Genre:

Review

Publications reviewed:

Blanford 1870

Subjects:

Geology, Physical Geography, Exploration, Meteorology, Imperialism, Zoology, Ornithology

    Noting the enormous differences in the 'fresh-water and marine denudation' of geographically distant areas of the globe (66), Wallace contends that 'it is only by the study of the geology of the intertropical and glaciated regions combined, that we shall be able to obtain an adequate notion of the power of meteorological causes to mould, to furrow, and to destroy the surface of great continents'. He also suggests 'We may indeed expect, that the science of geological interpretation will be much advanced by the observations of the Indian surveyors, who have the great advantage of studying the denuding action of rain and rivers in a country where these agencies are so much more powerful than they are with us, and where they produce effects far beyond the power of the more placid meteorology of Europe'. (67)