Tbomas Crowder Cbamberlin (1843–1928): THE METHOD OF MULTIPLE WORKING HYPOTHESIS – ON THE INTERIOR STRUCTURE, SURFACE TEMPERATURE, AND AGE OF THE EARTH – THE PLANETESIMAL HYPOTHESIS

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. GENERAL EDITOR’S PREFACE vii
3. A SOURCE BOOK IN GEOLOGY ix
4. Contents xiii
5. Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519): THE EARTH AND THE SEA 1
6. AGRICOLA [GEORG BAUER] (1494–1555): THESTRUCTURE OF THE EARTH AND THE FORCES WHICH CHANGE THE EARTH 7
7. GEORGE OWEN (1552–1613): THE COURSE OF ROCK SEAMS IN PENBROKSHIRE 12
8. RENÉ DESCARTES (1596–1650): RATIONAL BASIS FOR HYPOTHESIS OF CREATION OF SOLAR SYSTEM: THE COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH 14
9. ATHANASIUS KIRCHER (1602–1680): THE SUBTERRANEAN WORLD 17
10. PIERRE PERRAULT (1611–1680): THE SOURCE OF WATER IN SPRINGS AND RIVERS 20
11. BERNHARD VARENIUS (1622–1650): THE FIRST PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 24
12. ROBERT BOYLE (1627–1691): CONDITIONS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA 27
13. HOOKE ROBERT HOOKE (1635–1703): EARTHQUAKES 28
14. NICOLAUS STENO (1638–1687): OF SOLIDS NATURALLY CONTAINED WITHIN SOLIDS 33
15. GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNITZ (1646–1716): THE EARTH ORIGINALLY MOLTEN 45
16. BENOIT DE MAILLET (1656–1738): STRATA FORMED BENEATH THE SEA 47
17. John Woodward (1665–1722) EARTH HISTORY AND THE DELUGE 49
18. John Stracbey (1671–1743): OBSERVATIONS ON THE STRATA IN THE SOMERSETSHIRE COAL FIELDS 53
19. Lewis Evans (c. 1700-1756): THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF THE MIDDLE BRITISH COLONIES IN AMERICA 55
20. Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–1788): THE COLLISION HYPOTHESIS OF EARTH ORIGIN – EPOCHS OF THE HISTORY OF THE EARTH 58
21. GIOVANNI TARGIONI–TOZZETTI (1712–1784): VALLEYS FORMED BY STREAM EROSION 74
22. GIOVANNI ARDUINO (1713–1795): ORIGIN OF MARBLE AND DOLOMITE 76
23. JEANNE ETIENNE GUETTARD (1715–1786): MAP SHOWING THE ROCKS THAT TRAVERSE FRANCE AND ENGLAND 77 T H E FLUVIATILE ORIGIN OF THE PUDDINGSTONES [CONGLOMERATES] OF THE PARIS BASIN – THE FLUVIATILE ORIGIN OF THE PUDDINGSTONES [CONGLOMERATES] OF THE PARIS BASIN 77
24. JOHN MICHELL (1724-1793): THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF EARTHQUAKES – THE EARTH COMPOSED OF REGULAR AND UNIFORM STRATA 80
25. IMMANUEL KANT ( 1724–1804): A NATURALISTIC HYPOTHESIS OF EARTH ORIGIN 88
26. NICOLAS DESMAREST (1725–1805): THE VOLCANIC ORIGIN OF BASALT – AGE DETERMINATION IN A VOLCANIC REGION 90
27. JAMES HUTTON (1726-1797): THEORY OF THE EARTH 92
28. LAZARRO SPALLANZANI (1729–1799): ON BASALTIFORM LAVAS AND THE ROLE OF GASES IN VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS 101
29. HENRY CAVENDISH (1731–1810): EXPERIMENTS TO DETERMINE THE DENSITY OF THE EARTH 103
30. JEAN BAPTISLE LOUIS ROME DE L’ISLE (1736-1790): LAWS OF CRYSTALLIZATION 108
