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Lyell first came to America in 1841, remaining for more than a year and touring widely. His immediate reason for the journey was to deliver the prestigious Lowell lectures in Boston. His larger purpose was to study the geology of North America, hoping that the vast scale of the continent - its mountain ranges, plains, Great Lakes, and rivers - would confirm his belief in the uniformity of geological history.
Fifty years ago, no one could explain mountains. Arguments about their origin were spirited, to say the least. Progressive scientists were ridiculed for their ideas. Most geologists thought the Earth was shrinking. Contracting like a hot ball of iron, shrinking and exposing ridges that became mountains. Others were quite sure the planet was expanding. Growth widened sea basins and raised mountains. There was yet another idea, the theory that the world's crust was broken into big plates that jostled around, drifting until they collided and jarred mountains into existence. That idea was invariably dismissed as pseudo-science. Or "utter damned rot" as one prominent scientist said. But the doubtful theory of plate tectonics prevailed. Mountains, earthquakes, ancient ice ages, even veins of gold and fields of oil are now seen as the offspring of moving tectonic plates. Just half a century ago, most geologists sternly rejected the idea of drifting continents. But a few intrepid champions of plate tectonics dared to differ. The Mountain Mystery tells their story.
This book considers Pacific, in-situ and hybrid models for the origin of the Caribbean and includes new data on tectonics, igneous and metamorphic geology, stratigraphy and palaeontology. Following regional discussions, papers on local geology are arranged in circum-Caribbean succession and finally focus on the plate interior.
Examines scientific theories pertaining to the measurement of earth's history.