The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-03-30

upon the earth' tne ou.''neS p, Tue
,,beastern border Of the North
American Continent were very differ
-, from those now shown by the
.rs. The sea extended far inland
from the present shores to the foot Of
,he highlands still existing on the
reraee. about half way between the
...coast and inland extremes Of the
.o.s, tier of States as at present
landed. This ancient shore line
sm,hly conceded with the inner mar
.;n Of what biologists now call the
s,e,t coastal plain OF tue eastern and
san,bern United States. The sea wore
imam and more or less eroded the sur
face Of the deposits laid down during
tbe preceding epoch Of cretaceous
Time. Upon this worn surface the
alluvium, gravel and general detritus
from the dry land vas laid down and
the sea bottom occupied by multitudes
Of sea animals, c%orals, ~barnacles,
worms. shcllfsh, crabs, and SO on ;
while over it wandered the swimming
incubation of the sea, fishes: toothed
whales and the like, whose bony re-
mains, at death, sank, to be added to
the general mass of the deposit.
The lower part of the Mississippi
! Valley was represented by a large bay,
from which the shore curved round to
/ The eastward and n~orthward in the
vicinity of Livingston, Bridgeport
and Clayton, Alabama Macon and.
Augusta, Georgia, and Hamburg and
4 Chesterfield, South Carolina. South
4 OF this there is nc evidence Of any dry
! land Oh islands existing 6. this :;me
short Of the West Indian Islands.
4 The entire Floridian region was below
the sea, and probably deeply SUBJ
merged.
I The earliest or Eoccne division Of
the Tertiary witnessed no serious
4 change in the conditions. of. the shore
Z line, though hundreds Of feet Of sedi-
mcnt settled on the sea floor, entomb-
4 ing myriads Of fossils. The. later
portion Of the Eocene appears to have
l been a period of extremely protuse
marine life, and the fauna shows SO
many changes that by many biologists
it is separated from the true or earlier
4 Eocene under the name of Oligocene.
Among other features Of this period
/ is the existence of multitudes of fora
m%inifera, very lowly animals without
organs, and apparently composed Of a
! pellucid jelly, but having the capacity
Z for forming calcareous shells compos-
ed Of a multitude of little chambers or
cells, the walls of which are perforated
BY small pores or foramina, whence
the name. The little circular disks
SO common in the soft white limestone.
4 ! and about az large ss 6 nickel belong
to this group. So abundant were
these animals that their cast-of shells
comprise a large part Of the marine
llmestones deposited during the oligo-
Gene, and artesian wells in South
4 Florida have heen drilled through
nearly two thousand fee. of limestone
Of this character.
The early part, perhaps in time more
than half the period during which
these depc its were formed, is known
as the Vicksburgian since at Vicks-
! burg, Mss, the formation was irst
studied and described. Thus the
mass OF the rocks of which the State
Of Florida is composed were the result
! ! Of the marine life Of this time, and
only in the northern part Of the State
we're any important contributions made
to the general mass by washings from
3 pre- existent land. In this consists
the eminent popularity and unique
q Character Of the Floridiaa geology.
The Vicksburg rocks are almost en
trely composed of organic material
mat is, lime, clay, slick and iron taken
up by marine animals from the water
In which they lived. and deposited
,aelr limestone strata after their
death.
q Toward the end Of the Nicksburgian
a movement in, elevation began, which
brought above the sea level a part Of
The land in the vicinity Of 0cala,
forming an island or group Of islands
eetwecn'Cu ba aud the Georgian main.
3 'and' and the evidence is very strong
mat these low ~islets, containing mum
efous lagoonsdfif fresh water and wood
60 with palms, reeds and other sub.
topical vegetation, remained as dry
"a sand from dhat 10 ahe present time.
Inc strait then existing between these
q Islands and tfe,continent was despss.
q 10 the present valley OF the SuWannee
60 ~ ~ ~