Volcanic Islands · Charles Darwin
CHAPTER VII. AUSTRALIA; NEW ZEALAND; CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
New South Wales. Sandstone formation. Embedded pseudo-fragments of shale. Stratification. Current-cleavage. Great valleys. Van Diemen’s Land. Palaeozoic formation. Newer formation with volcanic rocks. Travertin with leaves of extinct plants. Elevation of the land. New Zealand. King George’s Sound. Superficial ferruginous beds. Superficial calcareous deposits, with casts of branches. Their origin from drifted particles of shells and corals. Their extent. Cape of Good Hope. Junction of the granite and clay-slate. Sandstone formation. The “Beagle,” in her homeward voyage, touched at New Zealand, Australia, Van Diemen’s Land, and the Cape of Good Hope. In order to confine the Third Part of these Geological Observations to South America, I will here briefly describe all that I observed at these places worthy of the attention of geologists.
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