The whole of Long Island is either a diluvial or a tertiary formation, and in which bones are sometimes found. Near the east end of that island lies the skeleton of a whale, a mile from the shore. A part of the bones are, or were, a few years ago, in a good state of preservation. The same formations extend to various distances from the sea, along the coasts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the other maritime States to Alabama. Through the greatest part of this immense tract, diluvian deposites, with shells are found. In New Jersey, from ten to twenty feet below the surface of this formation, is found a greenish blue marl, containing various shells, as Ammonites, Bellemnites, Chama, Ostrea, Terebratula, &c. (These will be found figured and described towards the end of this volume.)

Boulders of various sizes are seen in many places. In East Lyme, Ct. near the road leading from Rope Ferry to Saybrook, at a location called Keeney's hill, there is a huge block of granite, weighing by estimate, nearly four hundred tons. Any person, after a moment's consideration, would conclude that this rock must have been transported from a distance; for its present situation is in an open field, on or near the summit of a considerable hill, there being no rocks of the same, or indeed of any kind on the surface near it. On examining the neighborhood, however, the inquirer will soon find that it came from a granite hill, of small elevation, situated about two miles in a north west direction, and therefore must have been moved towards the south east, and this is confirmed by the direction of the hill on which the rock stands, and of the val

ley below. The erratic rocks of Europe have all been

moved in the same direction.

Professor Hitchcock, in his report on the Geology of Massachusetts, appears to have examined the diluvial deposits of that State, with much attention, and has shown that the current there, was also from the north and north west, towards the south east. "The conclusion,” says he, "to which I have been irresistibly forced by an examination of this stratum in Massachusetts, is that all the diluvium, which had been previously accumulated by various agencies has been modified by a powerful deluge, sweeping from the north and north west, over every part of the State, not excepting the highest mountains; and that since that deluge, none but alluvial agencies have been operating to change the surface."

"The diluvium of Plymouth and Barnstable," he continues, "consists almost entirely of white sand, some pebbles, and a very large number of boulders of primary rocks. These boulders consist chiefly of granite, sienite, and gneiss, with occasional masses of greywacke conglomerate, common felspar and porphyry. They all correspond with the rocks found in place along that coast, in the vicinity of Boston and cape Ann: and no one, it appears to me, can see the marks of degradation along that coast, who will not be convinced that a large portion of the pebbles and boulders of Plymouth and Barnstable counties, came from thence." p. 142-3.

Some of the boulders are from ten to twenty, and even thirty feet in diameter, and frequently occupy nearly the whole surface, so that one can hardly persuade himself, when he examines them at a distance, that they are not genuine ledges.

In various parts of the State, the diluvium is piled up in elevations of various extent and height; leaving corresponding depressions. Near the extremity of Cape Cod, the hills and valleys thus formed, are of astonishing height and depth, the elevations being sometimes 300 feet; and yet these inequalities are obviously the results of currents of water, since they are precisely of the same shape of those seen in the dry beds of rivers.

Examples of the diluvial action, if not equalled in the magnitude of its effects, are still as apparent to the observer in almost every part of the State.

Another class of effects, from which professor Hitchcock not only concludes that a mighty current of water once swept over the surface of Massachusetts, but from which he also infers its direction, is the existence of

grooves, furrows, and scratches upon the surfaces of the rocks that have never been moved from their places.

The adjoining sketch, fig. 4, exhibits a rock of this description, near the turnpike from Boston to Chelmsford, near the line between Bedford and Billerica, and not far from the sixteenth mile stone from Boston. The rock is intermediate between gneiss and mica slate. Its strata seams run in the direction of a a; and the grooves and scratches in the direction b b. The direction of these grooves is nearly north and south; and this is their gener. al course in every part of the State, east of Hoosac mountain. Commonly, however, they run a few degrees east of south and west of north.

A great number of other instances are adduced, presenting similar phenomena, in different parts of the State, all of which correspond with the above, in respect to the direction of the furrows.

Mr. De La Beche, after having described the various facts which exist in many parts of Britain, indicating the transportation of rocks, stones and sand, comes to the following conclusions. "The probability, therefore, as far as the above facts seem to warrant, is, that a body of water has proceeded from north to south over the British isles, moving with sufficient velocity to transport fragments of rock from Norway to the Shetland isles, and the eastern coast of England: the course of such a body of water having been modified and obstructed among the valleys, hills, and mountains, which it encountered; so that various minor and low currents having been produced, the distribution of detritus has been in various directions."

