The Ancient Volcanoes of Great Britain, Volume 1 (of 2)

THE ANCIENT VOLCANOES OF GREAT BRITAIN
D.C.L. Oxf., D. Sc. Camb., Dubl.; LL.D. St. And., Edinb. DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND; CORRESPONDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE; OF THE ACADEMIES OF BERLIN, VIENNA, MUNICH, TURIN, BELGIUM, STOCKHOLM, GÖTTINGEN, NEW YORK; OF THE IMPERIAL MINERALOGICAL SOCIETY AND SOCIETY OF NATURALISTS, ST. PETERSBURG; NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, MOSCOW; SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, CHRISTIANIA; AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY; OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES OF LONDON, FRANCE, BELGIUM, STOCKHOLM, ETC. WITH SEVEN MAPS AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I
London
MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited. NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 1897 All rights reserved
TO M. Ferdinand Fouqué MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE PROFESSOR OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF INORGANIC BODIES IN THE COLLÈGE DE FRANCE AND M. Auguste Michel-Lévy MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE DIRECTOR OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF FRANCE DISTINGUISHED REPRESENTATIVES OF THAT FRENCH SCHOOL OF GEOLOGY WHICH BY THE HANDS OF DESMAREST FOUNDED THE STUDY OF ANCIENT VOLCANOES AND HAS SINCE DONE SO MUCH TO PROMOTE ITS PROGRESS THESE VOLUMES ARE INSCRIBED WITH THE HIGHEST ADMIRATION AND ESTEEM
In no department of science is the slow and chequered progress of investigation more conspicuous than in that branch of Geology which treats of volcanoes. Although from the earliest dawn of history, men had been familiar with the stupendous events of volcanic eruptions, they were singularly slow in recognizing these phenomena as definite and important parts of the natural history of the earth. Even within the present century, the dominant geological school in Europe taught that volcanoes were mere accidents, due to the combustion of subterranean beds of coal casually set on fire by lightning, or by the decomposition of pyrites. Burning mountains, as they were called, were believed to be only local and fortuitous appearances, depending on the position of the coal-fields, and having no essential connection with the internal structure and past condition of our planet. So long as such fantastic conceptions prevailed, it was impossible that any solid progress could be made in this branch of science. A juster appreciation of the nature of the earth's interior was needed before men could recognize that volcanic action had once been vigorous and prolonged in many countries, where no remains of volcanoes can now be seen.