To S. P. Woodward 9 [July 1860]1
Down Bromley Kent
9th
My dear Sir
I am very sorry to say that I cannot answer one of your questions.—2 Von Buch or Johnston’s Phys. Atlas would probably tell number of Volcanos.—3 I am nearly certain there are the best remarks of anybody’s on antiquity of sub-aerial volcano in Lyell Principles or Elements on Auvergne;4 I remember being astonished at their antiquity.— Degradation would prevent any sub-aerial volcano in a recognizable condition being of excessive antiquity. St. Helena of which upper part at least is sub-aerial, struck me as of extreme antiquity. The Canary isld. from littoral miocene shells must as a volcanic group be very old.—5
I entirely & absolutely disagree with Von Buch’s elevation-crater-theory—indeed I think it proved false.6 As there are so-considered volcanic ash beds in oldest formations, viz Silurian, no doubt sub-aerial Volcanos has always existed,—or at least probably, for on reflexion I do not suppose volcanic mud & ashes when stratified under water could be distinguished.—
I am very glad to hear about your Brother.7
I am sorry that I cannot answer your queries.—
In Haste | Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin
The Cordillera were volcanic with islands since early part of Cretaceous period or older; but I do not say that the volcanoes were sub-aerial—some stream however flowed in not deep water—8
Iceland from Miocene plants must have been volcano since that period— I suspect that this oldest ascertained volcano.—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Buch, Christian Leopold von. 1825. Physicalische Beschreibung der Canarischen Inseln. Berlin.
Buch, Leopold de. 1836. Description physique des iles Canaries, suivie d’une indication des principaux volcans du globe. Translated by C. Boulanger. Paris: F. G. Levrault.
Coral reefs: The structure and distribution of coral reefs. Being the first part of the geology of the voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Capt. FitzRoy RN, during the years 1832 to 1836. By Charles Darwin. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1842.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
DNB: Dictionary of national biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. 63 vols. and 2 supplements (6 vols.). London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1912. Dictionary of national biography 1912–90. Edited by H. W. C. Davis et al. 9 vols. London: Oxford University Press. 1927–96.
Volcanic islands: Geological observations on the volcanic islands, visited during the voyage of HMS Beagle, together with some brief notices on the geology of Australia and the Cape of Good Hope. Being the second part of the geology of the voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Capt. FitzRoy RN, during the years 1832 to 1836. By Charles Darwin. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1844.
Woodward, Samuel Pickworth. 1860. Volcanoes. In Encyclopædia Britannica. 8th edition. 21 vols. and index. Edinburgh. 1855–61.
Summary
Regrets he cannot answer SPW’s questions.
Discusses antiquity of subaerial volcanoes.
Disagrees "entirely & absolutely" with L. von Buch’s "elevation-crater-theory".
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2630
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Samuel Pickworth Woodward
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Natural History Museum, Library and Archives (General Special Collections MSS DAR 2)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2630,” accessed on 8 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2630.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 8