THE EARTH AT ITS BEGINNING 



the comprehending eye. The earth is probably seamed 

 with great cracks that do not now reach to the surface, 

 but which are indicated by the presence of chains of 

 volcanoes. The volcanoes of the great chains of the 

 Andes lie along a straight crack reaching from Southern 

 Peru to Terra del Fuego, 2500 miles in length. The 

 volcanoes of the Aleutian Islands lie along a curved track 

 equally long. Other shorter lines of volcanoes are very 

 numerous, and since countless others existed in former 

 times, the cracks in the earth's crust must be exceedingly 

 numerous. There is one crack which comes to the surface 

 in various places in Eastern Asia and Western Africa, 

 and stretching from the Dead Sea to Lake Nyassa, reaches 

 the enormous length of 3500 miles. 



From this brief sketch of the formation of the earth, 

 its progress and processes, and from the hints which the 

 volcanoes and earthquakes of to-day afford us, we may 

 obtain some idea of the underworld that lies far beneath 

 our feet. Not much, however, for we are ignorant of the 

 actual conditions which exist towards the centre of the 

 earth. But there seems a strong case for supposing that 

 there is an outer solid crust of earth and an inner 

 molten core of very great heat. 



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