If the supposition of a mass of waters having passed over Britain be founded on probability, the evidences of such a passage, or passages should be found in the neighboring continent of Europe, and the general direction of the transported substances should be the same. Now this is precisely what we do find. In Sweden and Russia, large blocks of rock occur out of place, in great numbers; and no doubt can be entertained, that they have been transported southward from the north. The same phenomena are observed in Germany, the Netherlands, and indeed in nearly every part of the old world, where observations have been made. The lower parts of the last named countries contain huge blocks of transported rock, which

are proved by their mineralogical characters, to have been derived from the northern regions.

South of Germany and the Netherlands, various obstructions arise in the form of mountains; and if the supposition. of a mass of waters be correct, it would be thrown out of its original course, in various directions, and from lofty mountain ranges, such as the Alps, there would be a re-action, and a back wave retrograding through the valleys, would leave deposites, perhaps in the form of small hills, as is often seen in various parts of the world. M. Elie de Beaumont has described, probably, the effects of such a backward action, in an immense quantity of debris which has been driven from the central chain of the Alps, outwards.

A question of importance now presents itself, with respect to the general changes which were produced on the surface of the earth by this moving mass of waters. Did the valleys exist as they do now, when this deluge began, or were they formed by its action? De Luc, Von Bush, Beaumont, and several other geologists of the first class, have presented the world with a detail of facts, from which they all infer that the great valleys existed previously to the catastrophe which tore the rocks from the Alps, and scattered them on either side of that chain of mountains. It is most probable that the same conclusion ought to be drawn, with respect to all other great valleys, there being no good reason to believe, that they were excavated by the waters which transported the rocks and sand banks above described. Still as we have already noticed, there is no doubt but the mass of waters which moved rocks weighing hundreds of tons, often to the distance of many leagues, produced great changes on the surface of this globe, and that many, or perhaps most of the smaller valleys, as well as the beds of rivers may be attributed to its effects.

From the facts and circumstances thus thrown together, there is sufficient evidence that the earth has been deluged by a flood of water, which in its course transported great masses of rock from one place to another; excavated valleys, formed hills of diluvial detritus, and finally left its effects on the surface of the globe, which are almost every where apparent at the present day. Geologists generally agree that this deluge could not have takan place at a very remote period of time; perhaps four or five thousand years ago, and therefore this period corresponds suf

ficiently near to that at which the Mosaic history states the Noachian deluge to have happened, to convince any unprejudiced mind that the effects of water above described, can only be imputed to that flood, an account of which is given in the book of Genesis.

Animals destroyed by the deluge. The animals supposed to have been destroyed by the deluge, and whose remains have been discovered in diluvial deposites, are the following. It is not certain, however, that the destruction of the whole list was contemporaneous, but the bones of all are found in superficial gravels, sands or clays, which believers in the Mosaic account consider as belonging to the effects of the general and punitive deluge.

1. Elephas primigenius, (Blumenbach,) Primitive Elephant. Remains found in various parts of Europe. Very common in Siberia, Russia, and most northern parts of Asia, where the tusks are uninjured, and are dug up and sold for ivory to a great extent. It is also found in the northern parts of North America. This is the mammoth of the Russians.

2. Mastodon maximus, (Cuvier,) Great Mastodon.Found in Ohio, Kentucky, New York, and other parts of North America. It has tusks like the Elephant, but was a larger animal. It is the mammoth of the Americans. Of this animal, there are six species, differing chiefly with respect to size. The M. maximus is found only in North America. The other species occur in various parts of Europe, and in South America.

3. Hippopotamus major, (Cuvier,) Great Hippopotamus. Found in various parts of England, and in Bavaria.

Hippopotamus minutus. Little Hipppopotamus. It is found in France.

4. Rhinoceros. Cuvier has determined four species of this animal in the fossil state, none of which belong to either of the three living species. These fossil bones are common in some parts of Europe, but none of them have been found in America.

5. Tapirus giganteus. The bones of the gigantic Tapir are found in many parts of France, and in Bavaria, and Austria.

6. Cervus giganteus. Great Elk. Found in Ireland, Silesia, banks of the Rhine, and near Paris.

7. Cervus. Several species of extinct deer are found in various parts of Europe.