31. RUDOLPH ERIC RASPE (1737–1794): COLUMNAR JOINTING IN BASALTIC LAVA 111
32. Horace Benedicte de Saussure (1740–1799): ALPINE GEOLOGY 114
33. Peter Simon Pallas (1741–1811): MOUNTAINS OF VARIOUS AGES 123
34. Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794): LITTORAL AND PELAGIC BEDS 126
35. Abbi René Just Hauy (1743-1822): A BASIS FOR A SYSTEM OF MINERALOGY 129
36. Jobn Playfair (1748–1819): PROOFS OF THE HUTTONIAN THEORIES 131
37. Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749–1817): THE AQUEOUS ORIGIN OF BASALT 138
38. Pierre Simon, Marquis de Laplace (1749–1847): THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS 143
39. Guy S. Tancrède de Dolomieu (1750-1801): RHYOLITIC LAVAS – RELATIONS BETWEEN THE AUVERGNE VOLCANICS AND THE GRANITE ON WHICH THEY REST – ON THE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN DOLOMITE AND LIMESTONE 151
40. Jean Louis Giraud, Abbi Soulavie (1752–1813): METHODS OF DETERMINING THE CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE OF ROCKS 155
41. Sir James Hall (1761–1832): MARBLE FROM LIMESTONE IN THE LABORATORY – RESULTS OF THE SLOW COOLING OF MELTED ROCK – THE ROLE OF HEAT IN THE CONSOLIDATION OF STRATA 158
42. William Maclure (1763–1840): OBSERVATIONS ON THE GEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES 168
43. Ernst Friederieb, Baron von Scblottbeim (1764–1832): ON THE USE OF FOSSILS IN GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 174
44. WILLIAM NICOL (C. 1768–1851): THE NICOL PRISM – THE PREPARATION OF THIN SECTIONS 176
45. Friedrieb Heinrieb Alexander, Baron von Humboldt (1769–1859): VOLCANIC ACTIVITY IN MEXICO – EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES IN THE AMERICAS 179
46. Léopold Chrétien Frédiric Dagobert Cuvier (1769–1832) REVOLUTIONS AND CATASTROPHES IN THE HISTORY OF THE EARTH 188
47. Léopold Chrétien Frédiric Dagobert Cuvier (1769–1832) and Alexandre Brongniart (1770–1847): STRATIGRAPHY OF THE PARIS BASIN 194
48. William Smith (1769–1839): THE STRATA OF ENGLAND 201
49. John Macculloch (1773–1835): METAMORPHIC AND IGNEOUS ROCKS OF THE WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND 205
50. Leopold von Buch (1774–1852): THE IGNEOUS ORIGIN OF BASALT – THE RAISED COASTS OF SWEDEN – THE UPHEAVAL OF VOLCANOES – THE IMPORTANCE OF FOSSILS 208
51. Pierre Louis Antoine Cordier (1777–1862): THE CRYSTALLINE NATURE OF VOLCANIC ROCK – THE TEMPERATURE GRADIENT OF THE EARTH’S INTERIOR 214
52. Jean Baptiste Julien d’Omalius D’Halloy (1783-1875): THE SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS 220
53. Adam Sedgwick (1785–1873): THE METAMORPHISM OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS – ON THE CLASSIFICATION AND NOMENCLATURE OF THE LOWER PALEOZOIC ROCKS OF ENGLAND AND WALES 222
54. Louis Constant Prévost (17870–1867): A NEW VOLCANIC ISLAND NOT UPHEAVED 230
55. Francis Walker Gilmer (1790–1826): THE NATURAL BRIDGE OF VIRGINIA A RESULT OF EROSION 233
