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by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.R.S.
For Sec. to the Geol. Soc., &c.
© 1990 The University of Chicago
"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. Table of
Contents:
-
Introduction, by Martin J. S. Rudwick
- Front
Matter
- Chapter 1: Geology defined – Compared to History – Its
relation to other Physical Sciences – Its distinctness from all – Not to
be confounded with Cosmogony
- Chapter 2:
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
- Chapter 3: 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
- Chapter 4: 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
- Chapter 5: 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
- Chapter 6: 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
- Chapter 7: 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
- Chapter 8: 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
- Chapter 9: 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
- Chapter 10: 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
- Chapter 11: 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
- Chapter 12:
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
- Chapter 13:
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
- Chapter 14: 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
- Chapter 15: 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
- Chapter 16: 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
- Chapter 17:
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
- Chapter 18: 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
- Chapter 19:
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
- Chapter
20:
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
- Chapter 21: 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
- Chapter 22: 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
- Chapter 23:
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
- Chapter 24: 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
- Chapter 25:
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
- Chapter 26: 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
(Part 1)
- Index (Part 2)
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