USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Hingham > History of the town of Hingham, Massachusetts, vol 1 > Part 2
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7
The Geology of Hingham.
a period of 10,000,000 years, and we have a total of 31,845,000 years since the globe was separated from the sun in a gaseous condition, and of but 13,845,000 years since the first incrusta- tion of its surface.
Another method of determining the age has been to base esti- mates upon the internal heat of the globe and the rate of cooling. Sir William Thomson thus concluded that about 80,000,000 years must have elapsed for the globe to cool to its present con- dition, dating from the first inerustation upon its surface.
Another method has been to base calculations upon the geo- logical changes that have been going on during comparatively recent times, by which sedimentary deposits have been formed at a known rate of thickness within certain periods. Dr. Croll estimates in this way that not less than 60,000,000 years must have elapsed, and probably much more since sedimentation began. Another investigator, Dr. Haughton, on the same basis extends the time to more than 200,000,000 years.
It is unnecessary to add more on this point. It is sufficient to state that no man capable of forming a judgment, and who has duly investigated the question, has been able to come to any other conclusion than that our good mother the earth has been revolv- ing in her orbit, since inerustation and the commencement of sedimentation, for millions of years, and whether these be num- bered by tens or hundreds can be but of little moment, when the least mentioned is more than long enough to appall the mind in its contemplation.
It is however desirable, in view of a better understanding of what may follow relative to different periods in the earth's history, to give a table showing the estimated duration of each, assuming the whole length of time since incrustation to be 80,000,000 years, as calculated by Sir William Thomson. Of course, if it should be assumed that the whole period since incrustation was more or less than 80,000,000 years. the time estimated for each period would be proportionately lengthened or shortened. The time ratios of the several periods have been determined by Pro- fessor Dana from the relative thickness of the rocky sediments, and of the probable time required for their deposit, and though estimates thus based must necessarily be imperfect, yet by them we can approximate somewhat nearer to the truth than in any other way. The presentation will be useful in impressing on the mind of the reader the remote antiquity of the rocks of Hingham ; for if, as generally claimed, the greater portion of them had their origin in Archæan Time, basing their age on Sir William's esti- mate of the age of the world, they must have been formed more than 30,000,000 years ago. The table is abbreviated from one presented in the very valuable work of Alexander Winchell, LL. D., Professor of Geology and Paleontology in the University of Michigan, called " World Life, or Comparative Geology."
8
History of Hingham. . ESTIMATED LENGTH OF GEOLOGICAL PERIODS.
Formations.
Rock Measure. Feet.
Percentage.
Thomson's Basis. Years.
PYROLITHIC TIME
123,200
27.77
22,216,000
ARCHÆAN TIME.
AZOIC AGE .
61,600
13.88
11,104,000
EOZOIC AGE.
Laurentian Period .
41,200
9.26
7,408,000
Huronian Period
20,400
4.62
3,696,000
PALÆOZOIC TIME.
SILURIAN AGE.
Primordial Period .
16,400
3.70
2,960,000
Canadian Period
45,400
10.23
8,184,000
Trenton Period .
14,700
3.32
2,656,000
Niagara Period .
7,100
1.60
1,280,000
Salina Period
2,050
.46
368,000
Lower Helderberg Period
7,500
1.69
1,352.000
DEVONIAN AGE.
Oriskany Period
720
.17
136,000
Corniferous Period
2,800
.63
504,000
Hamilton Period
6,000
1.35
1,080,000
Chemung Period
4,900
1.11
888,000
Catskill Period .
7,544
1 70
1,360,000
CARBONIFEROUS AGE.
Lower Carboniferous Period
7,560
1.70
1,360,000
Upper Carboniferous Period
14,570
3.28
2,624,000
MESOZOIC TIME.
Triassic Period .
31,540
7.11
5,688,000
Jurassic Period .
8,200
1.85
1,480,000
Cretaceous Period .
