Evening star., 1909-03-07
WONDERS OF GEOLOGY
Figures About the Earth

volcanic outflow the geologist knows to a
close approximation the earth's crust to
depth of ten miles below sea level As DIR.
Frank w. Clark, of the United States Geological
Survey. says, in his " Data of Geochemistry."
this thickness of ten miles represents known
matter" The vastness of the figures neces-
sary to employ in the discussion of this ten
mile atmosphere, as it is termed, transcends or
binary human comprehension.
The volume of this lithosphere, including
the continents elevated above the sea- is
1888 900 900 cubic miles
Each cubic mile of average rock weighs
1 800 900 900 tons. Atlas was therefore be-
yond question strong man.
The volume of the ocean is go 900 900 cubic
miles.
The atmosphere, reduced to liquid, would
equal ,768 900 cubic miles of water, only
one two hundred and thirty y-sixth of the vol
ume of the ocean; yet this would be sufficient
to raise the level of the ocean forty five feet on
all shores and to submerge large part of
civilization.
One per cent Of the water of the ocean would
cover all the land areas of the globe to a depth
of 400 feet.
The salt in the ocean would make 4,Soo 900
cubes each one mile in dimensions. which, if
spread over the United States, would form
layer 10 miles high.
In comparison with this outer ten mile
section of the earth's crust, the thin sheet of
organic matter the surface-the prairie
and valley soils, the alluvial bottoms, and the
become mere film, a skin.
The area of the earth IS I9o,7I2,ooo square
| miles, of which only $1,000 900 are land The
average altitude of all the land above sea level
is 2,4II feet: hence, if all the land above sea
level-2s,ooo 900 cubic m;les-was spread
uniformly over the globe, it would form shell
600 feet thick.
Rocks and Their Contents
| A LUMINUM, until recently almost precious
metal commercially is in nature the most
| abundant of all metals, and is found in all inn
| portant rocks except sandstone and limestone
| 1t constitutes about eight per cent of the ten
mile atmosphere, or I2S,9o7 900 cubic miles.
| The original or igneous rocks constitute
ninety-fve per cent. of the lthosphere; the
shales, sandstone, hmestoneS, and conglomer
ates only five per cent. In the United States
alone there are estimated to be 1000. .ooo. 900
| tons of unmined COAL yet the coal supply of
the entire world is less than per cent. of
this five per cent. of sedimentary rocks.
All rocks however dense, contain oxygen,
| most of them to the extent of fifty per cent;
indeed, oxygen forms approximately one-half
| of all terrestrial matter
Air and Water
| XENON is somewhat rare constituent of
= the air,-one part in every I7o, 900, 900
| parts. krypton is more plentiful-one part to
every 1000 900 parts. Hellum IS just absO-
| lutely common; there is one part to every
| 500, 900, or at most 1000 900. parts of air.
The annual rainfall on all the land surface
of the globe amounts to 10000 cubic miles
Only one-ffth of this, or $500 cubic miles
drains off through rivers; the rest is absorbed
and evaporated. But each cubic mile of river
water carries in solution, on an average, 762, 900
tons of dissolved foreign matter. By all the
rivers, nearly ooo. 900 900 tons of solid sub
stance is thus carried annually to the sea
Suspended sediments or silt. the enormous
mechanical load of streams, are not included
in these figures only the dissolved matter IS
considered, representing the chemical work on
rock and soil which the percolating waters have
accomplished. The Mississippi carries past
New Orleans each year %, 900. 900 tons of dis
solved salts, the product of chemical erosion
| Sea water analyses show the presence of
about one grain of gold to the ton of water
| thousands of millions of tons of yellow wealth
in Old Oceans keeping safe doubtless. But
should nyone desire to know this exact wealth.
| it may be stated that there A. 2os 6 so, 900
tons of water in cubic mile, and ,o2 ooo, 900
cubic miles in the ocean. There is even more
silver than gold in ocean water.
QUEER SALES AT AUCTION