A. At that time did the first living beings appeared on Earth?

B. When did the first land animals appear?

C. How were mountains formed on Earth?  

Text for reading

397. The primary period - The first effect of the cooling process was the solidification of the outer surface of the molten mass, which formed a solid crust that was thin at first but little by little became thicker. This crust was composed of extremely hard rock called granite, thus labeled because of its granulated appearance. One may distinguish three main substances in it: feldspar, quartz or rock crystal, and mica; this last has a metallic luster although it is not, in fact, a metal.

398. The granite layer was thus the first to form on the globe, which it encases completely and constitutes a sort of bony framework; it is the direct product of consolidated molten matter. It is upon this layer, and in the cavities that appeared on its tortured surface, where the successively deposited strata of other terrains formed afterward. What distinguishes the granite layer from the latter is the absence of any stratification; that is, it forms a compact and uniform mass throughout its thickness and it is not stratified. The effervescence of the incandescent matter must have produced numerous, deep fissures, through which this matter poured out.

399. The second effect of the cooling process was to liquefy some of the matter contained in the air in the state of vapor, and which then precipitated onto the surface of the soil. Consequently, there were showers and lakes of sulfur and bitumen, veritable streams of iron, copper, lead and other molten metals. This matter infiltrated into the fissures to create veins and lodes of metals.

400. Under the influence of these various agents, the granite surface underwent alternating decompositions; mixtures were produced that formed the primitive ground per se, distinct from rock of granite, but in indistinct masses, and without regular stratification. Next came the waters, which, falling upon the fiery ground, re-vaporized and re-fell in torrential rains, again and again, until the temperature finally allowed it to remain on the ground in a liquid state. It was with the formation of the granite layer that the series of geological periods began, to which it would be proper to add that of the primitive, incandescent state of the globe.

401. Such was the aspect of that primary period, a veritable chaos of all elements mixed together and seeking their place, a period in which no living being could have possibly existed. Thus, one of its distinctive characteristics in geology is the absence of any trace of plant or animal life whatsoever. It is impossible to assign a definite timeframe to that first period as well as the following ones.

402. The transition period - At the beginning of the transition period, the solid granite crust was still very thin and offered only very weak resistance to the effervescence of the fiery matter that it covered and compressed. Thus, dilations were produced, numerous fissures through which the interior lava escaped. The ground displayed only slight irregularities. Shallow waters covered nearly the entire surface of the globe, with the exception of elevated parts that formed frequently submersed lowlands.

403. The air was little by little purged of the heaviest matter that had been gasified temporarily, and which, upon condensing through the effect of the cooling process, precipitated onto the surface of the ground to be carried away and dissolved by the waters afterward. When we speak of the cooling process at that time, one must understand the term in a relative sense, that is, in relation to the primitive state, because the temperature must still have been boiling hot. The dense aqueous vapors that rose from this entire immense liquid surface fell back again in torrential, hot rain that obscured the air. Nevertheless, the rays of the sun began to appear through the misty atmosphere. One of the last substances of which the air must have been purged – because it is naturally in the gaseous state – was carbonic acid, which at the time formed one of its constituent parts.

404. At this time the layers of sediment started to form upon the ground, deposited by waters loaded with silt and other diverse matter suitable for organic life. Then, the first living beings of the plant and animal kingdoms appeared; small in number at first, one finds more and more vestiges of them as one ascends the layers of this formation. It is worth noting that life manifests everywhere as soon as conditions are favorable, and that each species is born once the conditions proper for its existence are produced.

405. The first organic beings that appeared on the earth were plants of the least complex organization, designated in botany by the names cryptogams, dicotyledons and monocotyledons, that is, lichens, mushrooms, mosses, ferns and herbaceous plants. One does not yet see any trees with woody trunks except palm types, whose spongy stem is analogous to that of herbs.

406. The animals of this period, which came after the first plants, were exclusively marine types. At first, there were the polyparia, radiata and zoophytes: animals whose simple and, shall I say, rudimentary organization closely approximated that of plants. Later came the crustaceans and fish whose species no longer exist nowadays.

407. Under the influence of heat and humidity, and as a consequence of the excessive carbonic acid – a gas unsuitable for terrestrial animals to breathe but necessary for plants – disseminated in the air, the exposed grounds quickly became covered with lush vegetation, while at the same time aquatic plants multiplied in the swamps. Plants of this kind, which today are simple herbs of a few centimeters, reached prodigious heights and diameters.

