The Rift Valleys and Geology of East Africa

Abstract

PROF. GREGORY is to be congratulated on having found, or made, opportunity to complete his work in East Africa, begun so brilliantly and adventurously in 1892–3. Returning to the country for a short visit in 1919, under favourable auspices and vastly improved conditions, he was able to collect much new information in rapid traverses, often by motor-car, where, as we are now reminded, on his previous journey his researches had been curtailed by the truculence of drunken warriors, or by drought, scarcity of game and ferocity of lions, or other such amenities of the eld “safari” travel. Meanwhile there has been considerable exploration of this and neighbouring regions by other observers, and Prof. Gregory has essayed in the volume before us to combine what is known of the geology of East Africa into a coherent whole. That he has performed the task with courage and skill need scarcely be said; every scrap of information finds its appropriate place in his scheme and helps to consolidate it, so that we have a clear and logical account of the geological history of the region throughout the ages. All the rocks are classified into formations with local names and placed in position in the geological scale.

The Rift Valleys and Geology of East Africa.

By Prof. J. W. Gregory. (with ten appendices by various authors). Pp. 479 + 20 plates + 5 maps. (London: Seeley, Service, and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 32s. net.