You have all heard of volcanoes, those
wonderful vents in the surface of the earth out of which pour masses of
lava, cinders and ashes, and the like. Now, it is a matter of
observation and experience that all volcanoes are placed in areas in
which the surface of the earth is undergoing elevation, or at any rate
is stationary; they are not placed in parts of the world in which the
level of the land is being lowered. They are all indications of a
great subterranean activity, of a something being pushed up, and
therefore naturally the land either gives way and lets it come through,
or else is raised up by its violence. And so Mr. Darwin, being
desirous not to merely put out a flashy hypothesis, but to get at the
truth of the matter, said to himself, "If my notion of this matter is
right, then atolls and encircling reefs, inasmuch as they are dependent
upon subsidence, ought not to be found in company with volcanoes; and,
'vice versa', volcanoes ought not to be found in company with atolls,
but they ought to be found in company with fringing reefs.
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