﻿THE 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  SCIENCE 
  

  

  [FOURTH 
  SERIES.] 
  

  

  Art. 
  XXX. 
  — 
  Notes 
  on 
  the 
  Geology 
  of 
  the 
  Bermudas 
  ;* 
  by 
  

   A. 
  E. 
  Vekkill. 
  

  

  The 
  geology 
  of 
  the 
  Bermudas, 
  though 
  simple, 
  has 
  attracted 
  

   considerable 
  attention 
  and 
  has 
  been 
  reported 
  upon 
  quite 
  fully 
  

   by 
  several 
  writers. 
  (See 
  page 
  339.) 
  In 
  this 
  brief 
  article 
  I 
  

   propose 
  to 
  give 
  mainly 
  the 
  general 
  conclusions 
  arrived 
  at 
  by 
  

   myself, 
  from 
  observations 
  made 
  at 
  Bermuda 
  during 
  a 
  visit 
  to 
  

   the 
  islands 
  in 
  April 
  and 
  May 
  of 
  1898, 
  with 
  a 
  party 
  of 
  students 
  

   from 
  Yale 
  University, 
  made 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  studying 
  the 
  

   fauna, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  geology. 
  

  

  In 
  some 
  respects 
  my 
  conclusions 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  to 
  differ 
  con- 
  

   siderably 
  from 
  those 
  of 
  others 
  who 
  have 
  written 
  upon 
  the 
  sub- 
  

   ject. 
  Though 
  in 
  the 
  main 
  my 
  studies 
  confirm 
  the 
  observations 
  

   made 
  by 
  Professor 
  W. 
  JST. 
  Rice, 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  Agassiz, 
  and 
  Professor 
  

   Stevenson, 
  yet, 
  in 
  my 
  interpretations 
  of 
  the 
  facts, 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  agree 
  

   entirely 
  with 
  either 
  of 
  those 
  writers. 
  The 
  differences 
  are 
  

   mostly 
  in 
  respect 
  to 
  special 
  points, 
  but 
  yet 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  they 
  

   are 
  of 
  considerable 
  significance. 
  

  

  It 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  for 
  some 
  years 
  that 
  the 
  Bermudas 
  are 
  not 
  

   coral 
  islands, 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  formerly 
  thought 
  to 
  be, 
  and 
  that 
  

   the 
  outline 
  of 
  the 
  group, 
  though 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  atolls, 
  

   is 
  not 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  growth 
  of 
  corals 
  and 
  formation 
  of 
  coral 
  reefs. 
  

  

  The 
  group 
  consists 
  of 
  about 
  25 
  larger 
  islands 
  and 
  a 
  large 
  

   number 
  of 
  smaller 
  islets, 
  but 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  land 
  is 
  included 
  in 
  

   the 
  main 
  island 
  (Bermuda), 
  which 
  is 
  about 
  1I|- 
  miles 
  in 
  length, 
  

   following 
  its 
  curvature, 
  but 
  is 
  seldom 
  two 
  miles 
  wide. 
  This 
  

   and 
  the 
  other 
  islands 
  at 
  each 
  end 
  of 
  it 
  form 
  a 
  sort 
  of 
  crescent 
  

  

  * 
  Mostly 
  an 
  abstract 
  from 
  a 
  course 
  of 
  six 
  lectures 
  on 
  the 
  Geology 
  and 
  Natural 
  

   History 
  of 
  the 
  Bermudas 
  (illustrated 
  by 
  over 
  200 
  lantern 
  slides), 
  delivered 
  at 
  the 
  

   Lowell 
  Institute 
  in 
  Boston, 
  Nov. 
  and 
  Dec, 
  1899. 
  

  

  Am. 
  Jour. 
  Scl— 
  Fourth 
  Series, 
  Vol. 
  IX, 
  No. 
  53.— 
  Mat, 
  1900. 
  

   22 
  

  

  