titlepage


reproduced from original documents in the library holdings of

Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
Copyright © 2002 by Dr. David C. Bossard

Portrait of Sir Charles Lyell

 Frontispiece - Temple of Serapis



"Verè scire est per causas scire." — Bacon.

"The stony rocks are not primeval, but the daughters of Time." — Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 5. Stockholm, 1748, p.219.

"Amid all the revolutions of the globe the economy of Nature has been uniform, and her laws are the only things that have resisted the general movement. The rivers and the rocks, the seas and the continents have been changed in all their parts; but the laws which direct those changes, and the rules to which they are subject, have remained invariably the same." — Playfair, Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory, § 374.

"The inhabitants of the globe, like all the other parts of it, are subject to change. It is not only the individual that perishes but whole species.
"A change in the animal kingdom seems to be a part of the order of Nature, and is visible in instances to which human power cannot have extended." — Playfair, Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory, § 413.



Preface  iii  iv  v

Works by Sir Charles Lyell   vi

Contents  vii  viii  ix  x  xi  xii  xiii  xiv  xv  xvi

Plates   xvi



EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES


Plate
400 ppi
Plate
100 ppi
Description
Face
page
frontispiece (400ppi) frontispiece View of the Temple of Serapis at Puzzuoli in 1836 titlepage
I (400ppi) Plate I
Map showing the present unequal Distribution of Land and
Water
110
II (400ppi) Plate II
Map showing the Position of Land and Sea, to
illustrate changes of Climate
111
III (400ppi) Plate III
Map showing the Area in Europe which has been
covered by Water since the beginning of the
Eocene Period
121
IV (400ppi) Plate IV
Boulders drifted by Ice on the Shores of the St.
Lawrence
223
V (400ppi) Plate V
Map of Coast from Ostend to Rugen 313
VI (400ppi) Plate VI
Map of Volcanic Bands 337
VII (400ppi) Plate VII
Map of Volcanic District of Naples 345
VIII (400ppi) Plate VIII
View looking up the Val del Bove, Etna 387
IX (400ppi) Plate IX

View of the Val del Bove, Etna, as seen from above
389
X (400ppi) Plate X
Map of Cutch 441
XI (400ppi) Plate XI View of Sindree, on the Indus 442
1832 map (400ppi)
1832 map
Map of volcanic zones from 1832 edition
---

CONTENTS.

______________

 

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I.

Geology defined — Compared to History—Its relation to other Physical Sciences — Not to be confounded with Cosmogony — — — — Page  001  002  003  004
 

CHAPTER II

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF GEOLOGY.

Oriental Cosmogony — Hymns of the Vedas — Institutes of Menù — Doctrine of the successive destruction and renovation of the world — Origin of this doctrine — Common to the Egyptians — 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 — — —  004  005  006  007  008  009  010  011  012  013  014  015  016  017  018  019
 

CHAPTER III

HISTORY OF THE PROGRESS OF GEOLOGY — continued

Arabian writers of the tenth century — Avicenna — Omar — Cosmogony of the Koran — Kazwini — Early Italian writers — Leonardo da Vinci — Fracastoro — Controversy as to the real nature of fossils — Attributed to the Mosaic deluge — Palissy— Steno— Scrna— Quirini — Boyle—Lister—Leibnitz—Hooke's Theory of Elevation by Earthquakes — Of lost species of animals — Ray — Physico-theological writers — Woodward's Diluvial Theory — Burnet — Whiston —Vallisneri — Lazzaro Moro — Generelli — Buffon — His theory condemned by the Sorbonne as unorthodox — His declaration — Targioni — Arduino — Michell — Catcott — Raspe — Fuchsel — Portis — Testa—Whitehurst—Pallas—Saussure. — — —  019  020  021  022  023  024  025  026  027  028  029  030  031  032  033  034  035  036  037  038  039  040  041  042  043  044  045  046  047  048
CHAPTER IV. 
HISTORY OF THE PROGRESS OF GEOLOGY — continued


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 Auvergue — 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, Kirwan, 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 — —  048  049  050  051  052  053  054  055  056  057  058  059  060  061  062  063

CHAPTER V.
PREJUDICES WHICH HAVE RETARDED THE PROGRESS OF GEOLOGY.

