New-York tribune., 1842-03-28
4r. LyeII.s Fourth Lecture On Geology.
;aeo-est 1r Ttse Tabzae

W. gnoso ti.eln iarg.iy-I @e take 11de add co-.-
,re..en.ive dIvi-ioas-bv III diEe.eat asrn5>rs
.ad o,.o-s q. :rou sae 70 eizt II ,gis sgats TX
aoi,a4 s-5 IA; ,:.c dieren: se:s Of straaa--io-
,rsz;ioas a. t.y. are caleG-zrszr-za oaea aoo,s
;le ctaer in the o-dS- II wct. toec e: ;or'1.ce
sor that ;bey e5e iaca1ab!: al 70 " re' n OK
piace, 10. ), is 20; 5;- Tia, ne ad aao:e taa oE'1
81 two or three. .: t.se Eta II att IL
,ri,t BIT i: ,aess di5eren; sets are present. X
.aall :.,d ,:le7 arranged n III oreteF 9: relat..e
,1,.;.ifr1 II xf,;c1 ttey are repcsented-eaen CIR
re.por ding 70 he different period .: tae Ear,il
s,;..o-v a, which i; Was sr-sd- So ti1ot tfsy rer
=. ragsrded :. . grea: Chronological sabIe--s %
Faaay rorrne. .: Hi,tor. IN waica tae st-a;a ere
,ia d;iereat pags-; and UPON tEae-n are writsi ~
na-.ez md characters Q; tbe plant. aod animals
waica Ti~-d ard 3ouTlssed z: sais Perod, Win
rra.y other indications 9; climgze. lao5ts, &c II
tie pe.iods ~ben III diteren; ;rio=s ;:slri..-i---
Nov ve exzaaHle IL Succession ,hese roe-ls ~
had tE.a. grra. nur-..-r .; ;nose OK caica-eo1ls
formation Or Etnestole., arr composed IN great
oaf, ot eora1s and .s~lltt for example Il " TAKE
,..a Clal. formation oi F,urose-rerssented in the
Sgura as Nos2-.re :;ad arg. portion OF !; 70 o-
8 wui,e calcar@oe, reck rnsde up Of coral, ard
.1eIa. almost entireI. 4-comPosed nave nl:Se!i
,...r. in i,!zrd of S.eIaad ity re. frora Co
t,en.ager q; Fa2o I'M, very chalk tounation pas
#la,o nlass o coral 14icb uor- thar. hundred
-peciet Of zoopnytss and shells arr found. Be
tween The zoopFtyte, i, found chalk. rna,er-lise
,ile or11i,a-y cials TINS formation extends tcr
NOR. Than thousand miles in direction, and
eigF; fl1ndr,d in The other-ao, continuously. but
in large patches ,hich pseser.e much the sane
character Il ttls COUNTRY 100, a. in Ne" Jsrse..
ar. found roca- Of tile same age. no, wi:h tie
w!Ite roc x OF the same kind, best diiereu, Il,
tar9a- down ue ind IN the rock, ce-e.s and shell;
made ~ oi an aggregate Of e1tinc; species. but in
great par OF genera, the no." IiTe in ,ro!1l-
cal sess And this j. regarded as one proof ,na;
formerly, the Innate was ruch ;tlaa Ii
incs: q. it Is Only in climates that these stone
building zoophites iacrea.e and abound. There
srezoopE,y1es OF the clasu all region: Of the
globe: F,u1 these -ch form large masses ofs;one
(which! when the ANNA! dies becomes VIVA, "a
MAJ term hard rock found al present only il
warm regions .: the globe.
No7, might trace the diaeren. formations IN
which they occur. and psin, out she iimessones ia
which tllev abound. IL what is called the juras-
.ique or Ooiitc formation these corals are fouas
through England. rance and Germany. q, different
nights ~i.h grea; intervals Of clay-in some case.
SIX or sevcn hundred feet thick. TIE corals arc
found above the other except when ,hes have beer
DESTROYED b. the depo.itions ofclay. FOR the: car
live ONLY in pure water /, i clear that wscrc
these take plac. and in the intervals between the
different LAYERS of corallnctornaiion there ;iad oeel
sinking of the floor of the sea=ince tis found
that these zoorhYtes canno, build in the deep anG
dark parts Of tn. ocean,--,hat they viii ;hriv,
in depth OF .noIe tan l20 lee, below the sur
face and therefore wc find Of this corollins
limestone with 1900 feet Of clay above and ihei.
another laver of coral, and then 1900 fee, tho
Of this cr.taceous rock; 1t Is evident that these
were formed not at aadepth Of several miles bpi
near the surace: and that they then sauk down 10
allow the Accommodations above.
If we CONS 10 the carboniferous coral forma-
ticn. (Which shall describe more particularly u
nv nsxt lecture we hnd beds Of coral separated
y vast thicknesses OF other strata, which caa Only
be explained by supposiug that therc mas been
sinking Of the surface OF the land Below the
coal iOi!nl tue most tiClcBi tbe-i'IoeS i'NH7'
which have an Antiquity far higher than the thick
limestenc ter the coras grow on spos which are
now found covered in great part with extinct gen
era OF those which are only found in tropical sea-
where coral reefs abound. In New J ork, IN par
,cular there are large Developments OF tins tor
nation, as | shall show when come 20 speak {"
,he district around Niagara when shall sho"
the nights from when are to suppose the bed
of the sea has sunk and ,he era when these ma
rine plants and animals aboundcd Now if we
find on examination OF existing coral reels that
have limestone their structure, similar IN -t!c1r
character over u vast extent OF the glooe, that
there is III progress Il considerable gong
down Of The bed OF the sea; shall then feel
more confidence in the appearances and facts on
which depend some OF the mos, interesting rro'-
lens respecting the origin of the materials OF the
Eac,h's crust.
shall now proceed to give son,r account of the
Coral Reefs. and ot the manner in which ,hcy
grow; in the sea have been favored By Mr..
CHARLES DARwIS, who 5 abou, publish mos;
excellen, work on Coral Reef, with this map
witch viii first be published IN his book-dr71wn
up after personal examination OF the region re-
presented and Il most extensive reading o, works
upon the subject. On IL are depicted all the spots
known at present where Corais now grow le>e
portions represented By the blue color marx
those places where there Is reason 10 oeEeve the
bed OF ,he sea Is going down, as slowly. perhaps,
a. the floor OF The Temple OF Jupiter Scraps, de-
scribed in ms la.r lecture. By the red are marked
the spaces where Corals have been raised at varl-
Gus elevafions above the level OF the sea.
: iou will be able TO see al glance the vast eA-
ten, of the ragion wher,. coras abound. You VII!
see too, that i; IS chiefly within twenty degrees
North and South of the Equator-in the war'ne,i
parts o; the ocean. Sometimes IL reaches beyond
the twentieth degree but rarely SO far "a thlrtf
It's greatest deviation is in the Bermuda Islands
which have latitude of thr,v-two odegrees-wilich
is the tarthest point from The Equatp. where CO.
rails are Vet known and this is evidently coi-