How did Charles Lyell\'s ideas contribute to Charles Darwin\'s thinking about evolution? Darwin was influenced by Lyell\'s idea that species from neighboring areas can replace species in areas wiped out by catastrophic events such as floods. Darwin was influenced by Lyell\'s idea that gradual changes in geological features have been occurring in the same way from prehistory to the present. Darwin was influenced by Lyell\'s idea that organisms change over time because genetic mutations accumulate in them. Lyell encouraged Darwin to read Wallace\'s ideas about natural selection.A) Darwin was influenced by Lyell\'s idea that species from neighboring areas can replace species in areas wiped out by catastrophic events such as floods.B) Darwin was influenced by Lyell\'s idea that gradual changes in geological features have been occurring in the same way from prehistory to the present.C) Darwin was influenced by Lyell\'s idea that organisms change over time because genetic mutations accumulate in them.D) Lyell encouraged Darwin to read Wallace\'s ideas about natural selection. Solution (B) Darwin was influenced by Lyell\'s idea that gradual changes in geological features have been occurring in the same way from prehistory to the present. According to Lyell, the geological processes acting in the past were much the same as those we see today — forces such as sedimentation in rivers, erosion by wind, or deposition of ash and lava by volcanic eruptions. Darwin was profoundly influenced by Lyell\'s Principles. Darwin was influenced by Lyell\'s idea that gradual changes in geological features have been occurring in the same way from prehistory to the present. According to Lyell, the geological processes acting in the past were much the same as those we see today — forces such as sedimentation in rivers, erosion by wind, or deposition of ash and lava by volcanic eruptions. Darwin was profoundly influenced by Lyell\'s Principles..