MODERN GEOLOGY 



earth, so far as we see, have been formed by natural op- 

 erations of the globe in collecting loose materials and 

 depositing them at the bottom of the sea ; consolidating 

 those collections in various degrees, and either ele- 

 vating those consolidated masses above the level on 

 which they were formed or lowering the level of that 

 sea. 



" Let us now consider how far the other proposition 

 of strata being elevated by the power of heat above the 

 level of the sea may be confirmed from the examination 

 of natural appearances. The strata formed at the bot- 

 tom of the ocean are necessarily horizontal in their po- 

 sition, or nearly so, and continuous in their horizontal 

 direction or extent. They may be changed and grad- 

 ually assume the nature of each other, so far as concerns 

 the materials of which they are formed, but there can- 

 not be any sudden change, fracture, or displacement 

 naturally in the body of a stratum. But if the strata 

 are cemented by the heat of fusion, and erected with 

 an expansive power acting below, we may expect to 

 find every species of fracture, dislocation, and contor- 

 tion in those bodies and every degree of departure from 

 a horizontal towards a vertical position. 



" The strata of the globe are actually found in every 

 possible position : for from horizontal they are frequent- 

 ly found vertical; from continuous they are broken 

 and separated in every possible direction; and from a 

 plane they are bent and doubled. It is impossible 

 that they could have originally been formed, by the 

 known laws of nature, in their present state and posi- 

 tion ; and the power that has been necessarily required 

 for their change has not been inferior to that which 



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