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
At the mouth of the valley, within the cliffs of the above lava-field,
there are remnants, in the form of separate small hillocks and of lines
of low cliffs, of a considerable deposit of compact white tuff
(quarried for filtering-stones), composed of broken pumice, volcanic
crystals, scales of mica, and fragments of lava. This mass has suffered
much denudation; and the hard mica-schist has been deeply worn, since
the period of its deposition; and this period must have been subsequent
to the denudation of the basaltic lava-streams, as attested by their
encircling cliffs standing at a higher level. At the present day, under
the existing arid climate, ages might roll past without a square yard
of rock of any kind being denuded, except perhaps in the rarely
moistened drainage-channel of the valley. Must we then look back to
that ancient period, when the waves of the sea beat against the eastern
foot of the Cordillera, for a power sufficient to denude extensively,
though superficially, this tufaceous deposit, soft although it be?
There remains only to mention some little water-worn hillocks [BB], a
few hundred feet in height, and mere mole-hills compared with the
gigantic mountains behind them, which rise out of the sloping,
shingle-covered margin of the Pampas. The first little range is
composed of a brecciated purple porphyritic claystone, with obscurely
marked strata dipping at 70 degrees to the S.W.; the other ranges
consist of—a pale-coloured feldspathic porphyry,—a purple claystone
porphyry with grains of quartz,— and a rock almost exclusively composed
of brick-red crystals of feldspar. These outermost small lines of
elevation extend in a N.W. by W. and S.E. by S. direction.
CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE PORTILLO RANGE.
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