Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-05-16

Dissertation OF n scientist ON she
Hills.

Dissertation II n Scientist ON the
Hills.
Science is so rapidly reconstructing
the past that the beginning of the
earth's history, the way in which it
took form and shape as a distinct and
separate planet, is proved by another
science independent of geology. At
this point Of the investigation the geol-
ogist must appeal to the astronomer
for the origin aud history OF our globe,
for in this vague and nebrlous border
land, where the very rocks loose their
outline and flow into each other, there
the two sciences meet. Astronomy
shows us our planet thrown off from
the central mass Of which it once
formed a part, to move henceforth in
an independent orbit of its own. That
orbit, it tells us, passed through celes-
tial spaces cold enough to chill this
heated globe, and of course to CONSOLE
date it externally. Spectrum analysis
ranks among the greatest discoveries
OF modern times, and, as expounded
by Kirchof, demonstrates the fact by
mathematical law that matter having
characteristics common to that of the
earth, and subject to laws similar to
those prevailing upon the earth, exists
through stellar space, SO that the laws
OF terrestrial physics are included
among other phenomena Of cosmical
bodies.
The best authorities inform us that
there was a time in the history Of our
earth in which it was q molten, fiery
mass. The gradual cooling of the
outer portion of this incandescent world
favored the condensation of the watery
vapor hat surrounded the earth, and
thus the original ocean was formed on
the surface of the heated granite. This
igneous rock, as is we'll known, is sub
ject to expansion and contraction by
heat and cold, and as the cooling pro-
cess advanced, the vast interior of
molten rock was pressed upon all the
sides by the contracting crust, result
ing in the formation of mountains Of
granite rock, and accompanied by
such a display of volcani; action as
will never again be witnessed. A
seething, boiling ocean dissolved the
forming granite as it laved the base of
the red-hot mountains, holding in
solution those minerals that have con-
tributed to the formation of the strait
fed rocks, and which now, in cOmbi
nation with other gaseous elements,
form the saltness Of the ocean. The
dense and heated atmosphere, satu-
rated with aqueous vapor and highly
charged with chlorine and carbonic
gases, envelcped the fiery earth with
a dense atmosphere impenetrable to
light a depth of thousands Of miles.
The formation Of the stratiied rocks
beneath the waters of the ocean in
creased this thickness of the earth's
crust, and this, by the known contrac-
ton of granite, from a very high
temperature to one about sixty degrees,
the temperature of the ocean would
reduce b diameter of the earth's
crust many miles, and thus the COM
preston upon the interior mas of
fluid matter would break through the
barriers of the primitive or stratified
rocks, adequate TO the formation OF the
most stupendous mountain ranges.
And the ranges of mountains thus
formed, would, by the inevitable laws
OF motion and matter, rrang them
selves parallel to the inclination OF the
axis of the rotation Of the earth. This
is found to be the rue theory of the
great mountain ranges, their general
direction being a little east of north.
These views are not based on mere
hypothesis; the ablest writers all agree
that during what is termed the Plu-
toric age the surface of our globe was
subject to most remarkable changes.