THE PHYSICAL GEOLOGY

AND GEOGRAPHY OF

GREAT BRITAIN:


A MANUAL OF BRITISH GEOLOGY.




BY

A. C. RAMSAY, LL.D. F.R.S. &c.

DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.




WITH A GEOLOGICAL MAP, PRINTED IN COLOURS.

FIFTH EDITION.



LONDON:
 EDWARD STANFORD, 55 CHARING CROSS.

1878.

(All rights reserved.)



This electronic edition prepared by Dr. David C. Bossard
from original documents in the library holdings of
Dartmouth College, Hanover New Hampshire.

Bookplate

February, 2003.

Copyright © 2003 by David C. Bossard.


Geological Map of Great Britain
Geological Map of Great Britain
8x10 map - 100 ppi
8x10 map - 400 ppi



INSCRIPTION
There rolls the deep where grew the tree.
O earth, what changes hast thou seen!
There where the long street roars, hath been
The stillness of the central sea.

The hills are shadows, and they flow
From form to form, and nothing stands;
They melt like mist, the solid lands,
Like clouds they shape themselves and go.
TENNYSON.




[v. Dedication.]

DEDICATION


TO THE MEMORY

OF

SIR HENRY THOMAS DE LA BECHE,

C. B., F. R. S.

TO WHOSE EARLY TEACHINGS IN PHYSICAL GEOLOGY

I AM SO MUCH INDEBTED,

THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED PREFACE.


[vii Preface.]

PREFACE


____________



IN this, the fifth edition, many improvements and additions have been made. Of these, the most important consists of an account of the British Formations, showing the topographical range of each in succession, their lithological characters and the general nature of their fossils. This part of the work begins with Chapter V., and ends with Chapter XVII., and it constitutes a condensed Manual of British Stratigraphical Geology from the Laurentian to the latest Pliocene strata. The substance of these 227 pages was originally written by me for Blackie's Cyclopadia, and by the kind permission of these gentlemen, I have, with some rearrangement and many additions, made much use of the matter printed in the article.

 A leading feature in this part of the book is, that I have endeavoured to give a sketch of the Physical Geography of each successive Geological Epoch, so as to induce a scenic interest in the matter, beyond what can be gathered from mere lithological descriptions and lists of fossils, which, in the bald shape that they are

[viii Preface.]

 sometimes presented to the reader, form merely the dry bones of geology.

 By attentively reading and remembering these successive revolutions of ancient geographies, the reader will more or less realise the geological history of our country, and perceive those processes of physical evolution that, in the long lapse of time, gradually impressed on Britain its present geographical phase, which to most men seems so stable, but is, in reality, no more lasting than those which went before. As keen-eyed Chaucer well expounded five hundred years ago:-
'Well may men knowen, but it be a fool,
That every part deriveth from his hool;
Of no partie ne cantle of a thing,
But of a thing that parfit is and stable,
Descending so, till it is corumpable.
And therefore of his wisé purveyance
He hath so well beset his ordinance,
That speces of things and progressions
Shullen enduren by successions,
And not eterne, withouten any lie:
This maiest thou understand and seen at eye.'

 Among many other matters, the subject of the Miocene strata of Britain has been more largely treated of, with special reference to the absence of recognised Miocene mammalia in our country, and the subject of glacial geology has, also, been treated more fully than in previous editions, while a condensed account of all the explored English bone-caves and their contents has been added, with special reference to the question of the antiquity of man.

 I have to express my acknowledgment of the debt I

[Preface. ix]

 owe to Mr. Etheridge and Mr. Sharman; to the first for much valuable information concerning the organic relics of each formation, and also for the plan of each of the sets of figures engraved as illustrative of the formations, every one of which may be considered as more or less typical of the strata or groups of strata referred to in the text, in which, however, all of the fossils figured are not always named. Mr. Sharman executed the drawings of these fossils with his accustomed skill and accuracy.

