218 SEE— FURTHER RESEARCHES ON [April 2^, 



As the movement continues the central range rises upwards, 

 while its flanks sink down on either side, and thus the fan-shaped 

 structure develops, so as to give overturned dip and inversion of 

 strata once deposited horizontally in the bed of the sea. 



This is a perfectly simple and direct explanation of one of the 

 most mysterious phenomena heretofore encountered by naturalists. 



The new theory of mountain formation is proved to represent a 

 real law of nature by phenomena now witnessed in the Aleutian 

 Islands, Japan and elsewhere. The fact that it perfectly accounts 

 for the perplexing phenomena seen in the Swiss Alps, shows that 

 they too were formerly under the sea, and were uplifted by the 

 same force now at work in the Aleutian Lslands and the Antandes. 



Accordingly it is not remarkable that Professor Suess should, 

 without knowledge of the true cause, describe the uplift of the Alps 

 from the sea in words which are almost prophetic ("Face of the 

 Earth," Vol. II, p. 552) : 



"As a result of tangential thrusts, the sediments of this Sea (Mediter- 

 ranean) were folded together and driven upward as a great mountain range, 

 and the Alps have therefore been described as a compressed sea." 



Without overestimating the significance of this result, it seems 

 clear that neither parallel ranges nor fan-shaped structures with 

 inverted dips will hereafter present any further difificulty to the 

 geologist. Now that the true laws of such phenomena are known, 

 it will be exceedingly interesting to work out the details of all the 

 great mountain systems with which the earth is adorned. 



§ 29. All Complex Folding now seen in Mountain Ranges 

 Originated in the Sea. — It is scarcely necessary to add that all the 

 complex folds now seen in mountain ranges were produced in the 

 sea by the repetition of trenches dug out by earthquakes. The 

 folds were frequently broken apart at both top and bottom, by the 

 earthquake movements, and thus the folded crust is not shortened by 

 anything like so nuich as has been sitpposed. Moreover where the 

 fan-shaped structures and overturned dips appear, the two sides 

 were never joined together by an arch above, as represented in the 

 above figures by Heim, but were quite separated before the range 

 arose to any considerable height. Accordingly it follows that erosion 

 has not worn oft' anything like so nnich of the top of the range as 



