Although modern geology appeared in the eighteenth century, the Earth was already studied by the Greco-Roman philosophers. The Greek philosopher Theophrastus (371 to 287 BC) described and classified minerals according to their physical properties. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) described minerals, crystals and fossils. Also some medieval Muslim scholars proceeded in the field of geology. Al-Biruni (973 – 1048) described the geology of the Indian subcontinent and believed this area was once a sea. Avicenna (981 – 1037) described the formation of mountains as an interplay between tectonic forces and erosion . He believed that mountains had made this form which aproved that the Earth is very old. The Chinese scholar Shen Kuo (1031-1095) independently came to similar ideas.
In Europe one of the first naturalists was Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Da Vinci understood that the fossil shells that he found in the Apennines are indeed remnants of life from earlier times. The Venetian physician Georgius Agricola (1494-1555) was particularly interested in the mining industry. He shared the first rocks in a methodical way: in four groups of consecutive age and consolidation. Nicolaus Steno (1638 – 1686) investigated how rock layers are formed and proposed three laws, with which he was the founder of the stratigraphy.
Over Six Hundred Million years ago the rocks in Cape Town were just beginning to form. Over the next hundred million years they went through tremendous trauma and reformation. It is fascinating that we can see into the past by looking at these geological features that are still around today! You can get in your car and go on a beautiful and informative drive through Chapmanâ??s Peak that will take you between layers of Granite and Sandstone. You can hike through craggy mountains and actually sit on the ancient stone that was in place long before your own ancestors.
A huge ocean wave known as a tsunami occurs when there is an unexpected movement on the ground of the ocean. The tsunami sweeps across the ocean at a very fast speed, which results in massive waves hitting the shoreline with a deadly force. The movement can be causeb by an earthquake, volcano eruption or a landslide that happens on the ocean floor; even a meteorite slamming into the ground could be responsible for triggering a tsunami.
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