﻿PART 
  1. 
  

  

  THE 
  SCIENCE 
  OF 
  GEOLOGY 
  AND 
  ITS 
  HISTORY 
  

  

  Geology 
  includes 
  all 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  origin, 
  history, 
  compo- 
  

   sition 
  and 
  structure 
  of 
  the 
  earth. 
  

  

  Before 
  commencing 
  to 
  discuss 
  geology 
  in 
  its 
  present 
  state 
  of 
  

   progress, 
  it 
  is 
  desirable 
  to 
  consider 
  briefly 
  its 
  history 
  as 
  a 
  science. 
  

  

  The 
  origin 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  was 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  interest 
  to 
  the 
  earliest 
  

   Oriental 
  philosophers 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  to 
  the 
  sages 
  of 
  Greece, 
  and 
  

   the 
  speculations 
  of 
  these 
  early 
  leaders 
  in 
  thought 
  seem 
  to 
  indi- 
  

   cate 
  the 
  possession 
  of 
  some 
  accurate 
  knowledge, 
  but 
  we 
  must 
  

   date 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  geologic 
  science 
  from 
  the 
  period 
  when 
  

   geologic 
  phenomena 
  were 
  first 
  observed 
  and 
  correctly 
  interpreted^ 
  

   For 
  a 
  record 
  of 
  these 
  earliest 
  geologic 
  studies 
  we 
  are 
  mainij 
  

   indebted 
  to 
  the 
  industry 
  of 
  Sir 
  Charles 
  Lyell.* 
  

  

  Geology 
  began, 
  about 
  1000 
  B. 
  C. 
  with 
  the 
  Egyptian 
  priests 
  

   who 
  observed 
  that 
  the 
  limestones 
  bordering 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Nile 
  

   had 
  been 
  cut 
  through 
  by 
  erosion 
  and 
  that 
  marine 
  fossils 
  were 
  

   exposed. 
  In 
  the 
  sixth 
  century 
  B. 
  C. 
  numerous 
  observations 
  on 
  

   terrestrial 
  changes 
  are 
  ascribed 
  to 
  Pythagoras, 
  and 
  Xenophanes 
  

   is 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  observed 
  and 
  mentioned 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  various 
  

   fossils. 
  Aristotle 
  and 
  others 
  in 
  their 
  writings 
  speak 
  of 
  fossil 
  

   fishes. 
  Attention 
  was 
  also 
  called 
  by 
  Aristotle 
  to 
  the 
  changing 
  

   distribution 
  of 
  sea 
  and 
  land 
  in 
  certain 
  localities. 
  From 
  that 
  time 
  

   to 
  the 
  Christian 
  era, 
  history 
  affords 
  many 
  records 
  of 
  observations 
  

   on 
  geologic 
  phenomena 
  but 
  no 
  attempt 
  was 
  made 
  to 
  reason 
  from 
  

   the 
  present 
  to 
  the 
  past 
  or 
  to 
  do 
  more 
  than 
  recognize 
  terrestrial 
  

   changes 
  contemporaneous 
  with 
  man. 
  

  

  Some 
  Arabian 
  writers 
  of 
  the 
  10th 
  century 
  A. 
  D. 
  are 
  credited 
  

   by 
  Lyell 
  with 
  accurate 
  observations 
  on 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  mountains 
  

   and 
  certain 
  changes 
  of 
  sea 
  level, 
  but 
  not 
  till 
  the 
  16th 
  century 
  

  

  a 
  Principles 
  of 
  Geology 
  

  

  