Abstract
I HAVE no desire to constitute myself a champion of Mr. Ball's high tides, but I do not think that the testimony of the Coal-Measures, to which Mr. S. V. Wood calls attention, will decide much. These deposits are mainly of non-marine origin, the plants being terrestrial, and the prevailing mollusc, Anthracosia, closely resembling Unio. Marine strata do indeed occur, but in almost inappreciable proportion. If it be objected that, in these marine episodes, the hypothetical tidal wave must have wrought fearful havoc; I would suggest that there is no proof that in the Carboniferous epoch the speed of the wave was enormouly greater than at present. When we reflect that by that time nearly, if not quite all the classes of the animal kingdom had come into existence; we can hardly avoid the conclusion that the Coal-Measures were formed in a period which, in comparison with the age of the globe, must be regarded as comparatively recent. Considering how slight is the denuding power of modern tides, I doubt if even a treble velocity would materially increase the effect.
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CALLAWAY, C. Hypothetical High Tides. Nature 25, 436 (1882). https://doi.org/10.1038/025436c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/025436c0
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