The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-08-15

and glaciers of that lifsless epoch over
spread a large part Of the sarth's surface.
The Ice followed the mountain ranges of
both hemispheres. While 1t gathered on
the lands of the temperate ATTITUDES it
also spread over a part of the tropical
zone. 1t Is reported that traces of an
Client glaciers are to be found in India.
central America and tropical South
America. Alpine plants are found near
Che submits of noun taina in the tropics
as well as in the high ATTITUDES OF both
hemifp leres. During the perfection OF the
loo period the western shore OF South
America was covered with an ice sheet
from the submits CT its mountain range
to the sea, and this vast ice-sheet was
constantly sending huge ieesbsrss into
the sea. According to J. Crawford, who
explored Nicaragua In 1928. glacial ice
once covered an area of several thousand
square miles there, or large part Of the
oi6o and Caribbean Sea.
1t Is likely that other large areas Of
tropical America were glaciated at the
same time. Cuba, during part of the
ice age, probably supported heavy gla-
ciers, and had an average temperature as
low as southwestern New Zealand In this
age. Some biologists further assert that
at the same time heavy ice sheets covered
the elevated parts of western North
America as far south as the thirty sixth
parallel of latitude, and that eastern
North America was likewise overspread
with Toe shests, which attained depth
of 5000 Or 5000 feet, their immense depos-
it's, as they moved toward the sea, form
ing the lands of Cape Cod and Martha's
Vineyard. The deposits from Alpine
glaciers in nothern Italy, according to
Professor James Geikie, "rise out of the
plains Of Piedmont as steep hills to a
height Of 1900 feet, and In one place Of
nearly 1000 feet" This morainio mass
has frontage of fifty miles. Professor
Geikie, in his lectures ON the ST ezra
Nevada and Rocky Mountain regions,
says that In the second Colorado Canyon,
the sides were completely glaciated, and
al the thickest point the glacier was 1900
feet through, while the walls of the can
yon show that the glacier must have
been from 800 to 1000 feet high. He also
says that the country round Salt Lake
was covered with Ice. Another writer
says that when it Is considered that the
Mississippi Valley was deprived of great
sources of warmth during tho culmina.
tlon Of a glacial period, ono il forced to
the conclusion that its wide lands were
also covered with Snow and ice. 1t Is
further stated that tho tropical waters
of the North Atlantic were SO chilled by
the floating ioebergs of northeastern
America, Greenland, Iceland and north
ern Euorpe that the Caribbean Sea, its
warmest reservoir, was reduced to tenn
which blew over it's waters were unable
to prevent ice sheets from gathering on
eastern Nicaragua. Even the remains OF
this ios.ribbed epoch that are still in ex-
istencs, show how far-reaching and ire
mendous must have been its domain.
Am erioan coast and along northern Sibe-
ria that are supposed to have existed
since the last frigid period. and are like
ly to be preserved into future cold age
According to DR.. James Crolps estimate
the Ice sheet at the Souh Polo is ut this
per surface is above the line of perpetual
snow, and therefore could not be melted
away during the warm sras succeeding
glacial periods.
When such an enormous mass of ice
is again enorusted about the earth's sur
face, as some geologists believe that in
the process of time it may be, 1t is to be
supposed that as soon as it begins to
yield once more to ths influences of q
milder atmosphere, as it counterpart did
long ages ago, the same process Of food
ing great areas Of the earth will be re-
peated, and the same curious evidences
Of the presence of seas and oceans that
no longer endured viii be left behind.
As u past glacial age WAS melting into
the Tertiary period, the seas In the
northern hemisphere, to quote from AL
fred r. Wallace's Island Life, ~ covered
a much larger area than now, and sx-
tended across central Europe and parts
of western Asia. The Arctic Ocean was
likewise enlarged. 1t is known that the
lowlands of Europe were submerged,
and that the Baltic, Caspian and neigh
boring seas were simply part Of the
mighty Atlantic Ocean, instead of being
land-looked waters, as they are now. In
the western hemisphere, Florida and a
large part of the Gulf States wore SUBJ
merged, and wide, shallow sea covered
the Mississippi Valley and the region of
the great lakes. In a paper read by Pro-
lessor Joseph Prestwich before the Geo.
logical Society Of London in 1892, he
gave evidence. deduoed from personal
observation, of the submergence of the
south of England not less than one thou
sand feet at the close nf the glacial peri
cd. 1t also app ears that the dislocated
and folded oretacsous strata that under
lie the glacial drift of Nantucket and
Martha's Vineyard weys. during an early
period. deposited On the bottom of a