The herald. (Smyrna, Del.) 1870-1871, 1870-08-13
From the Western Rural.
The Great Lakes---Thete Prehistoric
Charges.

! Prof. ]. s. Newberry recently deliver
ed lecture before the New York Lyce-
UNI of Natural History, on the Great
Lakes of Northwestern America. We
make the following extracts:
The changes that have taken place in
the topography of the Western Conlin-
ent, have effected greatly the animal d
vegetable life of a country at that time
as beautiful and fertile as any other
The tertiary deposits of the Eastern por-
tion of the continent were marine, and
at the far West also there is a series of
tertiary deposits-in California, in the
region of the Sierra Nevada-marine in
character. But in the interior of the con-
tinent is far moro interesting series of
tertian water deposits-fresh water con-
tanning great number of fossil plants
and the most remarkable sefies Of ami
NAL deposits to be found on this contin-
ent east of the Rocky mountains. There
are two species of rhinoceros, the ele-
phant, hippine quadrupeds, the saber-
tooth cat, whose tooth was in one speci.
men eight inches beyond the jaw, the
most formidable tooth of any animal Ct
which we have any knowledge. These
deposits of the West were formed in
fresh water basins, and yet now there
are almost no fresh water basins in that
region.
| SOME slight idea of the nature of these
deposits may be formed from the fact
that almost everybody going to Califor-
MIA talks about chalk deposits. Follow
ing in the old smigrant train you will
see various slabs of this chalk-like earth
set up for grave-stones. These infusorial
beds are portions of these fresh-water
deposits. On the western side of the
Rocky Mountains the deposits are SINH
lar, and are rich in diatomes. The fauna
are interesting. On the east side of the
Rocky Mountains the teri 'ary deposits
have been but little studied, although 1
have paid some attention to them. =
There are maiiy alterations. The riv-
ers run through country comparative
ly level, and have cut down through the
bottom of broad valleys; forming canons
whose walls are 200 to 1000 feet high,
and nearly vertical. The material en-.
ltering into the deposits show volcanic
idea of the mateFtar fhFF FFAp MI can get an
these ancient lakes. Tne concruers.s---..-. -
this is, that on all these sides of tho
Rocky Mountains there were found ex-
tensive sheets of tertiary deposits full of
the most interesting fauna on this cen
tinent. These lakes covered an area
many times greater than our present
fresh water lakes. They characterize a
time in the history of this continent,
which was exceedingly well watered,
and contain fauna richer than any 9TH
er portion of the world at the present
time, and almost all of them EXTINCT
The climate indicated by the plants and
animals was subtropical, and fern plants
grew in great abundance from the Upper
Missouri even beyond the British line,
and flora covered all he northern part
of the continent, so that men lived and
vegetation luxuriated even in Green
land. Salt Lake represents only series
of such lakes-anciently fresh, but be-
coming salt because of wantof drainage.
A great many salt lakes and alkaline
plains were here. The drainage now
by the klamath and other rivers is very
great, and shows that it has been greatly
improved. This drainage is now among
the most stupendous movements Of the
circulation of the water on the earth that
we have anywhere. These lakes have
now entirely disappeared.