our shores – Their remains should be more
conspicuous in marine alluvium than the bones of land quadrupeds
– Liability of littoral and estuary testacea to be swept
into the deep sea – Effects of a storm in the Frith of
Forth – Burrowing shells secured from the ordinary action
of waves and currents – Living testacea found at
considerable depths
|
|
XVIII
|
Formation of coral reefs – They are composed of shells as
well as corals – Conversion of a submerged reef into an
island – Extent and thickness of coral formations –
The Maldiva isles – Growth of coral not rapid – Its
geological importance – Circular and oval forms of coral
islands – Shape of their lagoons – Causes of their
peculiar configuration – Openings into the lagoons –
Why the windward side both in islands and submerged reefs is
higher than the leeward – Stratification of coral
formations – Extent of some reefs in the Pacific –
That the subsidence by earthquakes in the Pacific exceeds the
elevation due to the same cause – Elizabeth, or
Henderson's Island – Coral and shell limestones now in
progress, exceed in area any known group of ancient rocks
– The theory that all limestone is of animal origin,
considered – The hypothesis that the quantity of
calcareous matter has been and is still on the increase,
controverted
|
|
|
Index
|
|
|
Description of the Plates and Map
|
|
VOLUME 3
|
|
|
Front Matter
|
|
I
|
Connexion between the subjects treated of in the former parts of
this work and those to be discussed in the present volume
– Erroneous assumption of the earlier geologists
respecting the discordance of the former and actual causes of
change – Opposite system of inquiry adopted in this work
– Illustrations from the history of the progress of
Geology of the respective merits of the two systems –
Habit of indulging conjectures respecting irregular and
extraordinary agents not yet abandoned – Necessity in the
present state of science of prefixing to a work on Geology
treatises respecting the changes now in progress in the animate
and inanimate world
|
|
II
|
Arrangement of the materials composing the earth's crust –
The existing continents chiefly composed of subaqueous deposits
– Distinction between sedimentary and volcanic rocks
– Between primary, secondary, and tertiary – Origin
of the primary – Transition formations – Difference
between secondary and tertiary strata – Discovery of
tertiary groups of successive periods – Paris basin
– London and Hampshire basins – Tertiary strata of
Bordeaux, Piedmont, Touraine, &c. – Subapennine beds
– English crag – More recent deposits of Sicily, &c.
|
|
III
|
Different circumstances under which the secondary and tertiary
formations may have originated – Secondary series formed
when the ocean prevailed: Tertiary during the conversion of sea
into land, and the growth of a continent – Origin of
interruption in the sequence of formations – The areas
where new deposits take place are always varying – Causes
which occasion this transference of the places of sedimentary
deposition – Denudation augments the discordance in age of
rocks in contact – Unconformability of overlying
formations – In what manner the shifting of the areas of
sedimentary deposition may combine with the gradual extinction
and introduction of species to produce a series of deposits
having distinct mineral and organic characters
|
|
IV
|
Chronological relations of mineral masses the first object in
geological classification – Superposition, proof of more
recent origin – Exceptions in regard to volcanic rocks
– Relative age proved by included fragments of older rocks
– Proofs of contemporaneous origin derived from mineral
characters – Variations to which these characters are
liable – Recurrence of distinct rocks at successive
periods – Proofs of contemporaneous origin derived from
organic remains – Zoological provinces are of limited
extent, yet spread over wider areas than homogeneous mineral
deposits – Different modes whereby dissimilar mineral
masses and distinct groups of species may be proved to have been
contemporaneous
|
|
V
|
Classification of tertiary formations in chronological order
– Comparative value of different classes of organic
remains – Fossil remains of testacea the most important
– Necessity of accurately determining species –
Tables of shells by M. Deshayes – Four subdivisions of the
Tertiary epoch – Recent formations – Newer Pliocene
period – Older Pliocene period – Miocene period
– Eocene period – The distinct zoological characters
of these periods may not imply sudden changes in the animate
creation – The recent strata form a common point of
departure in distant regions – Numerical proportion of
recent species of shells in different tertiary periods –
Mammiferous remains of the successive tertiary eras –
Synoptical Table of Recent and Tertiary formations
|
|
VI
|
Newer Pliocene formations – Reasons for considering in the
first place the more modern periods – Geological structure
of Sicily – Formations of the Val di Noto of newer
