940 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



longed to our continents, or have 

 been formed by causes subsequent 

 to their birth. 



" We are thus led to the con- 

 troversy concerning the origin of 

 valleys, the greatest which has 

 arisen among genealogists ; a con- 

 troversy very extraordinary, since, 

 after the length of time employed 

 in observing the earth, it might 

 seem that this question should have 

 been decided by factsthe most com- 

 mon and the most simple. I shall 

 not stop to examine the causes of 

 such indecision; itsexistencesuffici- 

 ently shows the necessity of endea- 

 vouring to throw light on a sub- 

 ject, which, while it shall be in- 

 volved in any obscurity, will always 

 cause geology to appear, as it still 

 appears to many, a science with- 

 out foundation. Some geologists, 

 among whom are Dr. Hutton and 

 Mr. Playfair, ascribe valleys and 

 vales to the mechanical action of 

 running waters, and the indenta* 

 tions of the coasts to that of the 

 sea. By this hypothesis, common 

 to many other systems, the birth 

 of our continents is carried back 

 to a period of incalculable anti. 

 quity, in order to furnish time for 

 various imaginary' operations, by 

 the diversity of whicli those sys- 

 temsare respectively distinguished. 

 But my theory considers such fea- 

 tures as having belonged to our 

 continents from their birth, subject 

 only to modification by the causes 

 which still act upon them ; these 

 causes are well known, we see 

 them in action, and the easily-de- 

 terminable quantity of their per- 

 ceptible effect proves, in opposi- 

 tion to the former opinion, that 

 our continents are by no means of 

 great antiquity. 



" It is thus that all geological 

 questions concentre in a single 

 point, the decision of which em- 

 braces them all, as may have been 

 seen in the preceding work : no 

 point is more directly subject to be 

 determined by facts; and these 

 facts it is the business of geological 

 travels to collect. I have thought 

 it necessary to premise thus much, 

 in order to show beforehand in 

 what manner most of the heads of 

 the following statement, wherein 

 are pointed out the objects which 

 are to be proved by my Travels, 

 are fundamentally connected with 

 these two questions : — 1, Have 

 the cavities observable on our con- 

 tinents been produced by running 

 waters? — 2. Have the indentations 

 of their coasts been formed by the 

 sea ? If the new facts which I 

 shall adduce, observed in well- 

 known places, where they may 

 easily be verified, shall at last, by 

 proving those to be general, which 

 I had already described in ray 

 ' Lettres sur I'Histoire de la Terre 

 et de I'Homme,* decide these 

 questions in the negative, geology 

 will no longer be subject to arbi- 

 trary judgment; a fixed point will 

 be established in it, namely, the 

 known state of our continents at 

 their birth ; and neither the times 

 preceding, nor those subsequent to 

 that epoch, will any longer remain 

 a field in which men may wander 

 without a guide. This is the basis 

 whereon is founded the geological 

 system, which has been the object 

 of my former works. I attribute 

 the little attention which has been 

 bestowed on them, especially by 

 Mr. Playfair, to the want of suf- 

 ficient details ; but these will be 

 fokind in my Travels ; and it will 



be 



