Neptunism

Neptunism is a discredited theory of geology proposed in the late 18th century and early 19th century that proposed rocks formed from the crystallization of minerals in the early Earth's oceans. It was named for Neptune, the ancienct Roman name for the ancient Greek god of the sea (posieden). Neptunism, at one point considered to be a reputable scientific theory, lost mainstream scientific support as the doctrine of Uniformitarianism was shown to fit better with the geologic facts as they became better known.