Geological Observations on South America. Darwin Charles

Chonos Archipelago, the island of Lemus (latitude 44 degrees 30') was, according to M. Coste, suddenly elevated eight feet, during the earthquake of 1829: he adds, "Des roches jadis toujours couvertes par la mer, restant aujourd'hui constamment decouvertes." ("Comptes Rendus" October 1838 page 706.) In other parts of this archipelago, I observed two terraces of gravel, abutting to the foot of each other: at Lowe's Harbour (43 degrees 48'), under a great mass of the boulder formation, about three hundred feet in thickness, I found a layer of sand, with numerous comminuted fragments of sea-shells, having a fresh aspect, but too small to be identified.

       THE ISLAND OF CHILOE.

      The evidence of recent elevation is here more satisfactory. The bay of San Carlos is in most parts bounded by precipitous cliffs from about ten to forty feet in height, their bases being separated from the present line of tidal action by a talus, a few feet in height, covered with vegetation. In one sheltered creek (west of P. Arena), instead of a loose talus, there was a bare sloping bank of tertiary mudstone, perforated, above the line of the highest tides, by numerous shells of a Pholas now common in the harbour. The upper extremities of these shells, standing upright in their holes with grass growing out of them, were abraded about a quarter of an inch, to the same level with the surrounding worn strata. In other parts, I observed (as at Pudeto) a great beach, formed of comminuted shells, twenty feet above the present shore. In other parts again, there were small caves worn into the foot of the low cliffs, and protected from the waves by the talus with its vegetation: one such cave, which I examined, had its mouth about twenty feet, and its bottom, which was filled with sand containing fragments of shells and legs of crabs, from eight to ten feet above high-water mark. From these several facts, and from the appearance of the upraised shells, I inferred that the elevation had been quite recent; and on inquiring from Mr. Williams, the Portmaster, he told me he was convinced that the land had risen, or the sea fallen, four feet within the last four years. During this period, there had been one severe earthquake, but no particular change of level was then observed; from the habits of the people who all keep boats in the protected creeks, it is absolutely impossible that a rise of four feet could have taken place suddenly and been unperceived. Mr. Williams believes that the change has been quite gradual. Without the elevatory movement continues at a quick rate, there can be no doubt that the sea will soon destroy the talus of earth at the foot of the cliffs round the bay, and will then reach its former lateral extension, but not of course its former level: some of the inhabitants assured me that one such talus, with a footpath on it, was even already sensibly decreasing in width.

      I received several accounts of beds of shells, existing at considerable heights in the inland parts of Chiloe; and to one of these, near Catiman, I was guided by a countryman. Here, on the south side of the peninsula of Lacuy, there was an immense bed of the Venus costellata and of an oyster, lying on the summit-edge of a piece of tableland, 350 feet (by the barometer) above the level of the sea. The shells were closely packed together, embedded in and covered by a very black, damp, peaty mould, two or three feet in thickness, out of which a forest of great trees was growing. Considering the nature and dampness of this peaty soil, it is surprising that the fine ridges on the outside of the Venus are perfectly preserved, though all the shells have a blackened appearance. I did not doubt that the black soil, which when dry, cakes hard, was entirely of terrestrial origin, but on examining it under the microscope, I found many very minute rounded fragments of shells, amongst which I could distinguish bits of Serpulae and mussels. The Venus costellata, and the Ostrea (O. edulis, according to Captain King) are now the commonest shells in the adjoining bays. In a bed of shells, a few feet below the 350 feet bed, I found a horn of the little Cervus humilis, which now inhabits Chiloe.

