Lyell's book Principles of Geology, which Darwin read on board the HMS Beagle, argued in favor of which of the following concepts?
A) Earth's surface is shaped mainly by occasional catastrophic events.
B) Meteorite impacts may have been a major cause of periodic mass extinctions.
C) Earth's surface is shaped by natural forces that act gradually and are still acting.
D) The processes that shape Earth today are very different from those that were at work in the past.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Lyell's Principles of Geology argued in favor of uniformitarianism, which posits that the Earth's surface is shaped by natural forces that act gradually and are still acting today. This concept was influential in Darwin's thinking about evolution, as it suggested that slow, gradual processes could slowly shape and change organisms over time.

Lyell's Book Principles of Geology, Which Darwin Read on Board