UPHEAVAL OF ALPS. 171 



rolled pebbles rest horizontally upon this vertical Miocene. A 

 traveller visiting the road which is being constructed to Gauen 

 will see a section in which the horizontal strata of the lignite rest 

 directly upon the tops of the perpendicular strata of the Mio- 

 cene. It is therefore clear that the tilting-up of the Miocene 

 must have taken place before the formation of the lignite. This 

 upheaval of the Miocene, which may be traced all along the 

 chain of the Alps, is directly connected with the change of form 

 of the whole of the Swiss mountain region ; and consequently 

 the change in the external form of Switzerland occurred in the 

 interval between the youngest Miocene of (Eningen and the 

 formation of the lignite, just like the transformation of organic 

 nature ; and it may be assumed that at the time of the forma- 

 tion of the lignite the Swiss mountains had essentially their 

 present form. 



Between the deposits of (Eningen and the lignites there is no 

 Swiss formation containing organic remains. Thus the lignites 

 would appear to .follow immediately after the uppermost Miocene 

 beds ; and hence the conclusion might be drawn that the above- 

 mentioned transformation of inorganic and organic nature had 

 taken place in a comparatively short time. To form a judg- 

 ment upon this point, similar formations must be considered ; 

 and the most important data are to be obtained in England and 

 Italy. 



On the coast of Norfolk, in England, the shore for a great 

 distance has been worn away by the waves. On that coast for 

 about forty miles (from Cromer to Kessingland) the remains 

 appear of an ancient forest. One may still see the erect trunks 

 of many trees, the roots of which lose themselves in all directions 

 in the underlying clay. These trees are covered by a clay -bed, 

 which contains here and there thin layers of lignite. Between 

 the trunks of the trees and these lignites are found cones of the 

 fir .and of the common and mountain pine *, the seeds of the 

 yew, the fruits of the hornwort (Ceratophyllum. demersum), and 



* By the kindness of Sir Charles Lyell and Dr. Falconer, Prof. Heer was 

 enabled, when in London, to make an examination of these remains of 

 plants. 



