THE STORY THE SEA TOLD 163 



mixed and scattered, and show every evi- 

 dence of having been violently thrown up and 

 forced out of place by subterranean eruptions 

 or tremendous earthquakes. 



Sometimes these ancient sea-beds are found 

 on the very edge of the present shore, at other 

 times they are far inland on high land. Some 

 of the most extensive and beautifully pre- 

 served are in the interior of Canada, others 

 are in our central and western states, others 

 are high up on lofty mountain sides and others 

 are found scattered in dry and arid deserts. 



Moreover, we know by these pages of the 

 ocean's book that in former ages the sea was 

 much warmer than to-day, for many tropical 

 forms of animal life were found abundantly 

 in what are now the polar regions. Immense 

 deposits of rock composed entirely of fossil 

 corals occur in many northern districts far 

 from the present sea, and while these rocks 

 may at first sight appear utterly unlike coral 

 and may look like ordinary stone, yet when 

 cut and polished every minute detail of the 

 coral is shown to perfection. Of course the 

 entire bottom of the sea was not covered with 



