VALLEYS, AND HOW THEY ARE 



FORMED 



By J. LOMAS, F.G.S., A.R.C.S. 



WHEN man is confronted with some 

 of the most sublime and awe- 

 inspiring scenes which the earth 

 affords he is apt to lose the sense of 

 proportion. He lacks a scale with which 

 to measure 

 them. Time is 



r 



the factor he 

 is mostly prone 

 to under- estim- 

 ate, and in 

 seeking to en- 

 compass the 

 events within 

 circumscribed 

 limits he is 

 compelled t o 

 exaggerate the 

 importance of 

 other factors, 

 or he has re- 

 course to ex- 

 traor di n ary 

 causes differ- 

 ing from the 

 activities a t 

 work at the 

 present day. 



It seems to 

 be inherent in 

 the nature of 



man that no sooner does he see a 

 phenomenon than he seeks to explain it. 

 The fear of the unknown is alM'a\'s with 

 him, and if the ordinarv occurrences 

 about him do not satisfy he invokes 

 more violent means. A century ago 

 cataclysms and revolutions were accepted 

 as a matter of course, and were called 

 in to explain events which are now attri- 

 buted to very ordinary causes. 



In the early days of the nineteenth 

 century the great French savant, Baron 

 Cuvier, voicing the opinions prevalent in 



his day, wrote, "It is in vain to seek 

 amidst the forces now acting on the 

 surface of the earth for causes sufficiently 

 powerful to produce the revolutions and 

 catastrophies of which its exterior bears 



IN THEIR TYPICAL FORMS VALLEYS ARE V-SHAPtU 

 Scoredale, Westmoreland. 



traces ; and if we have recourse to the ex- 

 ternal causes at present in action, we shall 

 not find them ada])ted for the purpose." 

 Echoes of these ancient behefs are still 

 heard from those who have not carefully 

 studied the effects of existing agencies; 

 but while it would be unwise to • say 

 that the forces have never varied in 

 intensity or in kind, we seldom tiiul it 

 necessary to assume excejitional con- 

 ditions. These thoughts naturall\- arise 

 when we come to consider the origin and 

 forms of valleys. Take, for instance, 



52 



405 



