The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-04
FLORIDA A WONDER LAND.

An Account of it's Rock Formations
Where the Sanitarium of the CONT
nent Is.
Florida is all a new country. That is to
say that it is composed of ''rocksn laid
down in the ocean bed in late tertiary time.
No fossils from an earlier date than the
"Vicksburg beds" of Numinulitic limestone
have been as yet sent in to the National
Museum from Florida. These beds are the
same stone of which the pyramids of Egypt
are built, and are largely developed in
Middle Florida, about Newnansville.
South of that OH the peninsula the rocks
are all of "mioceHe," or more recent age
Around Tampa and Barlow, and south of
that on the Caloosahatchie river, they are
"pliocene,n or most recent.
The surface of the country was all made
up in its present form in post pliocene"
time, Immediately preceding the present
geolog cal age, and is of the same age as the
islands on the coast of South Carolina and
Georgia.
In rocks of this age it is impossible to find
good sweet drinking water except the sur
face water in the sand beds, because IL o
rocks being new have large amounts of the
salts that go to make the ocean brine incor.
porated in them. The theory of Prof.
Aggassiz that the peninsula of Florida is
coral reef is not borne out by the facts
because investigation shows a regular
strubtication of late tertiary rocks tuat
have some broken coral; some, i'll fact, a
great many forms of marine molluscan life
and also some plant life and the post plio-
Gene lakebeds are filled with bones of ex-
tinct land animals of huge forms which
have all passed out of existence at the close
of the post pliocene age.
Florida is a "wonderlandn in many re-
spects, and very much so to a geologist
There is a wild and large field of iuvesti a.
ton here that will not Ue worked out by
the naturalist and geologist for many long
years to come.
1t would seem from developments else
where that phosphate rock" ought to be
found in Florida. Whether it will or not
time alone will determine. No one can tell
from the limited investigation that has
been as yet made just what is in Florida
under this thin covering of sand that hides
the strata from sight
The floor rock of Florida is the Huron
ian" bed of prim airy rock, that is broken off
at Augusta, Macon and Columbus Ga
1t Is "fauted' at these points and bent
down in a deep synclinal trough. and rises
again IN the mountains of Cuba and on this
ocean floor is laid down new rocks COM
mencing with the cretaceous or last beds of
secondary time, aud on the cretac eous the
=
country from Macon to Key West all new
The KEYS on the south end of Florida are
all coral built up on the primaries.
Florida, being a new country, has no
minerals and, with the possible finding of
phosphate rock, VIII have to depend on her
timber, fruits and early vegetables, aud a
limited amount of cotton, tobacco and
sugar, and a small amount of beef cattle,
for articles of export.
Sill, with ner Incompatible climate and
position between the ocean and the Gulf of
Mexico, She has future before her that is
dazzling to contemplate.
AS the winter resort and "waterlng
place of a hundred millions Of people soon
to be in this broad land. she has no equal,
and all competitors will have TO take
back seat. But If | we're asked where tho
sanitarium OF the North American CONT
neut is, should say the counties OF Pierce,
Ware, Clnch, Berrien, Colquitt, Irwin,
Coffee, ApplnG, Dodge, Telfair
Wilcox, and the lower end of Doolv
and Worth in the good old State of Georgia,
are beyond the shadow or a doubt tho spot
A man can live and enjoy life in this Soc
ton away from the rivers Ocmulgee and
Altamaha-a distance of five miles any
where, and the land can be fortified TO a
high state Of cultivation.
| suppose every man has his preference,
give me the tctre gross counties of Georgia
for health beyond all the rest Of the world
ever saw FRANK BURNS, Ce1logist.
Collector for the Smithsonian Institution.