CHARLES LYELL English
You have adopted a rigorously steady-state uniformitarian approach to
explanation in geology – finding causes in present-day processes
acting over long periods of time and believing that the number and
intensity of these processes has never changed. You accept that land
and sea have interchanged gradually many times in the past, and
suggest processes that are consistent with this; you are suspicious of
any theory of continental glaciations as non-uniformitarian.
On GoogleEarth Tour pay particular attention to:
- Vadret da Tschierva
- Norfolk Drift
Familiarize yourself with the following Episodes:
- Alpine Drifting
- Uniformitarian Drift
Read and summarize:
- Extract from Principles of Geology
- Extract from 1835 Edition
- Presidential Address, 19 February 1836 (p.381-384)
Be aware:
- Your brand of uniformitarianism, postulating a steady-state Earth, is subject to
increasing criticism as an a priori assumption being imposed on the data (see
Sedgwick in Episode "Alpine Revolutions"). There is nothing particularly nonuniformitarian,
in the broader sense, in glaciations or even in "diluvial waves," if
they are physically possible.
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