James Hutton and Charles Lyell provided which of the following ideas that paved the way for Darwin's thinking?

A) the surface features of Earth were formed by catastrophic events and the fossil record showed that species have evolved
B) the surface features of Earth were formed by catastrophic events and those events are still occurring
C) the surface features of Earth were formed gradually and the fossil record showed that species have evolved
D) the surface features of Earth were formed slowly and gradually and the geological processes are still at work