Prepossessions in regard to the duration of past time — 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 — Objections to the doctrine, that causes similar in kind and energy to those now acting, have produced the former changes of the earth's surface, considered — —  063  064  065  066  067  068  069  070  071  072  073  074  075
 

[viii CONTENTS.]

CHAPTER VI.
DOCTRINE OF THE DISCORDANCE OF THE ANCIENT AND MODERN CAUSES OF CHANGE CONTROVERTED.

Climate of the Northern Hemisphere formerly different — Direct proofs from the organic remains of the Italian strata — Proofs from analogy derived from extinct quadrupeds — Imbedding of animals in icebergs — Siberian mammoths — Evidence in regard to temperature, from the fossils of tertiary and secondary rocks — From the plants of the coal formation — Northern limit of these fossils — Whether such plants could endure the long continuance of an arctic night — — — — Page  075  076  077  078  079  080  081  082  083  084  085  086  087  088  089  090  091  092  093

CHAPTER VII.
FARTHER EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTION AS TO THE ASSUMED DISCORDANCE OF  THE ANCIENT AND MODERN CAUSES OF CHANGE.

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 — Conditions necessary for the production of the extreme of heat, and its probable effects on organic life —  093  094  095  096  097  098  099  100  101  102  103  104  105  106  107  108  109  110  111  112  113 

CHAPTER VIII.
ON FORMER CHANGES IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE.

Geographical features of the northern hemisphere, at the period of the oldest fossiliferous strata — State of the surface when the mountain limestone and coal were deposited — Changes in physical geography, between the carboniferous period and the chalk — Abrupt transition from the secondary to the tertiary fossils — Accession of land, and elevation of mountain chains, after the consolidation of the secondary rocks — Explanation of Map, showing the area covered by sea, since the commencement of the tertiary period — Astronomical theories of the causes of variations in climate — Theory of the diminution of the supposed primitive heat of the globe — — — —  113  114  115  116  117  118  119  120  121  122  123  124  125  126  127  128  129  130

CHAPTER IX.
THEORY OF THE PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC LIFE AT SUCCESSIVE GEOLOGICAL PERIODS.

Theory of the progressive development of organic life — Evidence in its support inconclusive — Vertebrated animals, and plants of the most perfect organization, in strata of very high antiquity — Differences between the organic remains of successive formations — Comparative modern origin of the human race — The popular doctrine of successive development not established by the admssion that man is of modern origin — Introduction of man, to what extent a change in the system — — — —  130  131  132  133  134  135  136  137  138  139  140  141  142  143  144  145  146  147  148  149  150

CHAPTER X.
SUPPOSED INTENSITY OF AQUEOUS FORCES AT REMOTE PERIODS.

Intensity of aqueous causes — Slow accumulation of strata proved by fossils — Rate of denudation can only keep pace with deposition — Erratics, and effects of ice — Deluges, and the causes to which they are referred — Supposed universality of
ancient deposits — — — —  150  151  152  153  154  155  156  157

CHAPTER XI
ON THE SUPPOSED FORMER INTENSITY OF THE IGNEOUS FORCES.

Volcanic action at successive geological periods. —Plutonic rocks of different ages — Gradual development of subterranean movements — Faults — Doctrine of the sudden upheaval of parallel mountain-chains — Objections to the proof of the suddenness of the upheaval, and the contemporaneousness of parallel chains — Trains of active volcanos not parallel — As large tracts of land are rising or

[ix CONTENTS.]

sinking slowly, so narrow zones of land may be pushed up gradually to great heights — Bending of strata by lateral pressure — Adequacy of the volcanic power to effect this without paroxysmal convulsions — — — — Page  157  158  159  160  161  162  163  164  165  166  167  168  169

CHAPTER XII.
DIFFERENCE IN TEXTURE OF TIlE OLDER AND NEWER ROCKS.