56. Jean Renk Constant Quoy (1790–1869) and Joseph Paul Gaimard (c. 1790–1858): THE FORMATION OF CORAL ISLANDS 235
57. Charles Babbage (1790–1871): THE TEMPLE OF SERAPIS 237
58. Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (1792–1871): THE SILURIAN SYSTEM – THE PERMIAN SYSTEM 244
59. Edward Hitchcock (1793–1864): FOOT MARKS ON NEW RED SANDSTONE IN MASSACHUSETTS – METAMORPHISM OF THE NEWPORT CONGLOMERATE 250
60. Bernard Studer (1794–1887): METAMORPHIC MESOZOIC ROCKS DISTINGUISHED FROM PALEOZOIC 257
61. Henry Thomas De la Beche (1796–1855) THE DRAFTING OF GEOLOGICAL SECTIONS 260
62. Sir Charles Lyell (1797–1875): UNFORMITARIANISM – SUBDIVISIONS OF THE TERTIARY EPOCH 263
63. George Poulett Scrope (1797–1876): VOLCANOES – THE ORIGIN OF VALLEYS 274
64. Abraham Gesner (1797–1864): THE GEOLOGY OF GRAND MANAN 280
65. Ebenezer Emmons (1798–1863): THE TACONIC SYSTEM 284
66. Jean Baptiste Armand Louis Leonce Élie de Beaumont (1798–1874): THE NATURE AND CAUSE OF MOUNTAIN BUILDING 288
67. Sir William Edmond Logan (1798–1875) and Thomas Sterry Hunt (1826–1892): GEOLOGIC OUTLINE OF CANADA 291
68. Sir William Edmond Logan (1798–1875): HURONIAN AND LAURENTIAN DIVISIONS OF THE AZOIC ROCKS – A PRE-CAMBRIAN FOSSIL 295
69. Heinrieb Georg Bronn (1800–1862): THE PLAN OF CREATION IN THE SERIES OF GEOLOGICAL AGES 299
70. George Perkins Marsh (1801–1882): INFLUENCE OF THE FOREST ON FLOODS 305
71. HUGH MILLER (1802–1856): A QUARRY LABORER AS A GEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 313
72. Sir Richard Owen (1804–1892): THE ARCHEOPTERYX FROM SOLENHOFEN 317
73. Daniel Sharpe (1806–1856): THE RELATION BETWEEN DISTORTION AND SLATY CLEAVAGE 321
74. Reinhard Bernhardt: AN HYPOTHESIS OF EXTENSIVE GLACIATION IN PREHISTORIC TIME 327
75. Louis Jean Agassiz (1807–1873) EVIDENCE OF A GLACIAL EPOCH 329
76. WILLIAM BARTON ROGERS (1805–1881): FOSSIL EVIDENCE OF THE EARLY PALEOZOIC AGE OF CERTAIN ROCKS IN NEW ENGLAND 336
77. HENRY DARWIN ROGERS (1809–1866) AND WILLIAM BARTON ROGERS (1805–1881): MOUNTAIN BUILDING FORCES EXEMPLIFIED BY THE APPALACHIAN SYSTEM 338
78. HENRY DARWIN ROGERS ( 1809–1866): AN INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN OF THE APPALACHIAN COAL STRATA, BITUMINOUS AND ANTHRACITIC 346
79. CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN (1809–1882): THE ORIGIN OF CORAL REEFS AND ISLANDS – THE SETTLING OF CRYSTALS IN MOLTEN LAVA – T H E NATURE OF GRANITE CONTACTS – RECENT UPLIFT OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN COAST – THE IMPERFECTION OF THE GEOLOGIC RECORD OF LIFE DEVELOPMENT 354
80. ROBERT EVEREST (C. 1805–C. 1875): A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF STREAM TRANSPORTATION 365
81. ANDREW ATKINSON HUMPHREYS (1810–1883) AND HENRY LARCOM ABBOT (1831–1927): THE AMOUNT OF SEDIMENT CARRIED BY THE MISSISSIPPI 367
82. WILLIAM H. SIDELL (1810–1873): ON CERTAIN GEOLOGICAL PHENOMENA OF THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA 369
83. THOMAS OLDHAM (1817–1878): STREAM EROSION AND TRANSPORTATION 371