5,620
1.26
1,008,000 -
CENOZOIC TIME.
TERTIARY AGE
11,735
2.65
2,120,000
POST TERTIARY AGE.
Glacial Period
1,956
.44
352,000
Post Glacial Period
978
.22
176,000
Total Crust
443,673
100.00
80,000,000
It is proper to state here that investigations within a few years past by Dr. G. Frederick Wright, the author of the "Ice Age in North America," Warren Upham, and other geologists who have made special study of the phenomena of the Glacial Period, have satisfactorily determined that all that has happened on the surface since that period may not have required more than from ten to fifteen thousand years. When the above table was prepared, much less was known of glacial action than now.
9
The Geology of Hingham.
A second table is presented, giving a list of the formations ; the forms of life that appeared in the several periods ; and some general remarks upon the land surfaces, the climatic conditions, and the mountain elevations. Periods not recognized in the first table are presented in this.
Formations.
Life.
General Remarks.
PYROLITHIC TIME.
ARCHÆAN TIME.
AZOIC AGE.
EOZOIC AGE. Laurentian Period. Huronian Period.
-
Indications of Marine Plants and of Protozoa, the lowest of the forms of animal life.
The continent in the Eozoic Age was limited to a region mostly within limits of British North America, but embracing, outside, the Adirondack region of N. Y., a region in Mich. south of Lake Superior, a long belt, including the Highlands of N. Y., and the Blue Ridge of Penn. and Va., also areas along the Atlantic Coast in Nova Scotia, Newfound- laud, and Eastern Mass.
A long but narrow ridge existed along the line where afterwards were raised the Rocky Mountains. Four-fifths at least of the present surface of the continent were under water.
PALÆOZOIC TIME.
SILURIAN AGE. ( Primordial Period.
Age of Invertebrates. Marine only :
Plants, sea-weeds. Ani- mals, all invertebrates, Protozoa, Radiata, Mol- lusca, and Articulata. Trilobites in immense numbers and of many species are found. The largest of these became extinct before the close of this period. Crinoids and Sponges appear. Marine only :
Canadian Period.
Trenton Period.
Plants all sea-weeds. Animals, invertebrates. Among Cephalopods Or- thoceras first appear. Marine almost entirely. Some late discoveries of land plants have been made in Ohio and Ken- tucky. Animals all in- vertebrates.
A mild climate certainly prevailed in the Arctic regions during these periods, as proved by the forms of life found in high north- ern latitudes.
The Appalachian region, embrac- ing that of the Green Mountains, was one of shallow waters, whilst areas of the rocks of Archæan Time formed islands and reefs. barrier was thus partially formed, which led the interior continental sea to be compara- tively quiet, where flourished crinoids, mollusks, and corals, the detritus of which made up the growing limestone. This period of physical quiet, Dana remarks, was probably as long continued as "all the time that has since elapsed," a remark cal- culated to impress the mind very forcibly of its duration.
LOWER SILURIAN
NOTE. From lack of definite knowledge of the particular pe- riods in which insect forms first appeared, mention of them is only made after the close of remarks upon other life in the several periods of each Age.
Physical condition making life im- possible.
10
History of Hingham.
Formations.
Life.
General Remarks.
[ Niagara Period
Marine only : Plants, sea-weeds. Animals, invertebrates. No evidence yet of fishes or of fresh-water life.
The Niagara Period was one of subsidence of the land over ex- tensive regions.
Salina Period.
Almost destitute of fossils.
The rocks of the Salina Period yield salt from brines contained in them. The subsidence men- tioned as occurring during the Niagara Period continued through this.
UPPER SILURIAN.
Lower Helder- berg Period.
Fossils of the same generic character generally as in preceding periods, the species distinct.
Trilobites common, but with them a new Crus- tacean appears for the first time, the Euryp- terus remipes, a foot or more in length.
The extinction of species during the progress of the Silurian Age was great. Dana says, "There is no evidence that a species existed in the later half of the Upper Silurian that was alive in the later half of the Lower Silurian."
