The Student's Elements of Geology

Chapter I—on the Different Classes of Rocks.

Geology defined. — Successive Formation of the Earth’s Crust. — Classification of Rocks according to their Origin and Age. — Aqueous Rocks. — Their Stratification and imbedded Fossils. — Volcanic Rocks, with and without Cones and Craters. — Plutonic Rocks, and their Relation to the Volcanic. — Metamorphic Rocks, and their probable Origin. — The term Primitive, why erroneously applied to the Crystalline Formations. — Leading Division of the Work.

Chapter Ii—Aqueous Rocks—Their Composition and Forms of Stratification.

Mineral Composition of Strata. — Siliceous Rocks. — Argillaceous. — Calcareous. — Gypsum. — Forms of Stratification. — Original Horizontality. — Thinning out. — Diagonal Arrangement. — Ripple-mark.

Chapter Iii—Arrangement of Fossils in Strata—Fresh-Water and Marine.

Successive Deposition indicated by Fossils. — Limestones formed of Corals and Shells. — Proofs of gradual Increase of Strata derived from Fossils. — Serpula attached to Spatangus. — Wood bored by Teredina. — Tripoli formed of Infusoria. — Chalk derived principally from Organic Bodies. — Distinction of Fresh-water from Marine Formations. — Genera of Fresh-water and Land Shells. — Rules for recognising Marine Testacea. — Gyrogonite and Chara. — Fresh-water Fishes. — Alternation of Marine and Fresh-water Deposits. — Lym-Fiord.

Chapter Iv—Consolidation of Strata and Petrifaction of Fossils.

Chemical and Mechanical Deposits. — Cementing together of Particles. — Hardening by Exposure to Air. — Concretionary Nodules. — Consolidating Effects of Pressure. — Mineralization of Organic Remains. — Impressions and Casts: how formed. — Fossil Wood. — Goppert’s Experiments. — Precipitation of Stony Matter most rapid where Putrefaction is going on. — Sources of Lime and Silex in Solution.

Chapter V—Elevation of Strata Above the Sea.—Horizontal and Inclined

STRATIFICATION. Why the Position of Marine Strata, above the Level of the Sea, should be referred to the rising up of the Land, not to the going down of the Sea. — Strata of Deep-sea and Shallow-water Origin alternate. — Also Marine and Fresh-water Beds and old Land Surfaces. — Vertical, inclined, and folded Strata. — Anticlinal and Synclinal Curves. — Theories to explain Lateral Movements. — Creeps in Coal-mines. — Dip and Strike. — Structure of the Jura. — Various Forms of Outcrop. — Synclinal Strata forming Ridges. — Connection of Fracture and Flexure of Rocks. — Inverted Strata. — Faults described. — Superficial Signs of the same obliterated by Denudation. — Great Faults the Result of repeated Movements. — Arrangement and Direction of parallel Folds of Strata. — Unconformability. — Overlapping Strata.

Chapter Vi—Denudation.

Denudation defined. — Its Amount more than equal to the entire Mass of Stratified Deposits in the Earth’s Crust. — subaërial Denudation. — Action of the Wind. — Action of Running Water. — Alluvium defined. — Different Ages of Alluvium. — Denuding Power of Rivers affected by Rise or Fall of Land. — Littoral Denudation. — Inland Sea-Cliffs. — Escarpments. — Submarine Denudation. — Dogger-bank. — Newfoundland Bank. — Denuding Power of the Ocean during Emergence of Land.

Chapter Vii—Joint Action of Denudation, Upheaval, and Subsidence in

REMODELLING THE EARTH’S CRUST. How we obtain an Insight at the Surface, of the Arrangement of Rocks at great Depths. — Why the Height of the successive Strata in a given Region is so disproportionate to their Thickness. — Computation of the average annual Amount of subaërial Denudation. — Antagonism of Volcanic Force to the Levelling Power of running Water. — How far the Transfer of Sediment from the Land to a neighbouring Sea-bottom may affect Subterranean Movements. — Permanence of Continental and Oceanic Areas.

Chapter Viii—Chronological Classification of Rocks.

Aqueous, Plutonic, volcanic, and metamorphic Rocks considered chronologically. — Terms Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary; Palæozoic, Mesozoic, and Cainozoic explained. — On the different Ages of the aqueous Rocks. — Three principal Tests of relative Age: Superposition, Mineral Character, and Fossils. — Change of Mineral Character and Fossils in the same continuous Formation. — Proofs that distinct Species of Animals and Plants have lived at successive Periods. — Distinct Provinces of indigenous Species. — Great Extent of single Provinces. — Similar Laws prevailed at successive Geological Periods. — Relative Importance of mineral and palæontological Characters. — Test of Age by included Fragments. — Frequent Absence of Strata of intervening Periods. — Tabular Views of fossiliferous Strata.

Chapter Ix—Classification of Tertiary Formations.

Order of Succession of Sedimentary Formations. — Frequent Unconformability of Strata. — Imperfection of the Record. — Defectiveness of the Monuments greater in Proportion to their Antiquity. — Reasons for studying the newer Groups first. — Nomenclature of Formations. — Detached Tertiary Formations scattered over Europe. — Value of the Shell-bearing Mollusca in Classification. — Classification of Tertiary Strata. — Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene Terms explained.

Chapter X—Recent and Post-Pliocene Periods.

