The Maine Naturalist Volume 1-2; Journal of the Knox Academy of Arts and Sciences on the Fauna, Flora and Geology of Maine (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.1921 Excerpt: ... DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY Editor M-, p HOW THIS DEPARTMENT MAY BE OF SERVICE TO NATURE LOVERS AND STUDENTS OF GEOLOGY. There are several ways in which a Section of Geology in a semipopular publication such as the Journal of the Knox Academy of Arts and Sciences, may be of service in the State. Perhaps the greatest field is in the high schools. The form which geology takes in these schools is usually an elementary course in Physical Geology. Unlike its companion courses in Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Physical Geology is often given as a mere textbook course with little if any laboratory work. This seems all the more strange when one considers the fact that this Physical Geology does not require the expensive laboratory equipment of the other sciences. In a measure this lack may be due to the failure on the part of the teacher to realize the possibilities at hand for out-door field work. There is probably not a high school in the State but is so located that many of the problems discussed in the text may be studied first hand in the field. Although we lack the deeply weathered soils of the southern states, the processes of weathering are well shown in the pebbles of our glacial deposits. Wind work may be studied along the coast or inland in the old marine sands of many of our valleys. All stages of valley development may be found from narrow postglacial gorges to broad, open preglacial valleys. There are proofs of movements of the earth's crust in our drowned coastline and our marine clays. Glacial features are everywhere well developed. Striated bed rock, till, modified drift, morainic and aqueoglacial deposits of nearly every possible type, and disorganized drainage may be found within comparatively small limits. These same deposits when cemented by calcite ...