The Ancient Life History of the Earth: A Comprehensive Outline of the Principles and Leading Facts of Palæontological ScienceNicholson, Henry Alleyne
Science
The Ancient Life History of the Earth: A Comprehensive Outline of the Principles and Leading Facts of Palæontological Science
Nicholson, Henry Alleyne
Paleontology
In Scotland the "Old Red" forms a great series of arenaceous and
conglomeratic strata, attaining a thickness of many thousands of
feet, and divisible into three groups. Of these, the _Lower Old
Red Sandstone_ reposes with perfect conformity upon the highest
beds of the Upper Silurian, the two formations being almost
inseparably united by an intermediate series of "passage-beds."
In mineral nature this group consists principally of massive
conglomerates, sandstones, shales, and concretionary limestones;
and its fossils consist chiefly of large crustaceans belonging to
the family of the _Eurypterids_, fishes, and plants. The _Middle
Old Red Sandstone_ consists of flagstones, bituminous shales,
and conglomerates, sometimes with irregular calcareous bands;
and its fossils are principally fishes and plants. It may be
wholly wanting, when the _Upper Old Red_ seems to repose
unconformably upon the lower division of the series. The _Upper
Old Red Sandstone_ consists of conglomerates and grits, along
with a great series of red and yellow sandstones--the fossils,
as before, being fishes and remains of plants. The Upper Old
Red graduates upwards conformably into the Carboniferous series.
The Devonian rocks of Devonshire are likewise divisible into a
lower, middle, and upper division. The _Lower Devonian_ or _Lynton
Group_ consists of red and purple sandstones, with marine fossils,
corresponding to the "Spirifer Sandstein" of Germany, and to the
arenaceous deposits (Schoharie and Cauda-Galli Grits) at the base
of the American Devonian. The _Middle Devonian_ or _Ilfracombe
Group_ consists of sandstones and flags, with calcareous slates
and crystalline limestones, containing many corals. It corresponds
with the great "Eifel Limestone" of the Continent, and, in a
general way, with the Corniferous Limestone and Hamilton group
of North America. The _Upper Devonian_ or _Pilton Group_, lastly,
consists of sandstones and calcareous shales which correspond with
the "Clymenia Limestone" and "Cypridina Shales" of the Continent,
and with the Chemung and Portage groups of North America. It
seems quite possible, also, that the so-called "Carboniferous
Slates" of Ireland correspond with this group, and that the former
would be more properly regarded as forming the summit of the
Devonian than the base of the Carboniferous.
In no country in the world, probably, is there a finer or more
complete exposition of the strata intervening between the Silurian
and Carboniferous deposits than in the United States. The following
are the main subdivisions of the Devonian rocks in the State of
New York, where the series may be regarded as being typically
developed (fig. 67):--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account