Recent and Post-pliocene Periods. — Terms defined. — Formations of the Recent Period. — Modern littoral Deposits containing Works of Art near Naples. — Danish Peat and Shell-mounds. — Swiss Lake-dwellings. — Periods of Stone, Bronze, and Iron. — Post-pliocene Formations. — Coexistence of Man with extinct Mammalia. — Reindeer Period of South of France. — Alluvial Deposits of Paleolithic Age. — Higher and Lower-level Valley-gravels. — Loess or Inundation-mud of the Nile, Rhine, etc. — Origin of Caverns. — Remains of Man and extinct Quadrupeds in Cavern Deposits. — Cave of Kirkdale. — Australian Cave-breccias. — Geographical Relationship of the Provinces of living Vertebrata and those of extinct Post-pliocene Species. — Extinct struthious Birds of New Zealand. — Climate of the Post-pliocene Period. — Comparative Longevity of Species in the Mammalia and Testacea. — Teeth of Recent and Post-pliocene Mammalia.

Chapter Xi—Post-Pliocene Period, Continued.—Glacial Conditions.

Geographical Distribution, Form, and Characters of Glacial Drift. — Fundamental Rocks, polished, grooved, and scratched. — Abrading and striating Action of Glaciers. — Moraines, Erratic Blocks, and “Roches Moutonnees”. — Alpine Blocks on the Jura. — Continental Ice of Greenland. — Ancient Centres of the Dispersion of Erratics. — Transportation of Drift by floating Icebergs. — Bed of the Sea furrowed and polished by the running aground of floating Ice-islands.

Chapter Xii—Post-Pliocene Period, Continued.—Glacial Conditions,

concluded. Glaciation of Scandinavia and Russia. — Glaciation of Scotland. — Mammoth in Scotch Till. — Marine Shells in Scotch Glacial Drift. — Their Arctic Character. — Rarity of Organic Remains in Glacial Deposits. — Contorted Strata in Drift. — Glaciation of Wales, England, and Ireland. — Marine Shells of Moel Tryfaen. — Erratics near Chichester. — Glacial Formations of North America. — Many Species of Testacea and Quadrupeds survived the Glacial Cold. — Connection of the Predominance of Lakes with Glacial Action. — Action of Ice in preventing the silting up of Lake-basins. — Absence of Lakes in the Caucasus. — Equatorial Lakes of Africa.

Chapter Xiii—Pliocene Period.

Glacial Formations of Pliocene Age. — Bridlington Beds. — Glacial Drifts of Ireland. — Drift of Norfolk Cliffs. — Cromer Forest-bed. — Aldeby and Chillesford Beds. — Norwich Crag. — Older Pliocene Strata. — Red Crag of Suffolk. — Coprolitic Bed of Red Crag. — White or Coralline Crag. — Relative Age, Origin, and Climate of the Crag Deposits. — Antwerp Crag. — Newer Pliocene Strata of Sicily. — Newer Pliocene Strata of the Upper Val d’Arno. — Older Pliocene of Italy. — Subapennine Strata. — Older Pliocene Flora of Italy.

Chapter Xiv—Miocene Period.—Upper Miocene.

Upper Miocene Strata of France. — Faluns of Touraine. — Tropical Climate implied by Testacea. — Proportion of recent Species of Shells. — faluns more ancient than the Suffolk Crag. — Upper Miocene of Bordeaux and the South of France. — Upper Miocene of Oeningen, in Switzerland. — Plants of the Upper Fresh-water Molasse. — Fossil Fruit and Flowers as well as Leaves. — Insects of the Upper Molasse. — Middle or Marine Molasse of Switzerland. — Upper Miocene Beds of the Bolderberg, in Belgium. — Vienna Basin. — Upper Miocene of Italy and Greece. — Upper Miocene of India; Siwalik Hills. — Older Pliocene and Miocene of the United States.

Chapter Xv—Lower Miocene.

Lower Miocene Strata of France. — Line between Miocene and Eocene. — Lacustrine Strata of Auvergne. — Fossil Mammalia of the Limagne d’Auvergne. — Lower Molasse of Switzerland. — Dense Conglomerates and Proofs of Subsidence. — Flora of the Lower Molasse. — American Character of the Flora. — Theory of a Miocene Atlantis. — Lower Miocene of Belgium. — Rupelian Clay of Hermsdorf near Berlin. — Mayence Basin. — Lower Miocene of Croatia. — Oligocene Strata of Beyrich. — Lower Miocene of Italy. — Lower Miocene of England. — Hempstead Beds. — Bovey Tracey Lignites in Devonshire. — Isle of Mull Leaf-Beds. — Arctic Miocene Flora. — Disco Island. — Lower Miocene of United States. — Fossils of Nebraska.

Chapter Xvi—Eocene Formations.

Eocene Areas of North of Europe. — Table of English and French Eocene Strata. — Upper Eocene of England. — Bembridge Beds. — Osborne or St. Helen’s Beds. — Headon Series. — Fossils of the Barton Sands and Clays. — Middle Eocene of England. — Shells, Nummulites, Fish and Reptiles of the Bracklesham Beds and Bagshot Sands. — Plants of Alum Bay and Bournemouth. — Lower Eocene of England. — London Clay Fossils. — Woolwich and Reading Beds formerly called “Plastic Clay”. — Fluviatile Beds underlying Deep-sea Strata. — Thanet Sands. — Upper Eocene Strata of France. — Gypseous Series of Montmartre and Extinct Quadrupeds. — Fossil Footprints in Paris Gypsum. — Imperfection of the Record. — Calcaire Silicieux. — Gres de Beauchamp. — Calcaire Grossier. — Miliolite Limestone. — Soissonnais Sands. — Lower Eocene of France. — Nummulitic Formations of Europe, Africa, and Asia. — Eocene Strata in the United States. — Gigantic Cetacean.

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