DESCRIPTION 



or 



THE STRATA 



OP 



THE YORKSHIRE COAST. 



CHAPTER I. 



PRINCIPLES OP GEOLOGY. 



Condensed view of the discoveries respecting the structure of the earth, 

 which have produced the modern practical system of Geology. 



JL HE most extensive subject which falls within the range of human 

 acquirement, is the study of nature. To comprehend the phenomena 

 of the material world, and to illustrate the secret laws by which they are 

 governed, requires the joint labour of many minds. To facilitate this 

 investigation, nature is conceived to be divided into distinct sections, 

 each of which gives title to a science. Geology is one of these, and 

 its professed object is to develope the natural history of the earth. It 

 aspires to learn the various materials of which our planet is composed, 

 and to determine the manner, and, as far as secondary causes are con- 

 cerned, the means of its construction. Mineralogy, chemistry, botany, 

 zoology, are all associated with geology ; their advancement keeps pace 

 with its progress, and every discovery which rewards the cultivation of 

 them, throws new light on the revolutions which have visited the earth. 

 Even the astronomer, who employs himself in observing other planets 

 and other systems, and the mathematician, who determines the forms and 

 densities of spheroids, are fellow-labourers with the practical observer of 

 the strata. 



B 



