93 
A1St> GEOLOGY OF THE MALAY PENINSULA. 
That the fundamental geological connection of the Peninsula with 
the continental and insular regions which it unites, is not evidenced 
by mere parallelism of elevation, will appear in the sequel, 
through the mountainous volcanic islands of Ceram and Bouro, and along the 
southern coasts of Celebes and Borneo (Gunong Ratos), Billiton, Banka, 
the Malay Peninsula, A'c.j a third through the Phillipines,Formosa, Japan, 
&c. 5 a fourth along the southern coast of New Guinea, and through the So- 
iomonlslands, New Hebrides, New Zealand, rf?c. ; a fifth along the southern 
coast of New Guinea, across Torres Straits and along the eastern coast 
of Australia, and a sixth perhaps through the north-western division of 
Australia. Other principal lines probably proceed across the Moluccas 
and Celebes, through Borneo and the islands of the China sea (now a subsi¬ 
ding tract 1 ")? and join the mountain chains of Cochin China and Siam, but 
the geography of Borneo is nof sufficiently known to allow of our positively 
ranking these as seventh and eighth lines. The intermediate areas may be 
occupied by numerous other lines, butthe subsidence of various tracts must 
render it difficult or impossible, particularly to the eastward, to trace the 
original courses'of vertical movement until the soundings of the Polynesian 
seas are ascertained. Subsequent shifting subterranean action would cause 
many other fractures in various directions, but it would not, at least until 
the lapse of a long geological epoch, obliterate the primary lines. It would 
often cause cross fractures, of which many instances might be pointed out. 
It is no objection to this hypothesis that many of the lines seem to pro¬ 
ceed from the central table-land of Asia. Because if at the time these fis¬ 
sures were being extended southward, a great local action took place at or 
near New Guinea, they would, according to the mechanical laws examined 
by Mr. Hopkins, diverge from their original direction towards that point, or 
to meet the lines radiating from it. Thus we observe the two least broken 
lines to pursue a southerly direction till they reach the parallel of 8° N. L , 
when, at the Nicobarsf in the one, and at Junk-ceylon in the other, they are 
deflected to the S. E. When they cross the meridian of 106° E. they make 
a more decided bend to the eastward. If we follow these lines aud the 
chains of Siam und Cochin China northward we may trace them upwards 
to the Bayan Khara mountains, and thence to the vast central mass of Kul- 
kun, from whence great ranges are said to proceed towards all the points of 
the compass. But in the north-western part of the province of Yunnan, 
and north-east of Burmah and Assam, their continuity is interrupted, and 
weseemto have ascertained another central region, whence radiate not on¬ 
ly the lines which afterwards converge to New Guinea, but various other 
curvilinear ranges proceeding S. E., E., N. E, and N. through China, and 
N. andN. W. through Thibet, and, lastly, the Himalayas and a minor range 
proceeding south-eastward on the south of the valley of Assam, and conti¬ 
nued, perhaps, in the Vindyas,—-for a subsequent line of subsidence passing 
down the plain of the Ganges and through the Bay of Bengal, of which there 
is some evidence, may have destroyed the pre-existing continuity. Many 
of these ranges proceed primarily from the Iiulkun, but it is remarkable 
that they converge towards the region indicated. The region where the Hi¬ 
malayas attain their sublimestproportions, and give birth to rivers that em¬ 
brace them, and all India, in their courses, is another grand focus. From 
this centre the range proceeds on the one side to the eastward, and on the 
* Query. 
t [The Nicobars are excluded by Von Buck and Lyell from this great 
volcanic zone, but the earthquakes of October and November last have 
shewn that they form an integral part of it.J 
