Abstract
THE most valuable part of this important work is the very full account, occupying some 200 pages, of all the epochs of mountain-building since the close of the pre-Cambrian. A very clear picture of the geological structure of Europe is brought out, starting with the primeval Europe of the pre-Cambrian shields, and continuing through the main tectonic subdivisions built up by the successive phases of Caledonian, Her-cynian, and Alpine movements. Altogether about twenty definite phases are recognised. Three of these are grouped as Caledonian (Ordovician to Lower Devonian); five as Variscan or Hercynian (Upper Devonian to Permo-Triassic), and the rest as Alpine (Kimeridgian to recent). The broad periodicity often referred to in text-books clearly cannot be accepted except for limited areas. Dr. Stille continues to hold the view that earth-movements are mainly due to the contraction of the outer crust, a theory that is at present subject to very severe criticism from various sources. But although the author says nothing of the possibility of expansion, and little about iso-stasy, he maintains, in opposition to Suess, that upward movements have occurred not only relatively to downward movements, but also with reference to the centre of the earth. It is a great pity that the details of igneous activity have not been included with those of earth-movements. The task of compiling all the information must have been a heavy one, but a little^ more work would have sufficed to make the book a storehouse of petrological data of the utmost value. As it is, we are indebted to Dr. Stille for the most complete account that has yet appeared of the earth-movements of Paleozoic and later times.
Grundfragen der vergleichenden Tektonik.
Prof. Dr.
H.
Stille
Von. Pp. vii + 443. (Berlin: Gebrüder Borntraeger, 1924.) 22.50 gold marks.
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Grundfragen der vergleichenden Tektonik . Nature 117, 192 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/117192b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/117192b0