 I have also added some landscapes. One of these, the Pass of Llanberis, fig. 86, is reduced from a coloured crayon drawing by Mr. Gillespie Prout, and fig. 87 is taken from a photograph. The original of fig. 88 was drawn by the late Sir Henry De la Beche, and fig. 89, with the dwindling ice entering the lake, is the representation of an episode in the history of the glacier, supposed and drawn by myself. The blocs perches of fig. 90 was drawn by the late Professor Edward Forbes. All of these were originally published in my paper on 'The Old Glaciers of Switzerland and North Wales.' The Gorge of the Avon is from a photograph. All the other landscapes, excepting one from my 'Geology of Arran,' have been engraved directly from drawings, as they were roughly done in sepia and pencil in my geological note books, and, together with the sections and other illustrations, many of them new, they are intended to bring before the eye the meaning of various theories propounded in this work, by help of which, anyone, by a moderate exertion of thought, may realise the

[x Preface.]

 geological origin and meaning of the physical geography and scenery of our country, and thus, as he travels to and fro, add a new pleasure to those possessed before. The colours on geological maps will then no longer seem mysterious, but become easy to comprehend when associated with the geographical contours of our island.
ANDREW C. RAMSAY.

 KENSINGTON: May 16, 1878.


INDEX

[xi. Contents]

CONTENTS.


———————



CHAPTER I.
 PAGE
Modes of Formation and General Classification of Rocks,
Aqueous and Igneous 001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022
1


CHAPTER II.
The different Ages of Stratified Formations-Their successive Depositions 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 030
 23


CHAPTER III.
Denudation, Synclinal and Anticlinal Curves, unconformable Stratification, and Waste produced by Chemical action 031 032 033 034 035 036 037
 31


CHAPTER IV.
Igneous Rocks, Metamorphism, Shrinkage and Disturbance of the Earth's crust 038 039 040 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 052 053 054
 38


CHAPTER V.
Laurentian, Cambrian, and Lower Silurian Rocks 055 056 057 058 059 060 061 062 063 064 065 066 067 068
 55


CHAPTER VI.
Arenig, Liandeilo, and Bala Beds 069 070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 078 079 080 081 082 083 084 085 086 087
 69


CHAPTER VII.
Upper Silurian Series 088 089 090 091 092 093 094 095 096 097 098
 88


CHAPTER VIII.
Devonian and Old Red Sandstone Rocks 099 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118
 99


CHAPTER IX.
Carboniferous Series 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138
 119


CHAPTER X.
Permian Strata 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151
 139


CHAPTER XI.
New Red Sandstone and Marl, and Rhætic Beds 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165
 152


CHAPTER XII.
Liassic and Oolitic, or Jurassic Strata 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
 166


CHAPTER XIII.
Purbeck and Wealden Strata 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211
 201


CHAPTER XIV.
Cretaceous Series 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235
 212


CHAPTER XV.
Eocene Formations 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258
 236


CHAPTER XVI.
Miocene Epoch 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269
 259


CHAPTER XVII.
Pliocene Strata 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282
 270


CHAPTER XVIII.
The Physical Structure of Scotland—The Highlands—The great Valleys of the Forth and Clyde—The Lammermuir, Moorfoot, and Carrick Hills 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301
 283


CHAPTER XIX.
Recapitulation of the General Arrangement of the Stratified Formations of England 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314
 302


CHAPTER XX.
The Mountains of Devon, Wales, and the West of England—The Valley of the Severn, and the Oolitic and Chalk Escarpments—The Hilly Carboniferous ground of the North of England, and its bordering plains and valleys—The Physical Relation of these to the Mountains of Wales and Cumberland 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335
 315


CHAPTER XXI.
The Origin of Escarpments, and the Denudation of the Weald—Grey Wethers and the Denudation of the Eocene Strata 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351
 336


CHAPTER XXII.
The Miocene and Pliocene Formations 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360
 352


CHAPTER XXIII.
The Glacial Epoch-Existing Glacial Regions 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371
 361


CHAPTER XXIV.
Old British Glaciers 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397
 372


CHAPTER XXV.
Old British Glaciers (continued) 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411
 398


CHAPTER XXVI.
Glacial Epoch ( continued)—Submergence and Re-elevation of
Land, and Final Disappearance of British Glaciers 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431
 412


CHAPTER XXVII.
Glacial Epoch ( continued)-Origin of certain lakes 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455
 432


CHAPTER XVIII.
Newer Pliocene Epoch ( continued)—Bone-caves and Traces of Man — Migration of Terrestrial Animals into Britain across the Drift Plains — Subsequent Separation of Britain from the Continent — Denudation of the Coasts of Britain 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489
 456


CHAPTER XXIX.
British Climates and their Causes-Rainfall in different areas — Areas of River Drainage 490 491 492 493 494 495
 490


