Travels in North America
With Geological Observations on the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia

A vivid description of North American geology written in the form of a travel diary, first published in 1845.

Charles Lyell (Author)

9781108020206, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 September 2010

356 pages, 8 b/w illus. 2 colour illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2 cm, 0.45 kg

Sir Charles Lyell (1797–1875) was one of the most renowned geologists of the nineteenth century. His Principles of Geology (also reissued in this series) laid the foundations of evolutionary biology, and greatly influenced Darwin. Lyell's most important contribution to modern geology was his refining and popularising of the concept of uniformitarianism, the idea that the earth has been formed through slow-acting geological forces over billions of years. These volumes, first published in 1845, are the result of Lyell's 1841 lecture tour across the United States and Canada, in the course of which he made many observations on the formation of the American landscape. Using the popular format of a travel diary, Lyell provides vivid and detailed descriptions of North American geology, with discussions of important geological sites. Volume 1 contains his travels from Boston to North Carolina.

Preface
1. Voyage
2. Distant and near view of the Falls of Niagara
3. Tour from the Niagara to the Northern Frontier of Pennsylvania
4. Excursion to New Jersey
5. Wooded ridges of the Alleghany Mountains
6. Fall of snow and sleigh-driving at Boston
7. Pine barrens of Virginia and North Carolina
8. Tour to Charleston, South Carolina
9. Return to Charleston
10. Wilmington, N.C.
11. Philadelphia
12. New York City
13. Meeting of Association of American Geologists at Boston.

Subject Areas: History of the Americas [HBJK]