John LeConte Quote

Here, then, we have the oldest known rocks. Are they, then, absolutely the oldest — the primitive rocks, as some imagine? By no means. They are stratified rocks, and therefore consolidated sediments, and therefore, also, the debris of still older rocks, of which we know nothing. Thus, we seek in vain for the absolutely oldest, the primitive crust.

A Compend of Geology, Part III, Chapter II (pp. 263-264)

Here, then, we have the oldest known rocks. Are they, then, absolutely the oldest — the primitive rocks, as some imagine? By no means. They are...

Here, then, we have the oldest known rocks. Are they, then, absolutely the oldest — the primitive rocks, as some imagine? By no means. They are...

Here, then, we have the oldest known rocks. Are they, then, absolutely the oldest — the primitive rocks, as some imagine? By no means. They are...

Here, then, we have the oldest known rocks. Are they, then, absolutely the oldest — the primitive rocks, as some imagine? By no means. They are...