Oriskany [ Period.
Plants generally marine. One species of Lycopo- dium (ground pine) has, however, been found. No fishes yet noticed in American beds of this period, but in Europe their remains are met with in the Ludlow rocks, which are equiv- alent to the Lower Hel- derberg and Oriskany of America, and are the first vertebrates yet dis- covered in formations earlier than the De- vonian.
Of the Class Arachnida : articulated animals having the body generally divided in two parts, as Scorpions, Spiders, Ticks, etc., - the first represented in the earth's formations were found in the Upper Silurian. Three species, all Scorpions.
Of the true Insects, one specimen has been found in the Upper Silurian, but the character of this has not been clearly made out. It belongs to one of the orders of the Hexapoda.
DEVONIAN AGE. Corniferous Period.
Age of Fishes. Marine Plants include a new form, the Spirophy- ton cauda galli.
The greater part of the continent yet remained under water at the close of the Silurian Age. There is no evidence that the cli- mate, even in high latitudes, had become otherwise than warm and temperate as in the Lower Si- lurian Periods.
During the Corniferous Period, a large part of the continent was covered with shallow seas, in
11
The Geology of Hingham.
Formations.
Life
General Remarks.
Land Plants : Lycopods, Ferns, and Conifers. Corals in great numbers, Echinoderms, Trilo- bites.
Fishes, first appearance of in American rocks : Sharks, Ganoids, Placo- dermis ; but no osseous species.
Hamilton Period.
Land Plants : Lycopods, Ferns, Equiseta ; but as yet no Mosses. The Vertebrates are rep- resented only by Fishes. Goniatites, a group of Ce- phalopods first appear.
Chemung Period.
Land Plants of like gen- era as in the preceding period.
Trilobites, so abundant in former periods, have be- come rare.
Catskill Period.
Remains of life rare. The plants are similar to those of the Chemung Period.
The change in life during the Devonian Age was marked by the introduc- tion of many new forms and the extinction of many old ones, as in pre- vious ages.
Articulates of the Myrio- poda, a class allied to In- sects, worm-like but having many segments and nu- merous feet, first appear in the Devonian Age.
True Insects, of the class Hexapoda, appear in several species.
which corals of great variety flourished.
The climate was warm, and proba- bly so over the Arctic regions.
In the Hamilton Period, extensive forests of Lycopods, some similar to modern spruces and pines and others widely different from any known family, undoubtedly ex- isted, as shown by the Lepido- dendra and Sigillaria found in the strata.
At the close of the Devouian Age the area of the continent had much increased, and embraced a large part of East Canada and New England, but the greater part of North America yet re- mained beneath the waters. Neither the Rocky Mountains nor the Appalachians yet existed. The Green Mountains were low hills compared with their present height.
Great disturbance seems to have followed the close of the age over the eastern part of the continen- tal area leading to elevation of a great portion of Maine, etc.
The occurrence of Devonian species in the Arctics shows, as Dana remarks, that there was but little diversity of climate between the regions now called Temperate and Arctic Zones.
12
History of Hingham.
Formations.
Life.
General Remarks.
CARBONIFEROUS AGE. Sub-Carbonifer- ous Period.
Sea-weeds similar to those of the Devonian. Land Plants : Lycopods, Ferns, Coni- fers and Calamites.
The animal life was abun- dant, as shown by the profusion of the remains of Crinoids.
Of Radiates : Polyp
Corals.
Of Brachiopods : Spi- rifer Productus. Of Cephalopods : Go- niatites, Nautilus. Of Articulates : Trilo- bites, Orthoceratites, Scorpions, etc. Of Fishes : as in De- vonian Age. Of Amphibians : Foot- prints.
Carboniferous Period.
Immense development of the coal-forming plants, the Tree-ferns, the Ly- copods, Sigillarids, the Equiseta, Conifers, and Cycads. The latter first appeared in this period.