Pliocene period – Divisible into three groups –
Great limestone – Schistose and arenaceous limestone
– Blue marl with shells – Strata subjacent to the
above – Volcanic rocks of the Val di Noto – Dikes
– Tuffs and Peperinos – Volcanic conglomerates
– Proofs of long intervals between volcanic eruptions
– Dip and direction of newer Pliocene strata of Sicily
|
|
VII
|
Marine and volcanic formations at the base of Etna – Their
connexion with the strata of the Val di Noto – Bay of
Trezza – Cyclopian isles – Fossil shells of recent
species – Basalt and altered rocks in the Isle of Cyclops
– Submarine lavas of the bay of Trezza not currents from
Etna – Internal structure of the cone of Etna – Val
di Calanna – Val del Bove not an ancient crater –
Its precipices intersected by countless dikes – Scenery of
the Val del Bove – Form, composition, and origin of the
dikes – Lavas and breccias intersected by them
|
|
VIII
|
Speculations on the origin of the Val del Bove on Etna –
Subsidences – Antiquity of the cone of Etna – Mode
of computing the age of volcanos – Their growth analogous
to that of exogenous trees – Period required for the
production of the lateral cones of Etna – Whether signs of
Diluvial Waves are observable on Etna
|
|
IX
|
Origin of the newer Pliocene strata of Sicily – Growth of
submarine formations gradual – Rise of the same above the
level of the sea probably caused by subterranean lava –
Igneous newer Pliocene rocks formed at great depths, exceed in
volume the lavas of Etna – Probable structure of these
recent subterranean rocks – Changes which they may have
superinduced upon strata in contact – Alterations of the
surface during and since the emergence of the newer Pliocene
strata – Forms of the Sicilian valleys – Sea cliffs
– Proofs of successive elevation – Why the valleys
in the newer Pliocene districts correspond in form to those in
regions of higher antiquity – Migrations of animals and
plants since the emergence of the newer Pliocene strata –
Some species older than the stations they inhabit –
Recapitulation
|
|
X
|
Tertiary formations of Campania – Comparison of the
recorded changes in this region with those commemorated by
geological monuments – Differences in the composition of
Somma and Vesuvius – Dikes of Somma, their origin –
Cause of the parallelism of their opposite sides – Why
coarser grained in the centre – Minor cones of the
Phlegraean Fields – Age of the volcanic and associated
rocks of Campania – Organic remains – External
configuration of the country, how produced – No signs of
diluvial waves – Marine Newer Pliocene strata visible only
in countries of earthquakes – Illustrations from Chili
– Peru – Parallel roads of Coquirnbo –
West-Indian archipelago – Honduras – East-Indian
archipelago – Red Sea
|
|
XI
|
Newer Pliocene fresh – water formations – Valley of
the Elsa – Travertins of Rome – Osseous breccias
– Sicily – Caves near Palermo – Extinct
animals in newer Pliocene breccias – Fossil bones of
Marsupial animals in Australian caves – Formation of
osseous breccias in the Mores – Newer Pliocene alluviums
– Difference between alluviums and regular subaqueous
strata – The former of various ages – Marine
alluvium – Grooved surface of rocks – Erratic blocks
of the Alps – Theory of deluges caused by paroxysmal
elevations untenable – How ice may have contributed to
transport large blocks from the Alps – European alluviums
chiefly tertiary – Newer Pliocene in Sicily – Loss
of the Valley of the Rhine – Its origin – Contains
recent shells
|
|
XII
|
Geological monuments of the older Pliocene period –
Subapennine formations – Opinions of Brocchi –
Different groups termed by him Subapennine are not all of the
same age – Mineral composition of the Subapennine
formations – Marls – Yellow sand and gravel –
Subapennine beds how formed – Illustration derived from
the Upper Val d'Arno – Organic remains of Subapennine
hills – Older Pliocene strata at the base of the Maritime
Alps – Genoa – Savona – Albenga – Nice
– Conglomerate of Valley of Magnan – Its origin
– Tertiary strata at the eastern extremity of the Pyrenees
|
|
XIII
|
Crag of Norfolk and Suffolk – Shown by its fossil contents
to belong to the older Pliocene period – Heterogeneous in
its composition – Superincumbent lacustrine deposits
– Relative position of the crag – Forms of
stratification – Strata composed of groups of oblique
layers – Cause of this arrangement – Dislocations in
the crag produced by subterranean movements – Protruded
masses of chalk – Passage of marine crag into alluvium
– Recent shells in a deposit at Sheppey, Ramsgate, and
Brighton
|
|
XIV
|
Volcanic rocks of the older Pliocene period – Italy
– Volcanic region of Olot in Catalonia – Its extent
and geological structure – Map – Number of cones
– Scoriae – Lava currents – Ravines in the
latter cut by water – Ancient alluvium underlying lava
– Jets of air called 'Bufadors' – Age of the
Catalonian volcanos uncertain – Earthquake which destroyed
