A History of Agriculture in India v1.c7.14

v1.c7.14

The process was begun by the outpouring of the Deccan trap lava through numerous fissures during the late Cretaceous and the early Eocene. The abnormal tension of the earth's crust caused by the extraordinary sinking of the Tethys thoroughly upset the internal equilibrium of the earth. The equilibrium was adjusted only by the most violent changes starting with great outbursts of volcanism at many centres and ending in gigantic convulsions that forced up the deposits of the Tethys into a great mountain system. It is estimated that about 1,666,000 cubic kilometres of lava, which exceeds in bulk the entire Himalayas, was poured out from the bowels of the earth.