84. ALEXANDRE SURELL (1813–1887): TORRENTIAL STREAMS AND THEIR CONTROL 372
85. JOSEPH BEETE JUKES (1811–1869): DISTINCTION BETWEEN CONTEMPORANEOUS AND INTRUSIVE TRAP 378
86. ROBERT WILHELM EBERHARD VON BUNSEN ( 1811–1899): GENETIC RELATIONS OF IGNEOUS ROCKS 381
87. Robert Mallet (1810–1881): THE DYNAMICS OF EARTHQUAKES 384
88. John Henry Pratt (c. 1811–1871): THE ATTRACTION OF THE HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS UPON THE PLUMBLINE IN INDIA – THE DEFLECTION OF THE PLUMB-LINE IN INDIA AND THE COMPENSATORY EFFECT OF A DEFICIENCY OF MATTER BELOW THE HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS – SPECULATION ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH’S CRUST 393
89. George Bedell Airy (1801–1892): AN HYPOTHESIS OF CRUSTAL BALANCE 401
90. JAMES HALL (1811–1898) CORRELATION OF PALEOZOIC ROCKS OF NEW YORK WITH THOSE OF EUROPE – THE RELATION OF MOUNTAINS TO REGIONS OF THICK SEDIMENTARY ACCUMULATION – PHYSICAL CONDITIONS IN PALEOZOIC SEAS 406
91. James Dwight Dana ( 1813–1895): ORIGIN OF THE MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS – ON THE ORIGIN OF CONTINENTS AND MOUNTAIN RANGES – ON THE NATURE OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS 416
92. Sir Andrew Crosbie Ramsay (1814–1891): MARINE DENUDATION IN SOUTHERN WALES – ON THE PROBABLE EXISTENCE OF GLACIERS AND ICEBERGS IN THE PERMIAN EPOCH 430
93. Gabriel August Daubrée (1814–1896): EXPERIMENTS ON THE ACTION OF SUPERHEATED WATER IN THE FORMATION OF SILICATES – FRACTURES RESULTING FROM TORSIONAL STRAINS – EXPERIMENTS ON THE FOLDING AND FAULTING OF STRATA 440
94. Alpbonse Favre (1815–1890): EXPERIMENTAL REPRODUCTION OF MOUNTAIN STRUCTURES BY LATERAL COMPRESSION 448
95. J. Peter Lesley (1819-1903): APPALACHIAN STRUCTURE AND TOPOGRAPHY – PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCES OF EASTERN UNITED STATES 450
96. John William Dawson (1820–1899): MARINE ALLUVIAL SOILS – CARBONIFEROUS FOSSILS OF THE JOGGINS SECTION 461
97. Jobn Strong Newberry ( 1822–1892): CIRCLES OF DEPOSITION IN AMERICAN SEDIMENTARY ROCKS 465
98. Joseph Le Conte (1823–1901): ON THE ORIGIN OF NORMAL FAULTS AND OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE BASIN REGION 467
99. SIR WILLIAM THOMSON, LORD KELVIN ( 1824–1907): ON THE SECULAR COOLING OF THE EARTH 472
100. HERMANN STERNBERG (1825–1885): STREAM PROFILES 477
101. THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY ( 1825–1895): THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE 479
102. HENRY CLIFTON SORBY (1826–1908): ON THE ORIGIN OF SLATY CLEAVAGE – ON THE MICROSCOPICAL STRUCTURE OF CRYSTALS, INDICATING THE ORIGIN OF MINERALS AND ROCKS – THIN SECTIONS AND THEIR VALUE TO THE GEOLOGIST 484
103. FERDINAND ANDRÉ FOUQUÉ (1828–1904 ): AND AUGUSTE MICHEL-LÉVY (1844–1908) THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF FELDSPARS – THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF A CRYSTALLINE IGNEOUS ROCK 494
