(#166248) The climatic changes of later geological times: a discussion based on observations made in the cordilleras of North America by J. D. Whitney. JOSIAH DWIGHT WHITNEY.

The climatic changes of later geological times: a discussion based on observations made in the cordilleras of North America by J. D. Whitney. Cambridge, [Massachusetts]: University Press, John Wilson and Son, 1882. 29x22.5 cm, pp. [i-v] vi-xiv [xv-xvi] [1] 2-394, flyleaves at front and rear, original red pebbled cloth, front panel stamped in gold and blind, spine panel stamped in gold, rear panel stamped in blind, brown coated endpapers, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. First edition. Published as "Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at Cambridge, Massachusetts," volume VII, number 2. Whitney's study analyzed the evidence of former glaciation in various parts of the world, especially North America. In his introduction, Whitney stated that the first two chapters were originally intended for inclusion in his The Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Contributions to American Geology, Vol. I (Cambridge, [Massachusetts]: University Press, J. Wilson and Son, 1880), but the information on glaciation was so extensive it warranted separate treatment. The first chapter, "The Glacial and Surface Geology of the Pacific Coast," drew extensively upon the field research of the California Geological Survey in the Sierra Nevada. Although Whitney found extensive evidence of glaciation in the range, he minimized its overall effect in changing topography -- "no where have such wild and absurd statements in regard to the work done by ice been published as in discussing the geological features of the Sierra Nevada" -- and carefully documented his contention that glaciers never existed in Yosemite Valley. Currey and Kruska 395. A fine copy. (#166248).

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