CHAPTER XXX.
Origin of River-valleys — Their Relation to Tablelands — Escarpments cut through by Rivers — Geological Dates of different River-valleys — The Severn, the Avon, the Thames, the Frome, and the Solent — Tributaries of the Wash and the Humber — The Eden and the Westernflowing Rivers — Scotland 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529
 496


CHAPTER XXXI.
Relation of River-valleys and Gravels to the Glacial Drifts — River-terraces — Bones of Extinct Mammals and Human Remains found in them — Raised Beaches, &c. 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551
 530


CHAPTER XXXII.
Qualities of River-waters — Dissolving of Limestone Rocks by Solution 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562
 552


CHAPTER XXXIII.
Soils 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578
 563


CHAPTER XXXIV.
Relation of the different Races of Men in Britain to the Geology of the Country 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589
 579


CHAPTER XXXV.
Industrial Products of the Geological Formations — Origin of Lodes — Quantities of available Coal in the Coalfields — Origin of their Basin-shaped Forms — Concealed Coalfields beneath Permian, New Red, and other Strata — Summary 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620
 590


INDEX 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639
 621



TABLE OF FIGURES

Fig
#

Page
#

Title

Map
sect

Fossil

Scene

001

013

Stratified Rocks




002

014

Inclined Strata




003

014

Bent or Contorted Strata




004

021

Igneous veins or dykes




005

025

Succession of formations




tab

030

Tab of British Formations




006

032

Denudation & Cuts




007

033

Synclinal and Anticlinal curves




008

036

Unconformable Stratification




009

039

Dykes, Lava beds & Altered strata




010

040

Granite veins, metamorphised rock




011

040

Granite and Gneiss




012

051

Heat distortion of Strata




013

059

Section across Longmynd and Shelve Country

X



014

060

Cambrian Fossils


X


015

062

Menevian Fossils (St. David's)


X


016

064

Lingula Flag Fossils


trilobite


017

066

Tremadoc Slate Fossils


Cephalopod


018

073

Llandeilo and Caradoc fossils


X


019

088

Upper Silurian Series




020

090

Upper Silurian "beaches"




021

091

Highly inclined Strata




022

093

Section of Silurian Strata near Caer Caradoc and Wenlock

X



023

094

Upper Silurian Fossils


Bellerophon, Phacops,


024

 097

Upper Silurian Fossils


corals


025

101

Old Red Sandstone and Devonian Fossils


X


026

114

Old Red Sandstone Fossils


Ganoid fish,

Crustacea


tab

119

Carboniferous Rocks Ð typical section thickness




027

121

Strata in Carboniferous Series




028

130

Carboniferous Limestone Fossils


Nautilus


029

132

Coal-measure Plants and Freshwater Shells


Calamites

Lepidodendron


030

141

Section across Coal-measures, Permian and New Red strata, Nottinghamshire

X



031

148

Permian Fossils


X


tab

152

Keuper and Bunter Strata




032

154

Section across New Red Series, Shropshire

X



tab

154

Strata in section




033

156

Triassic Fossils


Fossil Tracks


034

163

Rhætic Fossils


X


035

168

Lias Fossils


Ammonites,

Extracrinus


036

170

Lias Fossils


Ichthyosaurus


037

179

Lower Oolitic Fossils


Ammonites, Nautilus


038

186

Middle Oolitic Fossils




039

187

Section of Oolitic and Purbeck strata, Isle of Portland

X



040

189

Upper Oolite Fossils


Pecten


tab

202

Purbeck and Wealden Series




041

204

Purbeck and Wealden Fossils


X


tab

212

Cretaceous Series




042

215

Fossils of Atherfield Clay and Lower Greensand


X


043

219

Gault Fossils


X


044

225

Upper Greensand Fossils


X


045

229

Fossils of the Chalk


X


tab

238

Subdivisions of Eocene Strata




046

240

Fossils from the Thanet Sand


X


047

241

Section across Isle of Wight

X



tab

241

Strata in Section




048

243

Fossils from Woolwich and Reading Beds


X


049

246

Fossils from London Clay


Cassidaria


050

250

Fossils of Bracklesham and Barton Beds


Murex


051

253

Fossils of Headon and Bembridge Beds


Palæotherium


tab

270

Subdivisions of the Suffolk and Norfolk (Norwich) Crag




052

271

Coralline Crag Fossils


X


053

273

Red Crag Fossils


Trophon, Capulus


054

285

Strata in Sutherland and Caithness, Northern Scotland (Map, line 4)

X



055

287

Section Grampian Mountains to Lammermuir Hills

X



056

289

View of Suilven, Canisp, and the neighbourhood, Sutherland.



