24 «CC THE FOSSIL REPTILES 
shore and been washed into the sea, or have died in the 
ocean. With a continued sinking, including now the red 
sandstone, the newer deposits reached in time the level of 
its summits ; and during the subsequent and long contin- 
ued risg, a succession of sea beaches gradually extended 
the area of the land to the south east. Abundant vegeta- 
tion clothed the shores, which supported insect life and 
large herbivorous animals, which were in turn fed upon 
by smaller and larger carnivorous forms. The period dur- 
ing which the deeply buried strata at the side of the red 
sandstone was deposited, is called by geologists that of 
the Lower Cretaceous ; while that which forms the surface 
resting upon the last, and extending from the red sand- 
stone over nearly half the remainder of the state of New 
Jersey, is the Upper Cretaceous formation. During the 
deposition of the former, extensive beds were being laid 
. down in various parts of the earth, especially western 
Europe, which entombed similar animal and vegetable 
types. With the Later Cretaceous of New Jersey also, 
corresponding strata were deposited in the far west of 
North America, and Europe, including in England the 
well known white chalk rock. At the close of this epoch, 
New Jersey, most probably, had accomplished in its south 
eastern section a very extended and considerable eleva- 
tion, and at the same time vast changes in other regions 
of the earth caused a great change in the temperature ; so 
great as to destroy all animal life then existing. It is 
also certain that the south eastern extremity of the region 
underwent a second gradual descent, and was again cover- 
with water to a coast line running north east and 
south west, dividing the present land between the south 
western bend of the Deleware and the present coast line 
into two nearly equal areas. Then began again the deposi- 
on 
Bea eRe Say EM au ea ee a 