Consolidation of fossiliferous strata — Some deposits originally solid — Transition and slaty texture — Crystalline character of Plutonic and Metamorphic rocks — Theory of their origin — Essentially subterranean — No proofs that they were
produced more abundantly at remote periods — — — —  169  170  171  172  173  174

CHAPTER XIII
UNIFORMITY IN THE SERIES OF PAST CHANGES IN THE ANIMATE AND INANIMATE  WORLD.

Supposed alternate periods of repose and disorder — Observed facts in which this doctrine has originated — These may be explained by supposing a uniform and uninterrupted series of changes — Threefold consideration of this subject; first, in reference to the living creation, extinction of species, and origin of new animals and plants; secondly, in reference to the changes produced in the earth's crust by the continuance of subterranean movements in certain areas, and their transference after long periods to new areas; thirdly, in reference to the laws which govern the formation of fossiliferous strata, and the shifting of the areas of sedimentary deposition — On the combined influence of all these modes and causes of change in producing breaks and chasms in the chain of records — Concluding remarks on the identity of the ancient and present system of terrestrial changes — — — —  174  175  176  177  178  179  180  181  182  183  184  185  186  187  188  189  190  191  192

BOOK II.

CHANGES IN THE INORGANIC WORLD.


CHAPTER XIV.
AQUEOUS CAUSES.

Division of the subject into changes of the organic and inorganic world — Inorganic causes of change divided into aqueous and igneous — Aqueous causes first considered — 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 — Inundations in Scotland — Floods caused by landslips in the White Mountains — Bursting of a lake in Switzerland — Devastations caused by the Anio at Tivoli — Excavations in the lavas of Etna by Sicilian rivers — Gorge of the Simeto — Gradual recession of the cataracts of Niagara. — — — —  192  193  194  195  196  197  198  199  200  201  202  203  204  205  206

CHAPTER XV. 
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 valley of Mississippi — — — —   206  207  208  209  210  211  212  213  214  215  216  217  218  219  220  221
 

CHAPTER XVI.
TRANSPORTATION OF SOLID MATTER BY ICE.

Carrying power of river-ice — Rocks annually conveyed into the St. Lawrence by its tributaries — Ground-ice; its origin and transporting power — Glaciers — Theory of their downward movement — Smoothed and grooved rocks — The moraine unstratified — Icebergs covered with mud and stones — Limits of glaciers and icebergs — Their effects on the bottom when they run aground. — Packing of coast-ice — Boulders drifted by ice on coast of Labrador — Blocks moved by
ice in the Baltic — Ground-ice and coast-ice in the Baltic — — — —  221  222  223  224  225  226  227  228  229  230  231  232  233

[x. CONTENTS.]

CHAPTER XVII.
PHENOMENA OF SPRINGS.

Origin of springs — Artesian wells — Borings at Paris — Distinct causes by which mineral and thermal waters may be raised to the suface — Their connection with volcanic agency — Calcareous springs — Travertin of the Elsa — Baths of San Vignone and of San Filippo, near Radicofani — Spheroidal structure in travertin — Bulicami of Viterbo — Lake of the Solfatara, near Rome — Travertin at Cascade of Tivoli — Gypseous, siliceous, and ferruginous springs — Brine springs — Carbonated springs — Disintegration of granite in Auvergue — Petroleum springs — Pitch lake of Trinidad — — — — Page  233  234  235  236  237  238  239  240  241  242  243  244  245  246  247  248  249  250  251  252  253

CHAPTER XVIII
REPRODUCTIVE EFFECTS OF RIVERS.

Lake deltas — Growth of the delta of the Upper Rhine in the Lake of Geneva — Computation of the age of deltas — Recent deposits in Lake Superior — Deltas of inland seas — Rapid shallowing of the Baltic — 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 — — — —  253  254  255  256  257  258  259  260  261  262  263

CHAPTER XIX.
OCEANIC DELTAS.

