The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-03-30
HOW PHOSPHATE CAME.
Florida Once a Region Of Marshes and La
goons.
Jachsonsi,,s Times Union aud Citizen.
goons

sion Of geologic time, known as the
Tertiary, before the advent Of man
upon the earth, the outlines Of the
southeastern border Of the North
American Continent were very differ
ent from those now shown by the
maps. The sea extended far inland
from the present shores to the foot OF
the highlands still existing; on the
average, about half way between the
seacoast and inland extremes OF the
coast tier Of States as at present
bounded. This ancient shore line
roughly coincided with the inner mar
gin Of what geologists now call the
great coastal plain Of the eastern and
southern United States. The sea wore
upon and more or less eroded the sur
face Of the deposits laid down during
the preceding epoch of cretaceous
time. Upon this worn surface the
alluvium, gravel and general detritus
from the dry land was laid down and
the sea bottom occupied by multitudes
Of sea animals, corals, barnacles,
worms, shell6sh, crabs, and so on ;
while over it wandered the swimming
population 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 northward in the
vicinity Of Livingston, Bridgeport
and Clayton, Alabama; Macon and
Augusta, Georgia, and Hamburg and
Chesterfield, South Carolina. South
Of this there is no evidence Of any dry
land or islands existing at this tine
short Of the West Indian Islands.
The entire FIoridian region was below
the sea, and probably deeply sub
merged.
The earliest or Eocene division Of
Che Tertiary witnessed no serious
change in the conditions of the shore
line, though hundreds Of feet of sedi-
ment settled on the sea floor, entomb-
ing myriads Of fossils. The. later
portion of the Eocene appears to have
been period Of extremely profuse
marine life, and the fauna shows so
many changes that by many geologists
it is separated from the true or earlier
Eocene under the name Of Oligocene.
Among other features Of this period
is the existence of multitudes Of fora
minifera, very lowly animals without
organs, and apparently composed Of a
pellucid Jelly, but having the capacity
for forming calcareous shells ccmpos-
ed of 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,
and about as large as nickel, belong
to this group. So abundant were
these animals that their cast-oG shells
comprise large, part Of the marine
limestones deposited during the oligo-
Gene, and artesian wells in South
Florida have been drilled through
nearly two thousand feet of limestone
Of this character.
The early part, perhapsin time more
than half the period during which
these deposits were formed, is known
as the Vicksburgian; since at Vicks-
burg, Mss, the formation was FIRST
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
were anyimportant contributions made
to the general mass by washings from
pre- existent land. In this consists
the eminent popularity and UNIQUE
character of the Floridian geology
The Vicksburg rocks are almost en-.
tirely composed of organic material
that is, lime, clay, slick and iron taken
up by marine animals from the water
in which they lived, and deposited
their limestone strata after their
death.
Toward the end Of the Vicksburgiar
movement in elevation began, which
brought above the sea level part Oh
the land in the vicinity of Ocala
forming an island or group Of islands
between Cuba and the Georgian marin
land, and the evidence is very strong
that these low islets, containing mum
erous lagoons& fresh water and wood
ed with palms, reeds and other sub
tronical vegetation. remained as dr.