An Introduction to Historical Geology, with Special Reference to North
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(5arttcll BttttJwaitg SIthrarg BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE 1691 Cornell University Library^ QE 651.M6S An introduction to historical geology, w 3 1924 004 597 559 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924004597559 AN INTRODUCTION TO HISTOEICAL GEOLOGY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO NORTH AMERICA BY WILLIAM J. MILLER PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY, SMITH COLLEGE 238 ILLUSTRATIONS SECOND PRINTING NEW YORK D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY Eight Warren Street A4^ 5-551 COPYRIGHT, 191 6, BY D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY THE -PLIMPTON • PRESS NORWOOD-MASS- V S • a. PREFACE It is the author's hope that this book may find a place as a class-book dealing with the historical geology portion of a one-year course in general geology, and that it may also serve as a text for special courses in historical geology. An elementary knowledge of what is generally comprised under dynamical and structural geology is presupposed. It is assumed that a proper amount of laboratory and field work will be pursued in connection with the text. It will be seen that more introductory space is devoted to a dis- cussion of the broad fundamental principles of historical geology than is customary in text-books. The experience of the author has been that careful attention to these general principles at the beginning of the subject is well repaid in satisfaction to both teacher and student when the great events of earth history are taken up in regular order. A definite plan is strictly adhered to in the discussion of each period from the Cambrian to the Tertiary inclusive. Such defi- niteness of presentation, in spite of some objections which may be raised against it, should greatly aid the beginner, who must con- stantly compare periods and note the important changes in the evolution of both land-masses and organisms. The topical arrange- ments are such that any desired comparisons can be readily made. A plan of treatment, the same for both the Archeozoic and Proterozoic eras, permits a ready comparison of these two. By the very nature of the subject-matter, a somewhat more special nethod of discussion has been necessary for the Quaternary period. Important features are the summaries of Paleozoic and Meso- zoic history which will aid the student in fixing in mind the salient points in the history of those two great eras. It is believed that the two tabular summaries — one of Paleozoic life and the other of Mesozoic life — will be helpful. Group by group and period by period, from the Cambrian to the Cretaceous inclusive, the principal evolutionary changes in organisms are brought before the student at a glance by the use of these tables. iv PREFACE Students beginning the study of geology usually have either very little knowledge of biology or their study has not emphasized the classification of organisms. The evolution of organisms is a fundamental consideration in the study of earth history, and the instructor finds it weU-nigh necessary to present to his classes out- line classifications of plants and animals accompanied by brief descriptions of the more common types. Such matter is presented in the first chapter of this book. In certain texts, especially those portions dealing with historical geology, there is a tendency to overwhelm the student by the intro- duction of a multiphcity of technical terms, especially the names of fossUs. The present author's idea has been to reduce such terms to a reasonable minimum required for a proper understanding of the great principles of earth history. The genus and species names accompanying illustrations are given in the interest of scientific accuracy and with no thought that these are to be re- membered by the student. Various distinctly appropriate illustrations, more or less familiar because of their appearance in other text-books or manuals of geology, have not been abandoned merely for the sake of some- thiag new or different. Many of the illustrations, however, ap- pear in a text-book here for the first time. Among the numerous original sources of illustrations, particular mention should be made of the pubhcations of the United States Geological Survey, the New York State Museum, The American Museum of Natural History, and the Maryland Geological Survey. The Macmillan Company, Henry Holt and Company, Ginn and Companj', D. Appleton and Company, and John Wiley and Sons have generously allowed the use of various cuts. Careful attention has been given to the selection of only such views, fossils, diagrams, and maps as would sj'stem- aticaUy illustrate the text without overdoing this feature of the book. The author is under particular obhgation to Professor Bailey WiUis of Stanford University for the use of his excellent series of paleogeographic maps of North America. These maps, together with his