Origin of the Grand Ontline Features of the Earth. 385 
ar more in accordance with crt to refer even wide devia- 
tions of directions to one and the sa 
General character of the lines of ‘Mountains, Coasts, and Isl- 
ands.—A careful study of the courses of island groups, coasts 
and mountain chains, leads us to the following important re- 
sults :-— 
I. The ranges are made up of shorter consecutive and some- 
times parent lines, instead of being uninterrupted for long dis- 
tance. 
Il. "The ranges are more commonly curved, than straight or 
coincident with the course of a great cirele. 
Ill. The straight ranges are generally a in the con- 
stituent set but may consist of a series of curv 
vs d ranges may arise from a gentrdl curvature in the 
whole ; brut often proceed from the gna of the several con- 
secutive parts. 
‘VY. The same range, owing to the mode of curving, may vary 
greatly in its course, in different portions. 
In these points we are stating mere- )} —__ —__- ——— — — 
ly the facts or results of observation, mee ie 
free from speculation. ‘The following - tiie 
may serve to illustrate the prop> yo 
ositions stated. pA TTT Ck vii sean 
igure 1, the entire range IS = Teer dis 
straight, as well as the parts. Perks weirs £53 
In figures 2, 3, and 4, the parts are « Sr oa et 
straight and overlap, and thus form a ; 
range which is sometimes straight as *“—<__ 
a whole, but is more frequently — 
The direction of the whole range, ia ss 
shown by the dotted line, differs a —— = saada 
the direction of the subordinate lines. 
Figures 3 and 7 represent a common condition in which there 
are parallel lines in some parts of a range. 
In figure 5, the parts are curved; and» here, too, the coulis 
mange may be: straight or curved. : 
Fig. 6 represents a range made up of longitudinal parts: along 
With some transverse ; this is of common occurrence sip cnet oN 
_ The more thorough the examination © 
islands and of mountain _— the more distinealy. sil this me 
tem of things be apparent ; and instead of straight lines, or parts 
great circles, it will be found that the predominant courses in 
the earth’s features are curves. All these points might be abun- 
dantly illustrated by the groups of the Pacific islands; but we 
omit the details, as the subject ta be fully presented in the Re- 
port, by the writer, on the Geology of the Ocean. Suffice it to 
“ay, that in’ the Hawaiian range these pees are distinctly 
conp Serixs, Vol. II, No. 9.—May, 1847. 
