The Structure & Distribution of Coral Reefs

By Charles Darwin and Thomas George 1833-1923 Bonney

Book Overview

This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520002911
• ISBN13: 9780520002913
• Release Date: January 1962
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 205 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Darwin's first great achievement

On the voyage of the Beagle--before he had ever seen a coral reef--Darwin had deduced an explanation of the geological processes that created them by applying Charles Lyell's explanation of uplift and subsidence. Accordingly, he posited that the Chilean coast had been rising while the ocean floor was subsiding. When he finally explored some barrier reefs, he knew that since the polyps could not live deeper than 120 feet, and all the coral below that was dead, the confirmation of the reefs' great depth was evidence of subsidence--a theory that has stood the test of time. This is an attractive and affordable edition of Darwin's treatise.