The Earth's Shifting Crust by Charles Hapgood - wire of information

THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH 177
gravitational adjustment, and, moreover, the widespread
fracturing accompanying the movement would facilitate ad-
justment.
This suggestion of Daly's also has great significance for the
understanding of the absence of much volcanism in the polar
regions. It has been observed that these regions are relatively
quiet, with respect to volcanoes. There is only one volcano in
the whole continent of Antarctica, so far as we know. What
can be the reason for this? It may be thought that this may
result from the polar cold, but this cannot be true. The influ-
ence of surface temperatures penetrates only a short distance
into the crust; volcanoes originate from greater depths. The
solution may be found in the fact that, according to our
theory, both the present polar areas are areas that were
moved poleward in the last movement of the crust, and were
therefore compressed. Consequently, the crust in those areas
was less fractured and now has greater strength to prevent
volcanic action. This increased strength may also have the
effect of adding to the ability of the crust to sustain the in-
creasing weight of the icecap, without giving way, thus tending
to add to the uncompensated proportion of the icecap. In
addition, Antarctica may well show isostatic distortions of
the crust itself, equivalent to the positive anomalies in India.
The importance of finding a reasonable solution for the
profound contradictions in the theory of isostasy has been
emphasized by several recent writers. Professor Bain, of Am-
herst, writes:
Isostatic adjustment exists only in imagination. I present the ex-
istence of peneplains in witness thereof. Establishment of the
Rocky Mountain peneplain or the Old Flat Top Peneplain
of the
western states requires erosion of at least 10,000 feet of the rock over
the main arch of the Front Range. The rivers wore the land down
slowly to grade equilibrium without observable rise of the unloaded
region or subsidence of the loaded region throwing all gravity out
of equilibrium. Then in the brief interval of a small part of a
geological epoch the land surface rose to re-establish near gravity
equilibrium.
. . .
(19).