480 
GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF OUR GLOBE. 
organisms, and, therefore, present deeply interesting pic- 
tures of the globe’s former state in some of the long past 
periods of its history. The more ancient the mountain 
ranges the more interesting the zoology and flora preserved, 
hence, in New Zealand the state of the carboniferous age of 
the world, with its peculiar flora and wingless birds, is still 
to be seen ; and in Australia that of another epoch, with its 
marsupials, thus, those lone islands of the ocean are far more 
interesting monuments of antiquity than even the pyramids 
of Egypt, or any of the oldest works of man, not only on 
account of infinitely greater age, but the many specimens 
they preserve of remote times, in fact, they are living 
museums of the age to which they belong. 
It is, however, to be noticed, that whilst some of the 
grandest mountain ranges have a general direction from the 
north to the south, there are others which run from east 
to west, and these are sufficiently distinct to warrant the 
supposition that there were other parallel lines over the 
earth’s surface at some more remote period, as clearly 
marked as those are now in the contrary direction. These 
may be still traced, although many portions have been 
broken in upon by later elevations. Thus in North America 
the Allegany mountains run from west to east, and by the 
Bermudas and Azores are continued in Europe by the Pyre- 
nees, the .Alps, and Carpathians; in Asia by the Caucasian, 
Altai and Stannovoi ranges, which extend quite across that 
continent, and by the Aleutian Archipelago join the American 
line. 
Another may be equally well traced, which commences 
with the south-eastern portion of Mexico, then runs through 
Cuba, St. Domingo, Porto-rico, the Cape de Verd Islands, 
then across Africa by the Kong mountains, and those of the 
moon to the south coast of Arabia, Persia, Himalaya and 
Thibetian mountains, to the eastern coast of China, and 
then by the Corea, Sandwich Isles, and the Galapagos, join 
America. 
The remains of similar continental waves of upheavement 
are also perceptible in the Spanish Peninsula, which is in- 