Olot in 1421 – Sardinian volcanos – District of the
Eifel and Lower Rhine – Map – Geological structure
of the country – Peculiar characteristics of the Eifel
volcanos – Lake craters – Trass – Crater of
the Roderberg – Age of the Eifel volcanic rocks uncertain
– Brown coal formation
|
|
XV
|
Miocene period – Marine formations – Faluns of
Touraine – Comparison of the Faluns of the Loire and the
English Crag – Basin of the Gironde and Landes –
Fresh-water limestone of Saucats – Position of the
limestone of Blaye – Eocene strata in the Bordeaux basin
– Inland cliff near Dax – Strata of Piedmont –
Superga – Valley of the Bormida – Molasse of
Switzerland – Basin of Vienna – Styria –
Hungary – Volhynia and Podolia – Montpellier
|
|
XVI
|
Miocene alluviums – Auvergne – Mont Perrier –
Extinct quadrupeds – Velay – Orleanais –
Alluviums contemporaneous with Faluns of Touraine –
– Miocene fresh – water formations – Upper Val
d'Arno – Extinct mammalia – Coal of Cadibona –
Miocene volcanic rocks – Hungary – Transylvania
– Styria – Auvergne – Velay
|
|
XVII
|
Eocene period – Fresh-water formations –
Central France – Map – Limagne d'Auvergne –
Sandstone and conglomerate – Tertiary Red marl and
sandstone like the secondary 'new red sandstone' – Green
and white foliated marls – Indusial limestone –
Gypseous marls – General arrangement and origin of the
Travertin – Fresh-water formation of the Limagne –
Puy en Velay – Analogy of the strata to those of Auvergne
– Cantal – Resemblance of Aurillac limestone and its
flints to our upper chalk – Proofs of the gradual
deposition of marl – Concluding remarks
|
|
XVIII
|
Marine formations of the Eocene period – Strata of the
Paris basin how far analogous to the lacustrine deposits of
Central France – Geographical connexion of the Limagne
d'Auvergne and the Paris basin – Chain of lakes in the
Eocene period – Classification of groups in the Paris
basin – Observations of M. C. Prevost – Sketch of
the different subdivisions of the Paris basin –
Contemporaneous marine and fresh-water strata – Abundance
of Cerithia in the Calcaire grossier – Upper marine
formation indicates a subsidence – Part of the Calcaire
grossier destroyed when the upper marine strata originated
– All the Parisian groups belong to one great epoch
– Microscopic shells – Bones of quadrupeds in gypsum
– In what manner entombed – Number of species
– All extinct – Strata with and without organic
remains alternating – Our knowledge of the physical
geography, fauna, and flora of the Eocene period considerable
– Concluding remarks
|
|
XIX
|
Volcanic rocks of the Eocene period – Auvergne –
Igneous formations associated with lacustrine strata –
Hill of Gergovia – Eruptions in Central France at
successive periods – Mont Dor an extinct volcano –
Velay – Plomb du Cantal – Train of minor volcanos
stretching from Auvergne to the Vivarais – Monts Domes
– Puy de Côme – Puy Rouge – Ravines excavated
through lava – Currents of lava at different heights
– Subjacent alluviums of distinct ages – The more
modern lavas of Central France may belong to the Miocene period
– The integrity of the cones not inconsistent with this
opinion – No eruptions during the historical era –
Division of volcanos into ante-diluvian and post-diluvian
inadmissible – Theories respecting the effects of the
Flood considered – Hypothesis of a partial flood –
Of a universal deluge – Theory of Dr. Buckland as
controverted by Dr. Fleming – Recapitulation
|
|
XX
|
Eocene formations, continued – Basin of the
Cotentin, or Valognes – Rennes – Basin of Belgium,
or the Netherlands – Aix in Provence – Fossil
insects – Tertiary strata of England – Basins of
London and Hampshire – Different groups – Plastic
clay and sand – London clay – Bagshot sand –
Fresh-water strata of the Isle of Wight –
Palaeotherium and other fossil mammalia of Binstead –
English Eocene strata conformable to chalk – Outliers on
the elevated parts of the chalk – Inferences drawn from
their occurrence – Sketch of a theory of the origin of the
English tertiary strata
|
|
XXI
|
Denudation of secondary strata during the deposition of the
English Eocene formations – Valley of the Weald between
the North and South Downs – Map – Secondary rocks of
the Weald divisible into five groups – North and South
Downs – Section across the valley of the Weald –
Anticlinal axis – True scale of heights – Rise and
denudation of the strata gradual – Chalk escarpments once
sea-cliffs – Lower terrace of 'firestone,' how caused
– Parallel ridges and valleys formed by harder and softer
beds – No ruins of the chalk on the central district of
the Weald – Explanation of this phenomenon – Double
system of valleys, the longitudinal and the transverse –
Transverse how formed – Gorges intersecting the chalk
– Lewes Coomb – Transverse valley of the Adur
|
|
XXII
|
Denudation of the Valley of the Weald, continued –
The alternative of the proposition that the chalk of the North
and South Downs were once continuous, considered – Dr.
