12 



USES 09* 



4th. In the Mountains, valleys, beds of oceans, seas, lakes and rivers- 

 study of ... 



physical are all referable for their origin to geological changes. The 

 geography. ^^^^ saliferous and carboniferous rocks, in which the bed of 

 Lake Ontario is made by the rapid disintegration of those 

 rocks, is an example. The beds of Lake Cham plain, the 

 Mohawk river and of the Hudson through most of its extent, 

 were made by the disintegration of rocks at the meeting of dif- 

 ferent formations. The deep bed of the Hudson across the 

 Highlands, which is chiefly hornblende rock, may, without 

 extravagance, be ascribed to the fusion by volcanic heat which 

 produced the basaltic Palisadoes below the chasm. The 

 same hypothesis may be well applied to the channel of Con- 

 necticut river, north of the northern line of Massachusetts, 

 whence the volcanic lava flowed which now forms a series of 

 basaltic prominences from Vermont to Long Island Sound, 

 Hence one important part of physical geography may be ex- 

 plained by a reference to disintegration, decomposition, vol- 

 canic action, and other geological agencies. 



CONCISE HISTORY OF GEOLOGY. "1 



Geology ^^^^ name geology was originally applied to visions, whic^, 

 ©riginally a floated in the fancies of men, respecting the original produc- 



creature of i o o r 



fancy. tion of the earth. No facts were adduced in proof of hypothe- 

 sis, excepting the few which presented themselves to, or rath- 

 er enforced themselves upon the senses, without the labor of 

 research. Possihility, without even the shadow pr eh ability, 

 seems to have been received as conclusive evidence. 



Commence- We are indebted to the Germans for geology as a science. 



mcnt of 2rG"* 



ology as a Lehman first published the fortunate suggestion, which ele- 

 Lehman. vated geology to the dignity of a science. He first called the 

 attention of tlie learned to a new view of creative intelligence 

 in the systematic arrangement of the solid contents of the ap- 

 Werner parently amorphous earth. The illustrious Werner improv- 

 ed upon the thought. Through a long life, by uniting study, 

 theory and practice, and directing all the energies of his mind 



