Association of American Geologists and Naturalists. 135 
doubt, that igneous eruptions on these islands continued to be 
more and more recent, as we go from the northwest to the south- 
east: at the present time the great active volcano, is at the south- 
east extremity of Hawaii, the southeast island. ‘The fires have 
gradually become extinct from the northwestward, and now burn 
only on the southwest point of the group. At the Navigators, 
and I believe also at the Society group, the reverse was true ; 
the northwest island was last extinct. Is there any connection 
between this, and the fact that low islands are numerous north- 
northwest of the Sandwich Islands and south-southeast of the 
Society? Does it indicate any thing with regard to the charac- 
ter of the subsidence in these regions ? 
The time of these changes we cannot definitely ascertain ; nei- 
ther when the subsidence ceased, for it appears to be no longer 
in progress. 'The latter part of the tertiary and the succeeding 
ages may have witnessed it. Although Iam by no means con- 
fident of any connection, yet for those who would find a balance 
motion in the changes, I would suggest that the tertiary rocks of 
the Andes and North America, indicate great elevation since their 
deposition; and possibly during this great Pacific subsidence, 
America, the other scale of the balance, was in part undergoing 
as great or greater elevation. 
But why if the western American coast was rising, do we find 
no corals on its tropical shores to indicate it? 'The cold extra- 
tropical currents of the ocean furnish us with a satisfactory reply. 
Arr. X VII.— Abstract of the Proceedings of the Fourth Session 
of the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists. 
Tue fourth annual session of this Association was held, pur- 
suant to the adjournment of last year, at the New Yorx Srate 
GxoLocicaL Museum in Albany, during the week succeeding 
the 25th of April, 1843. The next meeting will be at Wash- 
ington City, on the LOth of May, 1844. The Chairman of the 
next meeting is Dr. John Locke, of Cincinnati; the Secretary, 
Dr. D. D. Owen, of New Harmony, Indiana. 
Wednesday, April 26th, 10 A. M.—The Chairman of the meet- 
ing, Prof. H. D. Rogers, called the Association to order. The 
Secretary appointed at the last meeting, (Prof. O. P. Hubbard, ) 