408. As a result of the displacement of the waters, the grounds that produced such masses of vegetation were submerged over and over, and were covered again and again with sediments, while those that dried out were in turn decorated with similar vegetation. Hence, many generations of plants were alternately destroyed and renewed. The same did not occur with the animals, which, since they were all aquatic, could not undergo such alternations.

409. The plant remains accumulated over a long series of centuries to form extremely thick layers. Under the action of heat, humidity and the pressure exerted by later soil deposits, and undoubtedly due to various chemical agents, gases, acids and salts produced by a combination of primitive elements, this plant matter underwent a fermentation that converted it into coal. Coal mines are therefore the direct product of the decomposition of heaps of plants accumulated during the transition period, which is why coal may be found on nearly every continent.

410. The secondary period - With the end of the transition period, the colossal vegetation and the animals that characterized that era disappeared, either because the atmospheric conditions were no longer the same or because a series of cataclysms wiped out everything that lived on the earth. It is probable that both causes contributed to this change.

411. From the mineral aspect, the secondary period is characterized by numerous and solid strata that attest to a slow formation in the midst of the waters and signal different well-characterized eras. The vegetation spreads less quickly and is less colossal than in the preceding period, undoubtedly as a result of the decrease in heat and humidity, along with the supervening modifications in the elements comprising the atmosphere. The herbaceous and bulbous plants are joined by those with woody trunks and the first trees per se.

412. The animals are still aquatic, or are amphibious at best; animal life on dry land makes little progress. A prodigious quantity of shell animals develops in the seas as a result of the formation of calcareous matter; new fish species of a more perfected organization than in the prior period appear. The first cetaceans arrive.

413. The animals most characteristic of this period are the gigantic reptiles, among which may be noted: the ichthyosaurus, a species of fish-lizard that reached a length of nearly 10 meters; the plesiosaurus, another marine reptile, as large as the ichthyosaur, its extremely long neck was bent like that of a swan; the teleosaurus, which seems to be miniatures of today’s crocodiles; the megalosaurus, a large lizard, species of crocodile 14-15 meters in length; the iguanodon, the largest lizards that has ever appeared on the earth, it measured 20 to 25 meters from head to tail end and its snout was topped by a bony horn similar to the today’s iguana; the pterodactyl, a bizarre animal the size of a swan possessing a reptile-like body, a bird-like head and bat-like flesh membranes that connected its toes.  

Answers to Proposed Questions 

A. At that time did the first living beings appeared on Earth?

Was the so-called transition period, when the shallow waters covered nearly the entire surface of the globe, with the exception of elevated parts that formed frequently submersed lowlands. Then came the first living beings of the plant and animal kingdom appeared. The first organic beings appeared on earth were the vegetables of the least complex organization. The animals of this period, which came after the first plants, were exclusively marine types. At first, there were the polyparia, radiata and zoophytes: animals whose simple and, shall I say, rudimentary organization closely approximated that of plants. Later came the crustaceans and fish whose species no longer exist nowadays. (Genesis, Ch. VII, items 22 to 24)

B. When did the first land animals appear?

It was in the tertiary period. During the two preceding periods, the grounds not covered with water were not very extensive and were still marshy and frequently flooded; that is why there were only aquatic animals or amphibians. The tertiary period, which saw the formation of vast continents, is characterized by the appearance of land animals. This period also saw the arrival of birds as well as the vast majority of the animal species in existence today. (Genesis, Ch. VII, items 31, 32 and 41)

C. How were mountains formed on Earth?

During the periods preceding tertiary, due to its thinness the globe’s solid crust displayed very weak resistance to the action of the interior fire. This envelope tore easily to allow molten matter to spread freely across the surface of the ground. This was no longer the case when it acquired a certain thickness. The fiery matter, compressed in every part like boiling water in a sealed container, ended up producing a sort of explosion. The granite mass split violently at a multitude of points and was crisscrossed with fissures like a cracked vase. Along the course of these crevasses the rising-then-sinking solid crust formed peaks, mountain chains and their offshoots. Some of the untorn parts of the envelope were merely raised, whereas at other points, depressions and excavations were produced. The surface of the ground thus became very uneven; the waters, which until then had almost uniformly covered a great part of its area, were driven to the lowest places, leaving in the dry parts vast continents or isolated mountain peaks that formed islands. Such was the great phenomenon that was completed in the tertiary period, and which transformed the appearance of the globe. It was produced neither instantaneously nor simultaneously at all points, but successively and at various times remote from one another. (Genesis, Ch. VII, items 33, 34 and 36)