      The eastern or inland side of Chiloe, with its many adjacent islets, consists of tertiary and boulder deposits, worn into irregular plains capped by gravel. Near Castro, and for ten miles southward, and on the islet of Lemuy, I found the surface of the ground to a height of between twenty and thirty feet above high-water mark, and in several places apparently up to fifty feet, thickly coated by much comminuted shells, chiefly of the Venus costellata and Mytilus Chiloensis; the species now most abundant on this line of coast. As the inhabitants carry immense numbers of these shells inland, the continuity of the bed at the same height was often the only means of recognising its natural origin. Near Castro, on each side of the creek and rivulet of the Gamboa, three distinct terraces are seen: the lowest was estimated at about one hundred and fifty feet in height, and the highest at about five hundred feet, with the country irregularly rising behind it; obscure traces, also, of these same terraces could be seen along other parts of the coast. There can be no doubt that their three escarpments record pauses in the elevation of the island. I may remark that several promontories have the word Huapi, which signifies in the Indian tongue, island, appended to them, such as Huapilinao, Huapilacuy, Caucahuapi, etc.; and these, according to Indian traditions, once existed as islands. In the same manner the term Pulo in Sumatra is appended to the names of promontories, traditionally said to have been islands (Marsden's "Sumatra" page 31.); in Sumatra, as in Chiloe, there are upraised recent shells. The Bay of Carelmapu, on the mainland north of Chiloe, according to Aguerros, was in 1643 a good harbour ("Descripcion Hist. de la Provincia de Chiloe" page 78. From the account given by the old Spanish writers, it would appear that several other harbours, between this point and Concepcion, were formerly much deeper than they now are.); it is now quite useless, except for boats.

       VALDIVIA.

      I did not observe here any distinct proofs of recent elevation; but in a bed of very soft sandstone, forming a fringe-like plain, about sixty feet in height, round the hills of mica-slate, there are shells of Mytilus, Crepidula, Solen, Novaculina, and Cytheraea, too imperfect to be specifically recognised. At Imperial, seventy miles north of Valdivia, Aguerros states that there are large beds of shells, at a considerable distance from the coast, which are burnt for lime. (Ibid page 25.) The island of Mocha, lying a little north of Imperial, was uplifted two feet, during the earthquake of 1835. ("Voyages of 'Adventure' and 'Beagle'" volume 2 page 415.)

       CONCEPCION.

      I cannot add anything to the excellent account by Captain Fitzroy of the elevation of the land at this place, which accompanied the earthquake of 1835. (Ibid volume 2 page 412 et seq. In volume 5 page 601 of the "Geological Transactions" I have given an account of the remarkable volcanic phenomena, which accompanied this earthquake. These phenomena appear to me to prove that the action, by which large tracts of land are uplifted, and by which volcanic eruptions are produced, is in every respect identical.) I will only recall to the recollection of geologists, that the southern end of the island of St. Mary was uplifted eight feet, the central part nine, and the northern end ten feet; and the whole island more than the surrounding districts. Great beds of mussels, patellae, and chitons still adhering to the rocks were upraised above high-water mark; and some acres of a rocky flat, which was formerly always covered by the sea, was left standing dry, and exhaled an offensive smell, from the many attached and putrefying shells. It appears from the researches of Captain Fitzroy that both the island of St. Mary and Concepcion (which was uplifted only four or five feet) in the course of some weeks subsided, and lost part of their first elevation. I will only add as a lesson of caution, that round the sandy shores of the great Bay of Concepcion, it was most difficult, owing to the obliterating effects of the great accompanying wave, to recognise any distinct evidence of this considerable upheaval; one spot must be excepted, where there was a detached rock which before the earthquake had always been covered by the sea, but afterwards was left uncovered.

      On the island of Quiriquina (in the Bay of Concepcion), I found, at an estimated height of four hundred feet, extensive layers of shells, mostly comminuted, but some perfectly preserved and closely packed in black vegetable mould; they consisted of Concholepas, Fissurella, Mytilus, Trochus, and Balanus. Some of these layers of shells rested on a thick bed of bright-red, dry, friable earth, capping the surface of the tertiary sandstone, and extending, as I observed whilst sailing along the coast, for 150 miles southward: at Valparaiso, we shall presently see that a similar red earthy mass, though quite like terrestrial mould, is really in chief part of recent marine origin. On the flanks of this island of Quiriquina, at a less height than the 400 feet, there were spaces several feet square, thickly strewed with fragments of similar shells. During a subsequent visit of the "Beagle" to Concepcion, Mr. Kent, the assistant-surgeon, was so kind as to make for me some measurements with the barometer: he