answersLogoWhite

0

What did Charles Lyell discover?

Updated: 8/11/2023
User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

Best Answer

He believed that earth must be very old and subject to the same sort of natural processes as today such as: erosion, earthquakes, glacial movements, volcanoes, and decomposition of plants and animals. So, he believed in UNIFORMITARIANISM, which pretty much means the present is the key to understanding the past.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

Building on the pioneering work of the 18th-century Scottish geologist James Hutton, Charles Lyell developed the theory of uniformitarianism. This theory says that the natural processes that change the Earth in the present have operated in the past at the same gradual rate. Lyell supported his theory with geological observations that he made in the course of extensive travels in Europe and North America. ChasLyell is also considered one of the founders of stratigraphy - the study of the layers of the Earth's surface. He developed a method for classifying strata, or layers, by studying ancient marine beds in Western Europe. Lyell observed that the marine beds closest to the surface, therefore the most recent, contained many species of shell-bearing molluscs that still live in today's seas. On the other hand, deeper, older strata contained fewer and fewer fossils of living species. Lyell divided the rocks of this period into three epochs, based on decreasing percentages of modern species. The names he proposed-Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene-are still used today.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

He posited the earth as being very old and that the processes that formed the earth are the same processes we see around us. This he called the concept of uniformitarianism and Darwin used this concept as the basis for gradualism in the change of species over time and the age of the earth as the basis for natural selection having enough time to transform species, one to another.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

What evidence did lyell use to date the earth.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Devoloped the theory of uniformitarianism. The theory of uniformitarianism means that the natural effects that changed the earth now have happened at the same gradual rate.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

he is fmous for inventing the toilet

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

food

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What did Charles Lyell discover?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

When was Charles Lyell born?

Charles Lyell was born on November 14, 1797.


What is Charles Lyell's birthday?

Charles Lyell was born on November 14, 1797.


When was Charles Henry Lyell born?

Charles Henry Lyell was born in 1875.


When was Sir Charles Lyell born?

Sir Charles Lyell was born on November 14, 1797.


What is Sir Charles Lyell's birthday?

Sir Charles Lyell was born on November 14, 1797.


When did Sir Charles Lyell die?

Sir Charles Lyell died on February 22, 1875 at the age of 77.


Who wrote Principles of Geology?

Charles Lyell


In the 1800s Charles Lyell emphasized that?

it is dog


What did Charles Lyell invent?

Charles Lyell is well known for inventing the theory of geology. He was originally a British lawyer before writing "Principles of Geology".


How old is Sir Charles Lyell?

Sir Charles Lyell was born on November 14, 1797 and died on February 22, 1875. Sir Charles Lyell would have been 77 years old at the time of death or 217 years old today.


Was Charles lyell an evolutionist?

Lyell became one after Darwin was heavily influenced by his theory about gradual geological processes.


Who created principle of uniform change?

Charles Lyell