THE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD 151 



middle of the period, followed by widespread withdrawal and shoal- 

 ing of the sea, and deposition of clastic sediments toward the close 

 of the period. 



Foreign (Lower Carboniferous) Mississippian 1 



Europe. — As in North America, there was considerable 

 encroachment of the sea so that much of the non-marine Old Red 

 Sandstone became covered with true marine sediments. Map 



Fig. 89 

 Sketch map showing the relations of land and water in Europe during 

 Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) tirrtte. (Slightly modified after 

 De Lapparent.) 



Fig. 89 gives a general idea of the relations of land and water in 

 Europe in early Mississippian time. In western Europe limestone 

 predominates. Marine waters, mostly free from land-derived 

 sediments, extended from the western British Isles to central 



1 It should be remembered that the term "Mississippian" is not used in 

 Europe. 