No Angiosperms, no Palms, no Mosses yet discovered.
Permian Period.
Plants similar to those of the Coal Period. Of animal life, Goniatites, which first appeared in the Hamilton Period, and Trilobites, which appeared in the Primor- dial Period, both had become extinct.
Several genera of the Mol- lusca, as Productus, Orthis,and Murchisonia, are not found later than this period.
As might have been ex- pected from the immense development of vegetable life under tropical tempera- ture, the remains of great numbers of insects are found in the deposits of the Car- boniferous Age, during which they first appeared. Species of the extinct Order Palæodictyoptera are espe- cially abundant, embracing
During the Sub-Carboniferous Pe- riod a great mediterranean sea, as previously, covered a large area of the interior of the continent, and the temperature being fa- vorable, there was a great devel- opment of crinoids, corals, and the many forms of life now found in the strata.
Forests and marsh areas were ex- tensive. The period was one of subsidence. The condition of the Arctic regions was yet undoubt- edly similar to the more southern portions of the continent, the air being warm and moist.
This Period, differing from that of the Sub-Carboniferous, was one of extensive emergence instead of subsidence.
As yet the Alleghanies did not ex- ist, but over their area were great marshes, where flourished the coal-making plants of the period.
The beds of the Permian are marine.
Palæozoic Time has now come to an end. Great disturbances fol- lowed, leading to the elevation of the Alleghany Mountains and
13
The Geology of Hingham.
Formations.
Life.
General Remarks.
MESOZOIC TIME. REPTILIAN AGE. Triassic Period.
Plants : Cycads and new forms of Ferns, Equiseta, Conifers.
No species yet met with of Grass or Moss. No Palms.
No Angiosperms, the class which includes all our New-England plants having a bark, excepting Conifers, as maples, wil- lows, birches, oaks, etc. Animals :
Vertebrates in great numbers and of great size. Fishes, Reptiles, perhaps Birds.
First appearance Mammals.
of
Plants : Similar to those of the Triassic Period.
Animals :
Gigantic Reptiles, among them flying lizards. Marsupial mammals. First appearance of os- seous fishes. Birds.
Cretaceous Period.
Plants : First appearance of the Angiosperms.
Of the Angiosperms, oaks, beeches, poplars, willows, hickories, and others existed. First appearance. of Palms. Animals :
Reptiles were very nu- merous and of great size, one genus of which, Mosasaurus, had species varying from forty-five to eighty feet in length, and having been snake- like in form, may well be termed, as by Dana, sea-serpents of the era.
In the deposits of the Pe- riods of the Reptilian Age, first appear insects of the
The forests of this period differed mnuch from those of the Carbon- iferous in having neither Sigil- larids nor Lepidodendrids. Tree- ferns, Conifers, and Cycads were the prevailing forms.
There were great disturbances of the surface during the Triassic Period, as shown by the vast ridges of trap rocks which were forced up through the strata in a molten condition, and now form some of the prominent elevations of the eastern part of the conti- nent, as Mounts Tom and Holy- oke of Mass., the high hills near New Haven, Conn., the Palisades of the Hudson, etc.
The Jurassic Beds of Europe em- brace those of three epochs, - the Liassic, Oolitic, and Weilden. The first of these have yielded some of the best preserved and finest fossils that are to be found in our collections.
Cretaceous rocks are common over a considerable portion of Europe, in the southeastern and southern parts of the United States, and in the Rocky Mountains. The well-known chalk composes great beds in England, and is found in France and other parts of Europe.
Great changes of level seem to have taken place towards the close of this period, leading to increased height of the land in the northern regions, causing much change in
Jurassic Period.
ancient types of cockroach- es, walking-sticks, May-flies, etc. Other extinct Orders are also represented.
to great changes along the coast of New England, in New Bruns- wick, Nova Scotia, and generally over all the surface east of the Mississippi.
14
History of Hingham.