Deltas of the Ganges and Brahmapootra — Formation and destruction of islands — Abundance of crocodiles — Inundations — Boring in the delta at Calcutta — Quantity of mud carried down by the Ganges — Grouping of new strata in general — Convergence of deltas — Conglomerates — Various causes of stratification — Direction of laminæ — Interchange of land and sea — Supposed epochs
of existing continents — — — —  263  264  265  266  267  268  269  270  271  272  273  274  275  276  277  278

CHAPTER XX.
DESTROYING AND TRANSPORTING EFFECTS OF TIDES AND CURRENTS.

Differences in the rise of the tides — Rennell's Account of the Lagullas and Gulf currents — Velocity of currents — Causes of currents — Action of the sea on the British coast — Shetland Islands — Large blocks removed — Effects of lightning — Isles reduced to clusters of rocks — Orkney isles — Waste of East coast of Scotland — and East coast of England — Waste of the cliffs of Holderness, Norfolk, and Suffolk — Sand-dunes how far chronometers — Silting up of estuaries — Origin of submarine forests — Yarmouth estuary — Suffolk coast — Danwich — Essex coast — Estuary of the Thames — Goodwin Sands Coast of Kent — Formation of Straits of Dover — South coast of England — Sussex — Rants — Dorset — Portland — Origin of the Chesil Bank — Cornwall — Coast of Brittany — — — —   278  279  280  281  282  283  284  285  286  287  288  289  290  291  292  293  294  295  296  297  298  299  300  301  302  303  304  305  306  307  308  309  310  311  312

CHAPTER XXI.
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 — Proofs of subsidence of land — Estuary of the Bies Bosch, formed in 1421 — 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 — On shores of North America — Tidal wave, called the Bore — Influence of tides and currents on the mean level of seas — Action of currents in inland lakes and seas — Baltic — Cimbrian deluge — Straits of Gibraltar — No under-current there — Whether salt is precipitated in the Mediterranean — Waste of shores of Mediterranean — — — —  312  313  314  315  316  317  318  319  320  321  322  323  324

CHAPTER XXII
REPRODUCTIVE EFFECTS OF TIDES AND CURRENTS.

Estuaries how formed — 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 deposited by currents in the English Channel — On the shores of the Mediterranean — At the mouths of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Mississippi — Wide area over which strata may be formed by this cause — — — —  324  325  326  327  328  329  330

[xi CONTENTS.]


CHAPTER XXIII
IGNEOUS CAUSES
Changes of the inorganic world, continued — Igneous causes — Division of the subject — Distinct volcanic regions — Region of the Andes — System of volcanos extending from the Aleutian isles to the Molucca and Sunda islands — Polynesian archipelago — Volcanic region extending from Central Asia to the Azores — Tradition of deluges on the shores of the Bosphorus, Hellespont, and Grecian isles — Periodical alternation of earthquakes in Syria and Southern Italy — Western limits of the European region — Earthquakes rarer and more feeble as we recede from the centres of volcanic action — Extinct volcanos not to be included in lines of active vents — — — — Page   330  331  332  333  334  335  336  337  338  339  340  341  342  343  344  345

CHAPTER XXIV.
VOLCANIC DISTRICT OF NAPLES.
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 Phlegræan Fields in ancient and modern times. — — — —  345  346  347  348  349  350  351  352  353  354  355  356  357  358  359
CHAPTER XXV.
VOLCANIC DISTRICT OP NAPLES — continued.

Dimensions and structure of the cone of Vesuvius — Dikes — Lavas and mineral — Alluviums called "aqueous lavas "— Origin and composition of the matter enveloping Herculaneum and Pompeii — Condition and contents of the buried cities — Small number of skeletons — State of preservation of animal and vegetable substances — Rolls of papyrus — Stabiæ — Torre del Greco — Concluding remarks on the Campanian volcanos — — — —  359  360  361  362  363  364  365  366  367  368  369  370  371  372  373  374  375  376  377  378  379  380

CHAPTER XXVI.
ETNA.

