Theory of the Earth, With Proofs and Illustrations, Volume 1 (of 4)Hutton, James
Science
Theory of the Earth, With Proofs and Illustrations, Volume 1 (of 4)
Hutton, James
Geology -- Early works to 1800
The river Tiviot has made a wide valley as might have been expected, in
running over thole horizontal strata of marly or decaying substances;
and the banks of this river declining gradually are covered with gravel
and soil, and show little of the solid strata of the country. This,
however, is not the case with the Jed, which is to the southward of the
Tiviot; that river, in many places, runs upon the horizontal strata, and
undermines steep banks, which falling shows high and beautiful sections
of the regular horizontal strata. The little rivulets also which fall
into the Jed have hollowed out deep gullies in the land, and show the
uniformity of the horizontal strata.
In this manner I was disposed to look for nothing more than what I had
seen among those mineral bodies, when one day, walking in the beautiful
valley above the town of Jedburgh, I was surprised with the appearance
of vertical strata in the bed of the river, where I was certain that
the banks were composed of horizontal strata. I was soon satisfied with
regard to this phenomenon, and rejoiced at my good fortune in stumbling
upon an object so interesting to the natural history of the earth, and
which I had been long looking for in vain.
Here the vertical strata, similar to those that are in the bed of
the Tweed, appear; and above those vertical strata, are placed the
horizontal beds, which extend along the whole country.
The question which we would wish to have solved is this; if the vertical
strata had been broken and erected under the superincumbent horizontal
strata; or if, after the vertical strata had been broken and erected,
the horizontal strata had been deposited upon the vertical strata,
then forming the bottom of the sea. That strata, which are regular and
horizontal in one place, should be found bended, broken, or disordered
at another, is not uncommon; it is always found more or less in all our
horizontal strata. Now, to what length this disordering operation might
have been carried, among strata under others, without disturbing the
order and continuity of those above, may perhaps be difficult to
determine; but here, in this present case, is the greatest disturbance
of the under strata, and a very great regularity among those above. Here
at least is the most difficult case of this kind to conceive, if we are
to suppose that the upper strata had been deposited before those below
had been broken and erected.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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