Formations.
Life
General Remarks.
Orders Orthoptera, Neurop- tera, Hemiptera, Hymenop- tera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and Lepidoptera.
CÆNOZOIC TIME.
TERTIARY AGE. Laramie Pe- riod (or Lig- nitic I.).
NOTE. - This period is included by some geologists in the Cre- taceous of Mesozoic Time.
Plants : The deposits of this pe- riod yield great num- bers of the leaves of Angiosperms, - species of oak, poplar, maple, hickory, fig, magnolia, and others ; also of Con- ifers and palms. Nuts of some species are common. Animals :
Freshwater shells and some marine species. No mammals. Fishes and Reptiles have been found in the Laramie beds.
Alabama Period (same as Eocene).
Plants :
Trees mostly of the same genera as those of the present period. The infusorial deposits near Richmond, Va, yield a large number of species of Diatoms.
Animals :
The remains, vertebræ, and teeth, in great num- bers, of a large animal allied to a whale, called the Zenglodon Cetoides, are found in the de- posits of this period in the States of Georgia, South Carolina, Mis- sissippi, and Alabama. The animal was at least seventy feet in length. In beds of this period in the west are found remains of species similar to those of the present, as the rhinoceros, Mexican wild boar, horse, mon- key, and others, among them the earliest of the squirrels. Of the birds, one species from the Eocene of New Mexico was larger than the ostrich.
the climates and a general de- struction of the life then existing upon or near the surface in both hemispheres.
Estuary deposits in Mississippi, in the region of the Upper Missouri, in the Rocky Mountain region, and at Brandon, Vt.
Called the Lignitic Period because of the prevalence of Lignitic beds in the deposits.
Great disturbance of the surface in North America at the close of this period, that led to the eleva- tion of mountains in California, which, increased undoubtedly by subsequent movements, are now 4,000 feet high.
Further disturbances at the close of this period, raising the bor- ders of the Gulf of Mexico, and probably elevating above the pre- vious height the Rocky Mountain region.
15
The Geology of Hingham.
Formations.
Life.
Yorktown Period. (Miocene.).
Animals : Whales, dolphins, seals, walruses, bones of ta- pir-like animals, and of new species of horses and of hogs, rhinoce- roses of several genera, wolves, lions, beavers, etc.
Sumter Period. (Pliocene.)
Animals : Of Birds : eagles, cranes, and cormorants. Of Mammals . elephants, camels, rhinoceroses, deer, tigers, horses, and the first of the mastodons found in American deposits.
All the Orders of Insects the remains of which are found in the Mesozoic de- posits are also represented in the Cenozoic. Great numbers of species have been preserved to us in amber, a fossil gum of the Tertiary Age.
QUATERNARY AGE. Glacial Period.
Entire destruction of life over the glaciated North which extended in the eastern part of the United States as far south as Pennsylvania.
Animal life : read under next period.
Champlain Period.
The animal life of the two earlier periods of the Quaternary Age was of remarkable character, especially as shown by the remains of the Mam- mals found both in Europe and America. These show that the species were of enor- mous size compared with
General Remarks.
During this period, and culminating at its close, there is evidence of great disturbances over a large portion of the continent. By great volcanic action, extensive regions of the Pacific slope were overflowed by igneous rocks to the depth of thousands of feet, and the Rocky Mountains raised to their present elevation. Their uprise during the Tertiary Age, according to Dana, could not have been less than 11,000 feet. The height at which the deposits of the Miocene Period are found on the southeast and southern coast, being several hundred feet, shows the extent of the move- ments.
The phosphatic beds of South Caro- lina are of this period.
A period generally regarded as one of extreme cold, but there is rea- son to think the degree of this has been exaggerated. Ice cov- ered Eastern North America to the height of from 2,000 to 6,000 feet.
The period of the passing away of the ice, and of great floods ; a period, too, of considerable de- pression of the surface and of extensive alluvial deposits.