External physiognomy of Etna — Lateral cones — Their successive obliteration — Early eruptions —Monti Rossi in 1669 — Towns overflowed by lava — Part of Catania overflowed — Mode of advance of a current of lava — Subterranean caverns — Marine strata at base of Etna — Val del Bove not an ancient crater — Its scenery — Form, composition, and origin of the dikes — Linear direction of cones formed in 1811 and 1819 — Lavas and breccias — Flood produced by the melting of snow by lava — Glacier covered by a lava stream — Val del Bove how formed — Structure and origin of the cone of Etna — Whether the inclined sheets of lava were originally horizontal — Antiquity of Etna — Whether signs of diluvial waves are observable on Etna — — — —   380  381  382  383  384  385  386  387  388  389  390  391  392  393  394  395  396  397  398  399  400  401  402  403  404  405  406  407  408
 

CHAPTER XXVII.
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS — continued.

Volcanic eruption in Iceland in 1783 — New island thrown up — Lava-currents of Skaptár Jokul, in same year — Their immense volume — Eruption of Jorullo in Mexico — Humboldt's theory of the convexity of the plain of Malpais — Eruption of Galongoon in Java — Submarine volcanos — Graham island, formed in 1831 — Volcanic archipelagos — Submarine eruptions in mid-Atlantic — The Canaries — Teneriffe —Cones thrown up in Lancerote, 1730-36 — Santorin and its contiguous isles — Barren island, in the Bay of Bengal — Mineral composition of volcanic products — — — —  408  409  410  411  412  413  414  415  416  417  418  419  420  421  422  423  424  425  426  427  428  429  430  431  432  433

CHAPTER XXVIIL
EARTHQUA.KES AND THEIR EFFECTS.


Earthquakes and their effects — Deficiency of ancient accounts — Ordinary atmospheric phenomena — Changes produced by earthquakes in modern times

[xii. CONTENTS.]

considered in chronological order — Earthquake in Syria, 1837 — Earthquakes in Chili in 1837 and 1835 — Isle of 5auta Maria raised ten feet — Chili, 1822 — Extent of country elevated — Aleppo and Ionian Isles — Earthquake of Cutch in 1819 — Subsidence in the Delta of the Indus — Island of Sumbawa in 1815 — Town of Tomboro submerged — Earthquake of Caraccas in 1812 — Shocks at New Madrid in 1811 in the valley of the Mississippi — State of the convulsed region in 1846 — Aleutian Islands in 1806 — Reflections on the earthquakes of the nineteenth century — Earthquake in Quito, Quebec, &c. — Java, 1786 — Sinking down of large tracts — — — — Page   433  434  435  436  437  438  439  440  441  442  443  444  445  446  447  448  449  450  451  452
 

CHAPTER XXIX.
EARTHQUAKE IN CAI4AI3RIA, 1783.

Earthquake in Calabria, February 5. 1783 — Shocks continued to the end of the year 1786 — Authorities — Area convulsed — Geological structure of the district — Difficulty of ascertaining changes of level — Subsidence of the quay at Messina — Movement in the stones of two obelisks — Shift or fault in the Round Tower of Terranuova — Opening and closing of fissures — 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 — New lakes — Funnel-shaped hollows in alluvial plains — Currents of mud — Fall of cliffs, and shore near Scilla inundated — State of Stromboli and Etna during the shocks — How earthquakes contribute to the formation of valleys — Concluding remarks — — — —   452  453  454  455  456  457  458  459  460  461  462  463  464  465  466  467  468  469  470  471  472  473  474  475
 

CHAPTER XXX.
EARTHQUAKES — continued.