U. S. G. S. Professional Paper 71, have proved to be veritable storehouses from which to draw in the preparation of the manuscript of this book. The well-known manuals and text-books of geology, especially PREFACE V those by Dana, Chamberlin and Salisbury, Pirsson and Schuchert, LeConte, Scott, Norton, Blackwelder and Barrows, Geikie, Kayser, and De Lapparent, have been freely consulted, and due acknowl- edgment is here made for the help derived from these sources. Among those who have read portions or all of the manuscript are the following: Dr. J. M. Clarke and Mr. C. A. Hartnagel of the New York State Museum; Professors W. B. Clark and C. K. Swartz and Mr. E. W. Berry of the Johns Hopkins Uni- versity; and Dr. L. W. Stephenson of the United States Geological Survey. Special acknowledgment is made to these men for valu- able suggestions and criticisms, but the author holds himself strictly responsible for all errors the book may contain. WILLIAM J. MILLER Smith College, Northampton, Mass., August, 1916 CONTENTS chapter * page 1. General Principles 1 II. General Principles — Concluded 23 III. Origin and pre-Geologic History op the Earth .... 35 IV. The Archeozoic Era 40 V. The Proterozoic Era 47 VI. The Cambrian Period 56 VII. The Ordovician (Lower Silurian) Period . 77 VIII. The Silurian (Upper Silurian) Period . 103 IX. The Devonian Period .... .... ... 120 X. The Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) Period . 143 XI. The Pennsylvanian (Upper Carboniferous) Period . 158 XII. The Permian Period 180 XIII. Summary of Paleozoic History 194 XIV. The Triassic Period . .201 XV. The Jurassic Period . 219 XVI. The Cretaceous Period 236 XVII. Summary of Mesozoic History 274 XVIII. The Tertiary Period 281 XIX. The Quaternary Period 328 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 1. A Protozoan (Amoeba) without a shell. Greatly enlarged .... 14 2. Shelled Protozoans (Foraminifers) ... 14 3. Sponges on a shell ... 14 4. Modern Hydrozoans. Part of a colony much enlarged 15 5. A group of modern Corals showing the internal structure of one individual ... 16 6. Stemmed Echinoderms (Pelmatozoans) . 16 7. A modern Asterozoan ("Starfish") ... .... 17 8. Modern Echinoids ("Sea-urchins"), one with spines in position . 18 9. Bryozoans . 18 10. Brachiopod shells (fossil forms) . 19 11. A modern Pelecypod . 19 12. Gastropods 20 13. A modem chamber-shelled Cephalopod (Nautilus) showing the in- ternal shell structure . 21 14. A modern Squid . 21 15. Diagram to illustrate correlation of rock formations by continuity of deposit 24 16. Diagram to illustrate correlation of rock formations by similarity of sequence 24 17. Diagram to illustrate correlation of rock formations by degree of change or structure .... 25 18. Diagram to illustrate the significance of unconformities 27 19. A very symmetrical spiral nebula in Pisces (M. 74) .... 37 20. Diagram to illustrate the formation of a spiral nebula . 38 21. Archean (Grenville) sedimentary gneiss in the central Adirondacks. 43 22. Map showing the surface distribution of pre-Cambrian (Archeozoic and Proterozoic) rocks in North America 44 23. Diagram showing the principal subdivisions of the Proterozoic and their relation to the Archeozoic in the Lake Superior district . 49 24. A view in the Grand Canyon of Arizona (Shinumo quadrangle) exhibiting the relations of Archean, Algonkian and Paleozoic rocks to each other 52 25. Part of a pre-Cambrian (Huronian) Alga 54 26. Map showing the surface distribution (areas of outcrops) of Cam- brian, and some very closely associated Lower Ordovician, strata in North America 58 27. Geologic section through northeastern Iowa, showing how character, thickness, and distribution of deeply buried rock formations can be determined by a comparison of well records 60 X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 28. Upper Cambrian (Potsdam) sandstone in the Ausable Chasm of northeastern New York 62 29. Paleogeographic map of North America during Lower (early) Cam- brian time 64 30. Paleogeographic map of North America dm-ing late Middle and Upper (late) Cambrian time 66 31. Structure section in Saratoga County, New York, showing how Upper Cambrian strata overlap upon a hiUock of pre-Cambrian rock (GrenviUe) 67 32. Calcareous Algae, Cryptozoon proliferum, forming a reef in Upper Cambrian Mmestone near Saratoga Springs, New York ... 72 33. A Cambrian Sponge, Leptomitus zitieli 73 34. A Cambrian Jelly-fish, Brooksella altemata 73 35. A Cambrian Sponge or Coral, Archeocyathus rensselaericus 73 36. Cambrian Brachiopods 74 37. A Cambrian Pelecypod {Fordilla troyensis) .... 74 38. Cambrian Gastropods . 74 39. Cambrian TrUobites, restored forms 75 40. A Middle Cambrian Trilobite, Neolemus serratus, with well-pre- seryed appendages 76 41. Map showing the surface distribution (areas of outcrops) of chiefly Middle and Upper Ordovician strata in North America .... 79 42. Generahzed structure sections through various parts of New York State, showing the attitude and relations of the various great rock systems 80 43.