16
History of Hingham.
Formations.
Life.
General Remarks.
those of more ancient or of more recent times. In North America, roaming over the sur- face, were elephants, mastodons, horses much larger than the present, bison, tapirs, beavers of huge size, lions, bears, and others. In South America, massive sloth forms, as the megatheri- um, mylodon, and mega- lonyx, were numerous, as were many species of other genera. In Eng- land and other countries of Europe, bears, lions, hyenas, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, deer, were common.
Man undoubtedly existed in this period, and proba- bly in the early portion, as his remains and the implements of his hands have been found with the bones of the Cham- plain animals, as the mastodon and reindeer There is evidence of man having appeared at a still earlier period, - possibly in the Tertiary Age.
Recent Period.
The animals of the Cham- plain Period largely passed away in the early part of this, destroyed undoubtedly by the colder temperature, and species of less size took the places of the huge forms that preceded them. Although man, as previously stated, was in existence, it was not until the modern era of this period that he attained the domin- ion over all other races since possessed by him.
The deposits of this period are alluvial beds along rivers, drift- sands, deposits of rivers in the ocean, or from the washing and wearing away of the shores, coral-reef formations, shell lime- stone growth in the ocean or inland waters, bog-iron ore in marshes, stalactitic and stalag- mitic formation in caves, deposits from springs, lavas from volcanic action, etc.
There was an elevation of the land in the high latitudes in the early portion of this period, which re- stored its height to about the de- pression of the Champlain. The temperature of the North, par- ticularly over Asia and Europe, became again extremely cold. The terraces so common around lakes and along river-courses in parts of New England owe their origin to the rise of land after the Champlain Period, and the action of waters.
17
The Geology of Hingham.
EXPLANATION OF NAMES OF FORMATIONS, ETC., MENTIONED IN THE TABLES ABOVE.
Pyrolithic. From the Greek, fire-stone.
-
Jurassic. Geographical, from rocks of Mt. Jura.
Archcan. Ancient ; the beginning.
Azoic. Without life.
Permian. Geographical, from rocks of Permia, an ancient kingdom of Russia.
Eozoic. Dawn of life.
Palcozoic. Ancient life.
Mesozoic. Middle life.
Cenozoic. Recent life.
Primordial. First in order.
Silurian. Geographical, first applied to rocks of Siluria.
Corniferous. From Latin cornu, horn, and fero, I bear, the rocks bearing seains of hornstone.
Devonian. Geographical, first applied to rocks of Devonshire.
Carboniferous. Having the great coal
fields.
Cretaceous. Latin, for chalky.
Triassic. Named from a series of three kinds of rocks.
Salina. From its salt-bearing brines ; salina, in Latin, being a place where salt is made.
Other names geographical of known localities will not need explanation.
PYROLITHIC TIME. - As the name denotes, the Pyrolithic for- mations were igneous only, for the condition of the molten, but gradually cooling globe admitted of none other. The immense period required for any approach to stability of the surface must have witnessed constant changes upon it, and over and over again must the earlier incrusted portions have been broken up and re- melted as they became from time to time, through the shrinking consequent upon refrigeration, submerged in the incandescent . sea. At length when consolidation of the surface had increased, rocky masses undoubtedly appeared above the general level, but these were necessarily of a different character from any now known. They were the truly primitive rocks, and it is very doubtful if any trace of them can be found on the earth.
ARCHEAN TIME. - Previous to the formation of the rocks of Archæan Time, the cooling of the globe had proceeded to a de- gree allowing the existence of water in the atmosphere and its deposit upon the surface. Of its earlier rocks we can know as little as of those of Pyrolithic Time, for all now recognized appear to be the result of the wearing down of pre-existing formations, the deposit of their debris in the form of sands and clay as sedi- ments in water, and the subsequent crystallization of much of the material into gneisses, mica slates, etc. Other rocks of the time are conglomerates, sandstones, and clay slates.
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