The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1864-11-10
A Sea Turned into . Desert.

We are familiar, through the Bible,
with instances of dry land covered with
water; but many of our readers may not
have heard hitherto that the desert Of the
Great Sahara in the North of Africa was
once q sea- The reasons for this theory
are thus given in the opening (lhe JULY
number Of the new Geological Magazine,
in translation from paper by &. Desor,
Of Neufchatel, Switzerland:
'sIf the Sahara is the bottom Of van
ished sea, it is interesting to inquire if
this disappearance has been caused BY a
sudden upheaval or by gradual aud sue.
cessive elevations, and at what epoch
this extraordinary phenomenon has chang
ed the aspect Of the African continent,
and consequently produced the serious
notifications of the climate OF Europe.
There was general impression that the
Desert Of the Sahara was of recent for.
nation; but the opinions Of the geo!ogists
were divided as to the period 10 which it
should be assigned, some considering it
Of Tertiary aud others of Qaaternary age.
Our observations resolve these doubts.
and definitely tx the age of the Sahara,
By the help of little she'll. the Cardium
edule. This shell was known 10 exist 10
the seghborhood of the Caravanserai of
Om-Th,our, near Chott- Melrir, and it had
been found at a depth of about twenty
thres feet in the artesian wells Of that
place. From this it might have been sup
posed that it belonged to the Chott Tor
lake) Melrir But, on the other hand,
we met along with it species Of Buc-
cinum, from stage to stage, at grea. dis
tance from the Chott (even near Guemar
in Sout, always in the same geological
position, in bed OF sand distinctly slras-
fed underneath the superficial gypsum.
Ii thus became evident that the SHELLS did
not belong TO the Cholt, but TO lower
strotum, indicating sea far more exten-
sive and older than the salt lakes. These
shells, therefore, not only attest the ex-
| istence of sea in those regions, but also
that the sea belonged to cur own epoch
Further the Cardinm cduie is, in the
Mediterranean, species inhsbiting brack
ish waters at tho mouths OF rivers; and
we may conclude that the Sahara, before
being dried up, was an inland sea- kline
Of brackish Baltic-and this amongs
other things, explains The small number o
the species; for 1t ia known that the fau
mas of inland seas are poor 10 number sn,
debased.
''Fo sam VI: when all communicate,
with the ocean had ceased, and the gul
became a lake, the saItness Of the water
would, by evaporation, increase SO mucl
as almost TO destroy all animal life; th
Chott Melrir would become like the Dea
Sea. aud, in fact, it is affirmed that it
completely destitute of life.
"This idea Of slow but recent eley,
iion of the Sahara had already been moot
: ed as theory by VI. Escher. and it wa
/. a source Of lively satisfaction to him to I'm
his hypothesis confirmed on the spo
The presence OF the sea was referred |
T By NJ Escher TO explain certain phenon
ena in Switzerland connected with Il
: Glacial period, which ended when the g.
disappeared. Is it possible to form .
l. idea vi the ehmalal conditions impose
d on Europe by this vast extent of watel
o We may do SO when we consider the il
huence exercised by the burning win
aa which come from the Sahara, aod viii,
ie are so justly called snow eaters and 'gl
cier-destroyers. While the Sahara "
covered with water the Swiss mountai
never felt the burning breath of 4
'foehn' and the 'siroece;' the winter
n never opposed by lukewarm breel
st. could accumulate their SHOWS and tn
ice, ard extend the borders Of their e
he pire. But when the desert was dry, wi
a, an effect must have been produced by I
er first visit of the 'foebn' to the enorme
II, glaciers of the Alps! What torren
w What deluges Of water.--what raya,
p especially ou the southernslopel and n
how easyto comprehend the erosion
'as OF the mountains and the leyeling Of
plain of Lombardy, subjected to th
rude assaults, and covered with err,
debris.'
How the Rebels make q obieia.