Public-domain ebook
The Subterranean World
by G. Hartwig
Language: en1,208 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Science - Earth/Agricultural/Farming
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #52466.
About this book
The Subterranean World is a comprehensive scientific survey of the hidden realms beneath the Earth, written by the German geologist Georg Hartwig in 1871. The opening passage frames the book as a description of the “mysterious laboratories of fire” revealed by earthquakes and volcanoes, and promises a sketch of subterranean phenomena that have both enriched and imperiled humanity. From that point the work proceeds chapter by chapter through geological revolutions, fossils, underground heat, waters, volcanoes, earthquakes, caves, and the full spectrum of mineral resources, each section introduced with detailed headings and illustrated by engravings of strata, fossils and mining operations. The book’s scope is encyclopedic, linking natural processes to their practical impact on industry and culture.
Hartwig writes in a formal, didactic voice characteristic of late‑nineteenth‑century scientific literature, employing dense descriptive prose and extensive technical terminology. The style is scholarly yet accessible to educated readers of the period, with frequent references to contemporary authorities such as Lyell and Scrope. It will appeal to those interested in the history of geology, mining engineers, natural‑history enthusiasts, and anyone who enjoys a richly illustrated, exhaustive treatise on the earth’s inner workings.
The opening · free to read
There lie concealed the mysterious laboratories of fire, which reveal to us their existence in earthquakes and volcanic explosions. There, in successive strata, repose the remains of extinct animals and plants. There many a wonderful cavern may be seen, with its fantastic stalactites, its rushing waters, and its noble halls. There have been deposited the rich stores of mineral wealth—the metals, the coals, the salt, the sulphur, &c.—without whose aid man would never have been more than a savage.
The aim of the present work has been to describe the wonders of this hidden world in their various relations to man, now raising him to wealth, and now dooming him to destruction.
The author trusts that he may have succeeded in giving a sketch of the phenomena resulting from the action of subterranean forces, which, with his account of the wonders of the sea, of the tropics, and of the frozen regions, may impart to the reader a fair idea of the history and present condition of the wonderful world in which we live.
SALON, NEAR LUDWIGSBURG: July 6, 1871.
CONTENTS.
The book keeps going
Keep reading, and see it illustrated
Reading is free forever. Sign up and watch scenes appear while you read.
Scenes Storieta drew for other classics.
![Cover of Geology, Vol. 1 [of 3]: Geologic processes and their results](/covers/74316.jpg)
