Permian Period
the name given to the closing era of the Carboniferous age, which was a time of decline for Palæozoic life, and of transition toward a new phase of geological history. In the United States the Permian rocks are confined to the interior continental basin, and occur in the portion of it W. of the Mississippi, especially in Kansas.
The rocks are limestones, sandstones, red, greenish, and gray marls or shales, gypsum beds and conglomerates, among which the limestones in some regions pre- sum beds and conglomerates, among dominate. The Permian period was so called by Murchison, because he found them largely developed in that portion anof Russia which composed the of Russia which composed the anactual government of Perm forms a cient kingdom of Permia, of which the part. three parts being connected by iron three parts be bridges. Recife is the principal seat of business. In it are the custom house, ts being connected by iron the exchange, a marine arsenal, etc.
San Antonio has broad streets and many palace, the theater, the military arsenals, fine houses, and contains the episcopal dential quarter. The principal exports etc. Boa Vista is the fashionable resiports Manchester goods and hardware. are sugar and cotton; and the chief imguese in the 16th century. From 1630 Pernambuco was founded by the Portunow the third largest city in Brazil, and under whom it prospered greatly. It is to 1654 it was in the hands of the Dutch, the second in commercial importance. about 2,100,000. The principal culti- Pop. about 220,000. The province has vated crops are the sugar cane and cot- Pop. about 220,000. The province has ton; the forests yielding valuable timber, including Brazil wood, often called Pernambuco wood. ble only on account of being the center nambuco wood. including Brazil wood, often called Perof heavy fighting during the World on the Somme, 94 miles N. of Paris, nota- War, especially during offensive in the spring of 1918. (See War, especially during the great German ing the great German 24, 1918, the British were heavily attacked by the Germans and driven back. Though a failure in its main objective, the German offensive succeeded in gaining a considerable area of territory, in the form of a wide salient, of which ing a considerable area of territory, in chemistry to certain dioxides in which