Volume 1

Principles of geology, being an attempt to explain the former changes of the earth's surface, by reference to causes now in operation / By Charles Lyell, esq.

  • Lyell, Charles, Sir, 1797-1875.
Date:
1830-1833
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Principles of geology, being an attempt to explain the former changes of the earth's surface, by reference to causes now in operation / By Charles Lyell, esq. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    PAGE course—Raft of the Atchafalaya—Drift wood^New-formed lakes in Loui¬ siana—Earthquakes in the valley of the Mississippi—Floods caused by land¬ slips in the White mountains—Bursting of a lake in Switzerland—Devas¬ tations caused hy the Anio at Tivoli * . . . 183 CHAPTER XII. Difference between the transporting power of springs and rivers—Many springs carry matter from below upwards—Mineral ingredients most abun¬ dant 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 Eng¬ lish magnesian limestone—Bulicami of Viterbo—Lake of the Solfatara, near Rome—Travertin at Cascade of Tivoli—Ferruginous springs—Ce¬ menting and colouring property of iron—Brine springs—Carbonated springs —Disintegration of Auvergne granite—Caverns in limestone—Petroleum springs—Pitch lake of Trinidad . . • . . 198 CHAPTER 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 shal¬ lowing 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 220 CHAPTER 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 , ♦ » 2IQ