Geological Observations on South AmericaDarwin, Charles
Science
Geological Observations on South America
Darwin, Charles
Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Geology -- South America; Mollusks, Fossil -- South America; Paleontology
In Chiloe, a great formation of mica-schist strikingly resembles that
of the Chonos Islands. For a space of eleven miles on the S.E. coast,
the folia were very distinct, though slightly convoluted, and ranged
within a point of N.N.W. and S.S.E., dipping either E.N.E. or more
commonly W.S.W., at an average angle of 22 degrees (in one spot,
however, at 60 degrees), and therefore decidedly at a lesser
inclination than amongst the Chonos Islands. On the west and
north-western shores, the foliation was often obscure, though, where
best defined, it ranged within a point of N. by W. and S. by E.,
dipping either easterly or westerly, at varying and generally very
small angles. Hence, from the southern part of Tres Montes to the
northern end of Chiloe, a distance of 300 miles, we have closely allied
rocks with their folia striking on an average in the same direction,
namely between N. 11 degrees and 22 degrees W. Again, at Valdivia, we
meet with the same mica-schist, exhibiting nearly the same
mineralogical passages as in the Chonos Archipelago, often, however,
becoming more ferruginous, and containing so much feldspar as to pass
into gneiss. The folia were generally well defined; but nowhere else in
South America did I see them varying so much in direction: this seemed
chiefly caused by their forming parts, as I could sometimes distinctly
trace, of large flat curves: nevertheless, both near the settlement and
towards the interior, a N.W. and S.E. strike seemed more frequent than
any other direction; the angle of the dip was generally small. At
Concepcion, a highly glossy clay-slate had its cleavage often slightly
curvilinear, and inclined, seldom at a high angle, towards various
points of the compass: but here, as at Valdivia, a N.W. and S.E. strike
seemed to be the most frequent one. ((FIGURE 23.) I observed in some
parts that the tops of the laminae of the clay-slate (b in Figure 23)
under the superficial detritus and soil (a) were bent, sometimes
without being broken, as represented in Figure 23, which is copied from
one given by Sir H. De la Beche (page 42 “Geological Manual”) of an
exactly similar phenomenon in Devonshire. Mr. R.A.C. Austen, also, in
his excellent paper on S.E. Devon (“Geological Transactions” volume 6
page 437), has described this phenomenon; he attributes it to the
action of frosts, but at the same time doubts whether the frosts of the
present day penetrate to a sufficient depth. As it is known that
earthquakes particularly affect the surface of the ground, it occurred
to me that this appearance might perhaps be due, at least at
Concepcion, to their frequent occurrence; the superficial layers of
detritus being either jerked in one direction, or, where the surface
was inclined, pushed a little downwards during each strong vibration.
In North Wales I have seen a somewhat analogous but less regular
appearance, though on a greater scale (“London Philosophical Magazine”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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