Elements of Geology (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1860 Excerpt: ...rest upon the eocene, to the pliocene. With this exception, and a few other deposits, as one at the mouth of the Potomac, these rocks, from the proportion of recent to extinct shells, would be referred to the older pliocene of Mr. Lyell; but as they repose upon the eocene, they may, with more propriety, perhaps, be described with the miocene. II. European Pliocene.--1. The Norwich or Mammaliferous Crag of England belongs to this period. It is composed of shelly beds of sand and loam, deposited at the mouth of a river, and filled wth the remains of several species of mammalia; hence its name. Other strata, which overlie the crag, appear to have Deen deposited in a fresh-water lake, and contain also the remains of mammalia. But the best examples of the pliocene strata occur in the south of Europe, on the shores of Italy, Sicily, and on many of the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. 2. The Val di Noto, lying between jEtna and the southern promontory of Sicily, consists of pliocene hills which are raised from 1000 to 3000 feet above the level of the sea. The rocks are entirely composed of limestones, marls, sandstones, and volcanic products. These hills are separated from./Etna by the low plain of Catanea. The strata consists of three groups, and are represented in Fig. 58. (1.) The Great Limestone Formation.--This is of a yellowish white or pure white color, and has the appearance of a rock precipitated from the waters of mineral springs, being arranged in thick beds, often without distinct lines of stratification. It attains a thickness of 800 feet, abounds in caverns, and contains shells, VThat example of the pliocene in England? Where are the best example found? Of what does the Val di Noto consist 1 most of which are identical with those now inhabiting t...