X

057

304

Section from the Menai Straits across Wales (Map, Line 6)

X



tab

304

Description of strata in Section




058

310

Strata of Portland Beds




059

313

Overlap of the Oolitic and the other Strata by Cretaceous Formations




060

319

Potholes in the Chalk of Savernake Forest, near Marlborough.



X

061

320

Erosion of Eocene Strata.




062

322

Section across the Cambrian and psrt of the Lower Silurian rocks of Merionethshire

X



063

325

Section across the Carboniferous Rocks of Derbyshire and lancashire.

X



064

327

Topography around Kinder Scout




065

328

Pillars of stone at Kinder Scout




066

329

tumbled ruins along valleys of erosion




067

330

Section from Snowdon to the East of England.

X



068

332

Section from Cumberland towards Bridlington Bay.

X



069

334

Section east of the Vale of eden to the German ocean

X



070

336

Strata dip at Escarpments




071

337

Wealden area escarpments




072

339

Effect of a partial submergence of the Weald (Map, line 10)

X



073

343

Diagrammatic Section across the Weald




074

346

Section across the Isle of Wight

X



075

347

Section across the Isle of Purbeck.

X



076

349

Chalk and Eocene strata denudation.




077

356

Miocene Lavas, Scuir of Eigg




078

367

Imaginary Section of a Swiss Glacier



X

079

373

Mountains of Ross-shire



X

080

381

Fidra Island, North Berwick, Firth of Forth



X

081

383

Bass Rock, Firth of Forth



X

tab

388

Boulder-Clay. Proportions of Stones and Boulders, Tynemouth




tab

389

Boulder-Clay. Stones from Magnesian Limestone, Till South of Tynemouth.




082

390

Boulder-Clay strata from Glacial epoch.




083

391

Boulder-clay strata.




084

413

Section of Cambrian Rock at Slate quarry SE of Caernarvon.




085

417

Post-Pliocene Fossils, Clyde beds


X


086

418

Pass of Llanberis



X

087

420

Moraines and Roches Moutonnées between Cwm-glas and Blaen-y-nant, Pass of Llanberis.



X

088

423

Glacier of the Pass of Llanberis



X

089

425

An episode in the history of the Glacier of Llanberis.



X

090

426

Roche Moutonnée with Blocs Perchès, Pont-y-gromlech, Pass of Llanberis.



X

091

428

Old glacier cirques in Arran, from Lagan Hills.



X

092

442

Lake of Geneva and Soundings




093

442

Old Glacier of the Rhone, covering what is now the Lake of Geneva.




094

450

Loch Erriboll, Sutherland.



X

095

452

Mouth of Loch Etive, Connel Ferry.



X

tab

466

animal bones in Boulder-Clay caverns




tab

475

quantity of animal bones in Caves in Somerset




096

479

Brixham Cave cross-section

X



097

497

General section across the Lower silurian strata of Cardiganshire




098

500

denudation and faults




099

501

formation of escarpment of the Beacons of Brecon and the Caermarthen Fans, South Wales.




100

505

General Arrangement of the Lower Secondary Formation before the Deposition of the Upper Secondary strata.




101

507

Early Overlap of the Cretaceous strata on the Lower Secondary Formation.




102

509

Post-Miocene Westerly dip of the Cretaceous strata of England.




103

512

Gorge of the Avon at Clifton, Bristol, looking down the rive.



X

104

521

Section from the cambrian Mountains across the Vale of Eden to the Northumberland Coalfield.

X



105

531

Boulder-clay filling a valley




106

532

Cross-section through the Thames




107

534

Diagram of river bends




108

534

typical section a across river bend




109

534

typical section b across river bend




110

535

Formation of a Cliff by a stream.




111

537

terraces cut out by rivers




112

540

Palæolithic flint hatchet, Herne Bay


flint hatchet


113

545

Neolithic hatchet, bed of the Thames, Erith


hatchet


114

561

Dissolving of rocks: accumulations of flint




115

601

Diagram showing the Origin of the Basin-shaped form of many Coalfields.