Obsolete geology theories

movement of Earth's continents relative to each other

thumb|280px|Development of a mountain range by sedimentation of a geosyncline and isostatic uplifting. This is the "collapse" of the geosyncline. A geosyncline (originally called a geosynclinal) is an obsolete geological concept to explain orogens, which was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before the theory of plate tectonics was envisaged. A geosyncline was described as a giant downward fold in the Earth's crust, with associated upward folds called geanticlines (or geanticlinals), that preceded the climax phase of orogenic deformation.

right|200px|thumb|Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749–1817), the founder of neptunism Neptunism is a superseded scientific theory of geology proposed by Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749–1817) in the late 18th century, who proposed that rocks formed from the crystallisation of minerals in the early Earth's oceans.

Plutonism is the geologic theory that the igneous rocks forming the Earth originated from intrusive magmatic activity, with a continuing gradual process of weathering and erosion wearing away rocks, which were then deposited on the sea bed, re-formed into layers of sedimentary rock by heat and pressure, and raised again. It proposes that basalt is solidified molten magma. The theory lead to plutonic (intrinsic) rock classification, which includes intrinsic igneous rocks such as gabbro, diorite, granite and pegmatite. The name plutonism references Pluto, the classical ruler of the underworld an

hypothesis

Pneumatolysis is an obsolete geologic term for magma emitting gasses that alter surrounding rock or crystallize minerals. Pneumatolysis is now considered a type of hydrothermal interaction.

theory in geography

hypothesis

Polflucht (from German, flight from the poles) is a geophysical concept invoked in 1922 by Alfred Wegener to explain his ideas of continental drift.