Earthquake of Java, 1772 — Truncation of a lofty cone — St. Domingo, 1770 — Lisbon, 1755 — Great area over which the shocks extended — Retreat of the sea — Proposed explanations — Conception Bay, 1750 — Permanent elevation — Peru, 1746 — Java, 1699 — Rivers obstructed by landslips — Subsidence in Sicily, 1693 — Moluccas, 1693 — Jamaica, 1692 — Large tracts engulphed — Portion of Port Royal sunk — Amount of change in the last 150 years — Elevation and subsidence of land in Bay of Baiæ — Evidence of the same afforded by the Temple of Serapis — — — — 475  476  477  478  479  480  481  482  483  484  485  486  487  488  489  490  491  492  493  494  495  496  497  498 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
ELEVATION AND SUBSIDENCE OF LAND WITHOUT EARTHQUAKES.

Changes in the relative level of land and sea in regions not volcanic — Opinion of Celsius that the waters of the Baltic Sea and Northern Ocean were sinking — Objections raised to his opinion— Proofs of the stability of the sea-level in the Baltic — Playfair's hypothesis that the land was rising in Sweden — Opinion of Von Buch — Marks cut on the rocks — Survey of these in 1820 — Facility of detecting slight alterations in level of sea on coast of Sweden — Shores of the ocean also rising — Area upheaved — Shelly deposits of Uddevalla — Of Stockholm, containing fossil shells characteristic of the Baltic — Subsidence in south of Sweden — Fishing-hut buried under marine strata — Upheaval in Sweden not always in horizontal planes — M. Bravais — Sinking of land in Greenland — Bearing of these facts on geology — — — —  498  499  500  501  502  503  504  505  506  507  508  509  510  511  512

CHAPTER XXXII.
CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOS.

Intimate connexion between the causes of volcanos and earthquakes — Supposed original state of fusion of the planet — Universal fluidity not proved by spheroidal figure of the earth — Attempt to calculate the thickness of the solid crust of the earth by precessional motion — Heat in mines increasing with the depth — Objections to the supposed intense heat of a central fluid — Whether chemical changes may produce volcanic heat — Currents of electricity circulating in the earth's crust — Theory of an unoxidated metallic nucleus — The metallic oxides
when heated may be deoxidated by hydrogen — — — —  512  513  514  515  516  517  518  519  520  521  522  523  524  525  526

[xiii CONTENTS.]

CHAPTER XXXIII
 CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOS — continued.
Review of the proofs of internal heat—Theory of an unoxidated metallic nucleus — Decomposition of water a source of volcanic heat — Geysers of Iceland — Causes of earthquakes — Wavelike motion — Expansive power of liquid gases — Connection between the state of the atmosphere and earthquakes — Permanent upheaval and subsidence of land — Expansion of rocks by heat — The balance of dry land how preserved — Subsidence in excess — Conclusion — — — — Page   526  527  528  529  530  531  532  533  534  535  536  537  538  539  540  541  542  543  544


BOOK III.


CHAPTER XXXIV.
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 — — — —  544  545  546  547  548  549  550  551  552  553  554  555  556

CHAPTER XXXV.
TRANSMUTATION OF SPECIES — continued.

Recapitulation of the arguments in favour of the theory of transmutation of species — Their insufficiency — Causes of difficulty in discriminating species — Some 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 — — — —  556  557  558  559  560  561  562  563  564  565  566  567  568  569

CHAPTER XXXVI.
WHETHER SPECIES HAVE A REAL EXISTENCE IN NATURE — continued.
Limits of the variability of species — Species 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 farther development — — — —  569  570  571  572  573  574  575  576  577  578
CHAPTER XXXVII 
WHETHER SPECIES HAVE A REAL EXISTENCE IN NATURE — continued.
Phenomena of hybrids — Hunter's opinions — Mules not strictly intermediate between parent species — Hybrid plants — Experiments of Kölreuter and Wiegmann — Vegetable hybrids prolific throughout several generations — Why rare in a wild state — De Candolle on hybrid plants — The phenomena of hybrids confirm the distinctness of species — Theory of the gradation in the intelligence of animals as indicated by the facial angle — Doctrine that certain organs of the fœtus in mammalia assume successively the forms of fish, reptile, and bird — Recapitulation — — — —  578  579  580  581  582  583  584  585  586  587  588  589  590
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
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 — — — —   590  591  592  593  594  595  596  597  598  599  600  601  602  603  604  605  606  607

[xiv. CONTENTS.]

