The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-12-03
Formation and Age of the Earth---
How Veins Were Formed and
Mineral Deposits Made


Recently Professor d. c. Bard, OF
the Montana School Of Mines, deliy-
cred an address before the Liberal
Culture club of Butee on THE Geol-
ogy of Butte" Professor Bard ex-
planned what he says is the generally
accepted theory of the earth's forma-
ton in a most entertaining style, al
though it is quite different from that
held by the layman, as is also his ex-
PLANTATION of vein formation and min
eral deposition. His discussion Of the
subject in its various phases is Of
great interest and his address Is
therefore given in full:
What / should like to do, however,
is to use Butte geology as a buffer
about which to present to you some of
the present day concepts of geology
and geologic reasoning. The layman
is prone to meet with suspicious
smile the biologists contention for
millions of years Of time for the
earth's biological development. He al
so wonders if the geologist is bluffing
or really does have good evidence for
his theories on ore deposits and earth
history. In this little paper l shall en-
deavor to present the evidence for
some of these things as clearly as
can. Further be 1t understood that
none of the following is in any sense
original opinions with me or those pri-
vately held, but that all are generali-
cations accepted by the majority OF
present day biologists. Also let me
plead with my fellow religionists that
this paper is not intended to be COM
bative. to any of their ideas. The
scientist works to discover facts and
their immediate natural causes. The
opponents of religion consider ultim-
ate causes and reasons for the exist
ence of the facts Everyone admits
that life exists on the earth, the scien-
fist explains why it can exist, the re-
ligionist explains why it should exist
The cause of the universe is left to the
religionist; its evolution is a legitim
ate problem for the scientist.
The Old Theory.
ITO begin with the beginning Of
things for this planet, most of you
were taught in your school days thai
the earth matter was once in a hot
gaseous state, gradually cooling to a
liquid with solidified crust. This
theory advanced by the French mathe.
matician La Place explained so many
geologic phenomena so satisfactorily
that it received general acceptance
until recently. III late years, however
mathematical physicists have exposed
so many weaknesses in the theory thai
1t can no longer stand. In its place
has been developed theory which ex.
plains the facts equally we'll and con.
forms to the laws of physics ant
mathematics and to the observed phe-
nomena of astronomy. This theory Is
called the planetesimal hypothesis ant
assumes that the earth has grown By
the falling together of countless small
cold particles of the same kind thai
we now find in shooting stars and me.
teorites The pressure of the accum-
ulating mass created heat which local
ly caused the melting Of some of the
material near the outside of the earth
ball, but in the interior this pressure
is so great that the rocks can not melt
so that the interior of the earth is not
molten, but on the contrary, is more
solid and rigid than steel.
"Now as to when this earth forming
process happened, the geologist has nc
exact time evidence. but he has sew
eral lines of reasoning all of which
place this period at least 100, 000, 0OC
years in the past. That Is to say that
the earth in its size, shape and the
general physical condition of the pres
ent has existed as such for at least
1000OO,OO0 years.
THE crucial point on which all the
methods of time reasoning on the age
of the earth hinges is that past pro-
cesses on the earth were of the same
kind and produced in the same way as
present processes. The observed forms
on the earth can be best explained by
processes which are still in action.
For instance, salt exists in the
ocean, and the rivers and streams of
the land are bringing in. more contin-
uhlly. BY dividing the total quantity
of salt in the oceans blythe amount
added annually from the land we can
arrive roughly at how long waters
have been flowing to the seas.
Forming Sediments.
"The rate of formation of sediments
on the sea bottom is also used for
Limestone mud Is form
ing off the Florida Keys at the rate OF
so many inches per 1000 years Shale
muds are forming in other parts of the
sea at certain observed rates. Sands
are accommodating in other places to
be later hardened to sandstones. OBJ
have been made as to the
rate of formation of these sediments
II the great thicknesses of consolidat-
ID limestone, shales and sandstones
which are found throughout the world
we're formed at roughly the same rate
Ind by the same processes we can then