PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10062, 29 August 1918, Page 6

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

A meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society was held in tho Dominion Aiuseum last evening. Mr George Hogben, C.M.G., ALA., F.G.S., presided, and there wore about three dozen members present. Dr J. Allan Thomson’s motion "That an historical and literary section bo formed” was carried unanimously. Air C. A. Cotton, D.Sc., F.G.S., read an interesting paper on “Mountains,” dealing mainly with tho origin of mountains (other than volcanic) irom a geological aspect.- It was found, ho stated, that the rocks of mountains were intensely crumpled and shattered owing to horizontal movement which compressed arches upward, the strata being originally horizontal. The old idea was that mountains were piles of arches of rock heaped up, and sculptured afterwards by streams. Nowadays it was considered that after originating in that way tho mountains wore worn down to low relief “by erosion, the mass afterwards being broadly arched upwards and then sculptured a second time by strpams. This process might be repeated several times. Next tho lecturer referrd to a typo of mountain more represcrfitcd by those of New’ Zealand where that folded mass was broken into blocks .by lines of fraotuers. Some of those were pushed up, some evenly, and others tilted, and on this initial mass erosion began to work, producing the present relief. In a discussion that ensued Air Hogben gave reasons for believing that no con. traction is taking place in tho earth’s surface, but ho said the present period was ono of excessive activity in mountain building.