Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1872-01-11
Surface Movements of the Earth.

Surface Movements of the Earth.
The old geological theory that from
time to time the surface of our earth has
been changed by grand catastrophes
which, destroying plants and animals
were, on an immense scale, similar to the
local casstrophes produced by volcanic
eruptlons and earthquakes, has been
abandoned by reason of our more correct
knowledge, and more careful observations
which investigators have been making
Tor many years These observations
aave proved that sudden catastrophes are
always merely local; but that all the great
changes In the surface of our earth, as the
! upheavai OF mountain ranges and the de-
preston OF valleys and their ultimate
| changes into lakes and oceans, are grad
ual ana 90 always on, even at the present
day. The mountains bordering on the
Paclflc Ocean-in fact, the whole coast of
California-are perpetually rising, and
have probably been doing so for half Il
million years, while all the land contain
ing in its bosom our great American lakes
is slowly sinking, with a probable CORE
! spending upheaval of the State of Ken
lucky, of Southern Indiana and the sur.
rounding countries. Geological investi-
cations prove that once our lakes had
their outlets south, till by depression at the
north new outlet was first formed about
forty thousand years ago, through Mia.
CARA To the st. Lawrence river The di-
vision line Of the watershed of the lakes
and the Mississippi Valley has been slowly
travelling southwark since that time; and
when the city Of Chicago recently turned
the waters of Lake Michigan up the Chi
cago River intos the Mississippi Valley,
she simply re-established the old stage of
affairs, which if the motion in question
continues, will be more difficult to main
tain in the future than it is now. For
tunately this motion is very slow, and
only very remote posterity, some thou
sands Of years hence, will meet with the
difficulties we now foresce, when the bed
of the Chicago River becomes lower and
/ lower at its junction with Lake Mich
gan.
1t appears, further, thatt State of New
Jersey is sinking, and this is even partici
| patcd in by the city Of New York, Brook
! Ign, Long Island, etc, at the rate Of SOM
/ sixteen or seventeen inches per century
| This is insignificant, to be sure, but let IL
/ only 90 on for a thousand years and ii is
/ some fifteen feet, so that the new stone
! docks now commenced in New York city
at that time will be totally submcrgcd; but
! then they will probably not last so long,
and the soil Of the lower part Of the city
/ may be very easily raised half foot
( every thirty years II is evident that the
most correct data may be obtained al the
I sea shore, as the main height of the ocean
/ possesses a perfect stability. This main
/ height is, of course, obtained by continual
! observation of the tides under different
! circumstances, and if anywhere the high
est tides reach higher level than they
/ did one hundred or two hundred years
ago, il is proof Of depression or sinking
Of the land
! This depression H. going on along the
| coast of Northern France Belgium, Hol-
! land arid Northwestern Germany, white
! the coast of Sweden along the Baltic is
slowly rising, including the Capital of
! Sweden, the city of Stockholm.
The latest scientific journals report two
very striking contemporary upheavals in
| Spain, entirely authentic. NJ. DE BoteHo
| describes them in detail and the most Gu
rious fact is that the short time Of scarce
! ly quarter Of century was sufficient
/ to produce an effect which has surprised
every inhabitant who observed the cir
cumstances formerly, and compared them
with the present condition In the pro-
vince of Jamora, it is observed that from
the village of Villar don Diego, il is now
possible to see the upper half OF the churh
steeple of Renfarzes, in the province of
! Nalladolid whereas, twenty-three years
ago, the summit Of this steeple could only
! Just be perceived. The same thing occurs
TO the same degree and under the same
] al in, ha AZ A "a
where, from the village Of Salvatierra,
the whole of the village Of Salduende
can now be seen, while in 1S47 the vane
Of the church stceplc could hardly be per
ceived These four points are on line
parallel TO the system Of the Sanscrrois
mountains, while the extreme points are
one hundred and forty miles apart.
All the movements we speak OF here
| have nothing TO do with volcanic erup-
tons they are, of course, caused by
changed conditions Of the carth's mass,
| which, by these facts, is proved not To be
| solid, the opinion of some modern
biologists notwithstanding the earth, If
not LIQUID inside, must at least be soft and
plastic, i'm order TO make deprcssions in
| one place with simultaneous elevations in
another.
One other interesting fact we must men
ton in this connection il il that the
highest mountains are not the oldest, as
one would naturally suppose, but belong
to the system last elevated; 80 the high
Swiss Alps are much younger than the
lower Jura. and the Catskill younger than
the lower Shawangunk mountains. Nun
ufacturer and Butider.
THE Manchester Mirror says that here,
| after no dcDizen OF Bristol, y. H., should