Buckland on the Valley of Kingsclere – Rise and denudation
of secondary rocks gradual – Concomitant deposition of
tertiary strata gradual – Composition of the latter such
as would result from the wreck of the secondary rocks –
Valleys and furrows on the chalk how caused – Auvergne,
the Paris basin, and south-east of England one region of
earthquakes during the Eocene period – Why the central
parts of the London and Hampshire basins rise nearly as high as
the denudation of the WealdEffects of protruding force
counteracted by the levelling operations of water –
Thickness of masses removed from the central ridge of the Weald
– Great escarpment of the chalk having a direction
north-east and south-west – Curved and vertical strata in
the Isle of Wight – These were convulsed after the
deposition of the fresh-water beds of Headen Hill –
Elevations of land posterior to the crag – Why no Eocene
alluviums recognizable – Concluding remarks on the
intermittent operations of earthquakes in the south-east of
England, and the gradual formation of valleys –
Recapitulation
|
|
XXIII
|
Secondary formations – Brief enumeration of the principal
groups – No species common to the secondary and tertiary
rocks – Chasm between the Eocene and Maestricht beds
– Duration of secondary periods – Former continents
placed where it is now sea – Secondary fresh-water
deposits why rare – Persistency of mineral composition why
apparently greatest in older rocks – Supposed universality
of red marl formations – Secondary rocks why more
consolidated – Why more fractured and disturbed –
Secondary volcanic rocks of many different ages
|
|
XXIV
|
On the relative antiquity of different mountain-chains –
Theory of M. Elie de Beaumont – His opinions controverted
– His method of proving that different chains were raised
at distinct periods – His proof that others were
contemporaneous – His reasoning why not conclusive –
His doctrine of the parallelism of contemporaneous lines of
elevation – Objections – Theory of parallelism at
variance with geological phenomena as exhibited in Great Britain
– Objections of Mr. Conybeare – How far anticlinal
lines formed at the same period are parallel –
Difficulties in the way of determining the relative age of
mountains
|
|
XXV
|
On the rocks usually termed 'Primary' – Their relation to
volcanic and sedimentary formations – The 'primary' class
divisible into stratified and unstratified – Unstratified
rocks called Plutonic – Granite veins – Their
various forms and mineral composition – Proofs of their
igneous origin – Granites of the same character produced
at successive eras – Some of these newer than certain
fossiliferous strata – Difficulty of determining the age
of particular granites – Distinction between the volcanic
and the plutonic rocks – Trappean rocks not separable from
the volcanic – Passage from trap into granite –
Theory of the origin of granite at every period from the
earliest to the most recent
|
|
XXVI
|
On the stratified rocks usually called 'primary' – Proofs
from the disposition of their strata that they were originally
deposited from water – Alternation of beds varying in
composition and colour – Passage of gneiss into granite
– Alteration of sedimentary strata by trappean and
granitic dikes – Inference as to the origin of the strata
called 'primary' – Conversion of argillaceous into
hornblende schist – The term 'Hypogene' proposed as a
substitute for primary – 'Metamorphic' for 'stratified
primary' rocks – No regular order of succession of
hypogene formations – Passage from the metamorphic to the
sedimentary strata – Cause of the high relative antiquity
of the visible hypogene formations – That antiquity
consistent with the hypothesis that they have been produced at
each successive period in equal quantities – Great volume
of hypogene rocks supposed to have been formed since the Eocene
period – Concluding remarks
|
|
|
Relative Ages of Different Formations
|
|
|
Deshay's Table of Shells
|
|
|
General Results
|
|
|
Fossil Shells Collected by the Author
|
|
|
Glossary
|
|
|
Index
|