CHAPTER XXXIX.
LAWS WHICH REGULATE THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES —continued.
Geographical distribution of animals — Buffon on specific distinctness of quadrupeds of Old and New World — Doctrine of "natural barriers " — Different regions of indigenous mammalia — Europe — Africa — India, and Indian Archipelago — Australia — North and South America — Quadrupeds in islands — Range of the Cetacca — Dispersion of quadrupeds — their powers of swimming — Migratory instincts — Drifting of animals 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  — — — — Page   607  608  609  610  611  612  613  614  615  616  617  618  619  620  621  622  623  624
CHAPTER XL.
LAWS WHICH REGULATE THE GEOORAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES—continued.
Geographical distribution and migrations of fish — of testacea — of zoophytes — 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 — — — —  624  625  626  627  628  629  630  631  632  633  634  635  636  637  638  639  640  641  642
CHAPTER XLI.
THEORIES RESPECTING THE ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION OF SPECIES.
Proposal of an hypothesis on this subject — Supposed centres or foci of creation — Why 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 — 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 — — — —  642  643  644  645  646  647  648  649  650  651  652  653  654
CHAPTER XLII.
EXTINCTION OF SPECIES — CHANGES lN THE STATIONS OF ANIMALS.
Extension of the range of one species alters the condition of many others — The first appearance of a new species 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 extirpated in Great Britain — Extinction of the dodo — Rapid propagation of domestic quadrupeds in America — Power of exterminating species no prerogative of man — Concluding remarks — — — —  654  655  656  657  658  659  660  661  662  663  664  665  666
CHAPTER XLIII.
EXTINCTION OF SPECIES — INFLUENCE OF INORGANIC CAUSES.

Powers of diffusion indispensable, that each species may maintain its ground — How changes in physical geography affect the distribution of species — Rate of the change of species due to this cause cannot be uniform — Every change in the physical geography of large regions tends to the extinction of species — Effects of a general alteration of climate on the migration of species — Gradual refrigeration would cause species in the northern and southern hemispheres to become distinct — Elevation of temperature the reverse — Effects on the condition of species which must result from inorganic changes inconsistent with the theory of transmutation — — — —  666  667  668  669  670  671  672  673  674  675  676  677  678  679

CHAPTER XLIV.
EXTINCTION AND CREATION OF SPECIES.
Theory of the successive extinction of species consistent with a limited geographical distribution — Opinions of botanists respecting the centres from which plants have been diffused — Whether there are grounds for inferring that the loss, from

[xv CONTENTS.]

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? — The question whether the existing species have been created in succession must be decided by geological monuments — — — — Page  679  680  681  682  683  684  685
 

CHAPTER XLV.
EFFECTS PRODUCED BY THE POWERS OF VITALITY ON THE STATE OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
Modifications in physical geography caused by organic beings — Why the vegetable soil does not augment in thickness — The theory, that vegetation is an antagonist power counterbalancing the degradation caused by running water untenable — Conservative influence of vegetation — Rain diminished by felling of forests — Distribution of American forests dependent on direction of predominant winds — Influence of man in modifying the physical geography of the globe — — — —   685  686  687  688  689  690  691  692  693  694  695

