Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
In presenting his case, Lyell began with a history of geology that turned the
uniformitarian-catastrophist debate into a simplistic choice. Things either happened cata-
strophically or they happened gradually. Casting the debate between uniformitarianism and
catastrophism as between rationality and superstition, he decried the tendency of previous
generations to conjure up grand catastrophes when the steady action of processes still op-
erating today could explain the world.
Eager to make his mark challenging catastrophists, Lyell also was keenly aware of his
own need to secure a steady income. Geologizing did not pay the bills. So with an eye on
securing a chair in mineralogy or geology, and not wanting to be too provocative, he kept
references to the Mosaic chronology and the biblical flood to a minimum.
Lyell staked out a position opposing the habit of invoking grand catastrophes to explain
geological evidence.
We hear of sudden and violent revolution of the globe, of the instantaneous elevation of mountain chains, of par-
oxysms of volcanic energy… . We are also told of general catastrophes and a succession of deluges, of the altern-
ation of periods of repose and disorder, of the refrigeration of the globe, of the sudden annihilation of whole races
of animals and plants, and other hypotheses, in which we see the ancient spirit of speculation revived, and a desire
manifested to cut, rather than patiently to untie, the Gordian knot.
12
In cataloging observations on physical processes now in operation, Lyell emphasized how
erosion and uplift occur episodically. He calculated that it could take a big river like the
Ganges more than seventeen centuries to carry away the tremendous mass of rock uplifted
by a single great earthquake.
Lyell argued that the laws of nature governing geological processes remain constant,
even though their effects vary through time. Contemporary reviewers misinterpreted this as
advocating no role for catastrophes in earth history. But this was not what Lyell meant. He
described the tremendous erosive power of floods resulting from the failure of topographic
barriers holding back lakes, specifically linking catastrophic floods with earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions. With this nod to geological catastrophes, Lyell argued that processes
still in operation could carry on for long enough to sculpt topography.
In dispensing with the need for divine intervention after the initial Creation, Lyell had
taken one more step on the path toward full abandonment of a global flood as a geological