104. WILLIAM HENRY BREWER (1828–1910): THE DEPOSITION OF CLAY IN SALT WATER 497
105. CARL OCHSENIUS (1830–1906): THE DEPOSITION OF ROCK SALT 499
106. EDUARD SUESS (1831–1914): ON MOUNTAIN STRUCTURES AND THE FORCES WHICH FORM THEM – STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF THE EARTH 503
107. THOMAS MELLARD READE (1832–1909): THE IMPORTANCE OF SOLUTION AS A FACTOR IN EROSION 509
108. BARON FERDINAND VON RICHTBOFEN (1833–1905): A CLASSIFICATION OF VOLCANIC ROCKS – MARINE ABRASION AND TRANSGRESSION 511
109. JOHN WESLEY POWELL (1834–1902): A CLASSIFICATION OF STREAMS AND VALLEYS 518
110. SIR ARCHIBALD GEIKIE (1835–1924): ON DENUDATION NOW IN PROGRESS 523
111. GASTON DE LA NOË (1836–1902): AND EMMANUEL DE MARGERIE (1862–): CONCERNING THE FASHIONING OF SLOPES 529
112. FERENCZ POŠEPNÝ (1836–1895): GROUND WATER AND THE DEPOSITION OF ORE BODIES 537
113. Raphael Pumpelly (1837-1923): THE RELATION OF SECULAR ROCK-DISINTEGRATION TO LOESS, GLACIAL DRIFT, AND ROCK BASINS 542
114. Richard Anthony Proctor (1837–1888): METEORIC SYSTEMS AND THE ORIGIN OF THE EARTH 547
115. James Geikie (1839–1915): ON CHANGES OF CLIMATE DURING THE GLACIAL EPOCH 549
116. Nathaniel Soutbgate Shaler (1841–1906): THE CHANGE OF SEA LEVEL – ORIGIN OF FIORDS AND ESTUARIES 551
117. Clarence Edward Dutton (1841–1912): THE GREAT DENUDATION – ISOSEISMAL LINES AND EARTHQUAKE INTENSITY – ISOSTASY 555
118. Karl August Lossen (1841–1893): THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN CONTACT AND REGIONAL METAMORPHISM 569
119. Alexander William Bickerton (1842–1914): COLLISION AND ACCRETION HYPOTHESIS OF EARTH ORIGIN 574
120. Charles Lapworth (1842–1920): THE ORDOVICIAN SYSTEM – THE SECRET OF THE HIGHLANDS 578
121. Grove Karl Gilbert (1843–1918): AN ANALYSIS OF SUBAERIAL EROSION – LAND SCULPTURE – LACCOLITHS AND THEIR ORIGIN – HISTORY OF LAKE BONNEVILLE – THE TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF LAKE SHORES 581
122. Tbomas Crowder Cbamberlin (1843–1928): THE METHOD OF MULTIPLE WORKING HYPOTHESIS – ON THE INTERIOR STRUCTURE, SURFACE TEMPERATURE, AND AGE OF THE EARTH – THE PLANETESIMAL HYPOTHESIS 604
123. Marcel Alexandre Bertrand (1847-1907): OVERTHRUSTING IN THE ALPS 631
124. Archibald Robertson Marvine (1848–1876): PROCESSES OF EROSION IN THE COLORADO FRONT RANGE 637
125. Israel Charles White (1848–1927): THE ANTICLINAL THEORY OF GAS ACCUMULATION 639
126. ALBERT HEIM (1849–1937): ON ROCK DEFORMATION DURING MOUNTAIN BUILDING 642
127. WILLIAM MORRIS DAVIS (1850–1934): THE EROSION CYCLE IN THE LIFE OF A RIVER – PLAINS OF MARINE AND SUBAERIAL DENUDATION 649
128. W.J. MCGEE (1853–1912): THE COASTAL PLAIN AND THE FALL LINE 661
129. JOSEPH PAXSON IDDINGS (1857–1920): PHENOCRYSTS – RELATION BETWEEN MINERAL COMPOSITION AND MODE OF OCCURRENCE OF IGNEOUS ROCKS 663
130. CHARLES RICHARD VAN HISE (1857–1918): PRE–CAMBRIAN GEOLOGY – THE MEANING OF ROCK FLOWAGE 666
131. GUIDE TO SUBJECT MATTER 683
132. Index 693