CHAPTER XLVI.
INCLOSING OF FOSSILS IN PEAT, BLOWN SAND, AND VOLCANIC EJECTIONS.
Division of the subject — Imbedding of organic remains in deposits on emerged land — Growth of peat — Site of ancient forests in Europe now occupied by peat — Bog iron-ore — Preservation of animal substances in peat — Miring of quadrupeds — Bursting of the Solway moss — Imbedding of organic bodies and human remains in blown sand — Moving sands of African deserts — De Luc on their recent origin — Buried temple of Ipsambul — Dried carcasses in the sands — Towns overwhelmed by sand-floods — Imbedding of organic and other remains in volcanic formations on the land — — — —   695  696  697  698  699  700  701  702  703  704  705  706
CHAPTER XLVII.
BURYING OF FOSSILS IN ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS AND IN CAVES.
Fossils in alluvium — Effects of sudden inundations — Terrestrial animals most abundantly preserved in alluvium where earthquakes prevail — Marine alluvium — Buried town — Effects of landslips — Organic remains in fissures and caves — Form and dimensions of caverns — their probable origin — Closed basins and subterranean rivers of the Morea — Katavothra — Formation of breccias with red cement — Human remains imbedded in Morea — Intermixture, in caves of south of France and elsewhere, of human remains and bones of extinct quadrupeds, no proof of former co-existence of man with those lost species — — — —   706  707  708  709  710  711  712  713  714  715  716  717  718

CHAPTER XLVIII.
IMBEDDING OF ORGANIC REMAINS IN SUBAQUEOUS DEPOSITS.
Division of the subject — Imbedding of terrestrial animals and plants — Increased specific gravity of wood sunk to great depths in the sea — Drift timber of the Mackenzie in Slave Lake and Polar Sea — Floating trees in the Mississippi — in the Gulf Stream — on the coast of Iceland, Spitzbergen, and Labrador — Submarine forests — Example on coast of Hampshire — Mineralization of plants — Imbedding of the remains of insects — of reptiles — Bones of birds why rare — Imbedding of terrestrial quadrupeds by river-floods — Skeletons in recent shell marl — Imbedding of mammiferous remains in marine strata — — — —   718  719  720  721  722  723  724  725  726  727  728  729  730

CHAPTER XLIX.
IMBEDDING OF THE REMAINS OF MAN AND HIS WORKS IN SUBAQUEOUS STRATA.
Drifting of human bodies to the sea by river inundations — Destruction of bridges and houses — Loss of lives by shipwreck — How human corpses may be preserved in recent deposits — Number of wrecked vessels — Fossil skeletons of men — Fossil canoes, ships, and works of art — Chemical changes which metallic articles have undergone after long submergence — Imbedding of cities and forests in subaqueous strata by subsidence —Earthquake of Cutch in 1819 — Berkeley's arguments for the recent date of the creation of man — Concluding remarks — — — —  730  731  732  733  734  735  736  737  738  739  740  741

[xvi. CONTENTS.]

CHAPTER L.
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 American lakes — Freshwater species drifted into seas and estuaries — Lewes levels — Alternations of marine and fresh water strata, how caused — Imbedding of marine plants and animals — Cetacea stranded on our shores — Liability of littoral and estuary testacea to be swept into the deep sea — Effects of a storm in the Pith of Forth — Burrowing shells secured from the ordinary action of waves and currents— Living testacea found at considerable depths — Extent of some recent shelly deposits — — — — Page   741  742  743  744  745  746  747  748  749  750

CHAPTER LI.
FORMATION OF CORAL REEFS.
Growth of coral chiefly confined to tropical regions — Principal genera of coral — building zoophytes — Their rate of growth — Seldom flourish at greater depths than twenty fathoms — Atolls or annular reefs with lagoons — Maldiva Isles — Origin of the circular form — Coral reefs not based on submerged volcanic craters — Mr. Darwin's theory of subsidence in explanation of atolls, encircling and barrier reefs — Why the windward side of atolls highest — Subsidence explains why all atolls are nearly on one level —Alternate areas of elevation and subsidence — Origin of openings into the lagoons — Size of atolls and barrier reefs — Objection to the theory of subsidence considered — Composition, structure, and stratified arrangement of rocks now forming in coral reefs — Lime whence derived — Supposed increase of calcareous matter in modern epochs controverted — Concluding remarks — — — —  750  751  752  753  754  755  756  757  758  759  760  761  762  763  764  765  766  767  768  769  770  771  772  773  774
 

GLOSSARY:   775  776  777  778  779  780  781  782  783  784  785  786  787  788  789  790
INDEX:  791  792  793  794  795  796  797  798  799  800  801  802  803  804  805  806  807  808  809  810  811