Page:The Journal of geology (IA journalofgeology11893univers).pdf/135
after the mountain formation ceases. In these, however, materials are ejected not by mountain-making forces, but by the elastic force of vapor from percolating waters. All these eruptive phenomena are, therefore, associated with mountain ranges.
2. Faults.—In folding, and especially overfolding, the strata are, of course, often broken and the upper wall of the fissure is pushed over the lower wall by horizontal thrust often thousands of feet, forming reverse faults and so-called thrust planes. Hence this style of faults are everywhere associated with strongly folded rocks, and, therefore, with mountains, and are indisputable evidence of horizontal crushing. In other places than mountains, and in horizontal or gently folded rocks, the other style of faults, i. e., normal faults, are more common.
3. Mineral Veins.—The filling of fissures at the moment of formation with fused matter constitute dikes; but if not so filled, they are afterwards filled by a slow process of deposit from circulating waters and then they form mineral veins. These, therefore, are also common in mountains.
4. Earthquakes.—Again, the immense dislocations of strata which we find in faults did not occur all at once, but slowly through great lapse of time; and yet on the other hand not by uniform slipping, but by jerks, a little at a time. Every such readjustment of the walls of a fissure, whether by increasing lateral pressure (reverse faults) or by gravity (normal faults), gives rise to an earthquake. Earthquakes, therefore, although not confined to, are most common in mountain regions, especially if the mountains are still growing.
Thus, leaving out the monoclinal type which seems to belong to different category, all the phenomena, major and minor, of structure and of occurrences connected with mountains, are well explained by the theory of lateral pressure acting on lines of thick sediments accumulated on marginal sea-bottoms and softened by invasion of interior heat. This view is therefore satisfactory as far as it goes, and brings order out of the chaos of mountain phenomena. It has successfully directed geological investigation in the past and will continue to do so in the future.