862 STRATIGRAPHICAL GEOLOGY. [Boox YI. 
valley of the Rhine as far as the site of Mayence, which then 
probably stood at the upper end, the valley draining southward 
instead of northward. From the Miocene firth of the Rhine a sea- ~ 
strait ran eastwards between the base of the Alps and the line of the 
Danube, filling up the wide basin of Vienna and spreading far and 
wide among the islands of south-eastern Europe. 
Among the revolutions of the time not the least important in 
European geography was the continued uprise of the Alps by which 
the Eocene strata had been so convoluted and overthrown. These 
disturbances still went on in a diminished degree in Miocene time. 
One of their results was the restoration and extension of the wide 
lake or chain of lakes over the northern or molasse region of 
Switzerland in which the red molasse of Oligocene time had been 
deposited. ‘The lacustrine deposits accumulated there have pre- 
served with remarkable fulness a record of the terrestrial flora and — 
fauna of the time. 

Fig. 411.—Mtocenr PLants. 
a, Liquidambar Europeum (Braun.) (3); b, Cinnamomum Buchi (Heer) (3). 
The flora indicates a decidedly tropical climate in the earlier 
part of the Miocene period in Europe, many of the plants having 
their nearest modern representatives in India and Australia. Among 
the more characteristic genera are Sabal, Phoenicites, Libocedrus, 
Sequoia, Myrica, Quercus, Ficus, Laurus, Cinnamomum, Daphne, 
Persaonia, Banksia, Dryandra, Cissus, Magnolia, Acer, Ilex, Rhamnus, 
Juglans, Rhus, Myrtus, Mimosa, and Acacia. In the later part of the 
period the climate, if we may judge from the character of the flora, 
had become more temperate ; for among the more frequent plants are 
species of Glyptostrobus, Betula, Populus, Carpinus, Ulmus, Laurus, 
Persea, Ilex, Podogonium, and Potamogeton. 
The fauna affords somewhat similar climatal indications. There 
occur such shells as Anedlaria, Buccinum, Cancellaria, Cassis, Cyprea, 
Mitra, Murex, Pyrula, Strombus, Terebra, Arca, Cardita, Cardium, 
Cytherea, Mactra, Ostrea, Panopwa, Pecten, Pectunculus, Spondylus, 
. 
2 
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