GEOLOGICAL EXCURSIONS 
 
 THE ISLE OF WIGHT, 
 
 AND ALONG THE 
 
 ADJACENT COAST OF DORSETSHIRE.
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY R. CLAY, BREAD STREET RILL.
 
 geological Excursions 
 
 THE ISLE OF WIGHT, 
 
 ADJACENT COAST OF DORSETSHIRE : 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE MOS 
 
 INTERESTING GEOLOGICAL PHENOMENA, AND ORGANIC REMAINS. 
 
 GIDEON ALGERNON MANTELL, ESQ. LL.D. E.R.S. 
 
 AUTHOR OP " THE MEDALS OP CRRATIO.V;" 
 '"THOUGHTS ON ANIMALCULES;*' 
 
 rHEHFIEIjD 
 
 " That beautiful Island, which he who once sees never forgets, through 
 \hatever part of the wide world his tutu re path may lead him." 
 
 Sip. Walter Sci.tt's Sur^eorCs Daughtet 
 
 LONDON 
 
 HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET. COVENT GARDEN. 
 MDCCCXLYII.
 
 HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 
 PRINCE ALBERT, 
 
 AS A TESTIMONY Of ADMIRATION AND RESPECT 
 
 FOE HIS ROYAL UIGHNESS's 
 
 LIBERAL ENCOURAGEMENT OE BRITISH SCIENCE AND ART, 
 
 AND ARDENT SUPPORT OP EVERY ATTEMPT 
 
 TO AMELIORATE THE CONDITION AND PROMOTE THE HAPPINESS 
 
 OE THE HUMAN RACE, 
 
 THESE UNPRETENDING PAGES 
 
 ARE, BY PERMISSION, MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
 
 BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS'S 
 
 HUMBLE AND DEVOTED SERVANT, 
 
 GIDEON ALGERNON MANTELL. 
 
 Chcstbr Square, 
 London. 
 
 2091 1 76
 
 PKEFACE. 
 
 The Isle of Wight is described by Sir Walter 
 Scott, as " that beautiful Island, which he icho once 
 sees, never forgets, through whatever part of the wide 
 world his future path may lead Mm." And if this 
 favoured spot deserve such an encomium from the 
 Poet, and the ardent admirer of beautiful and 
 picturesque scenery, it possesses stronger claims 
 to the attention of the natural philosopher, for the 
 strata of which it is composed, present phenomena 
 of the highest interest, and abound in those 
 " Medals of Creation" which elucidate some of 
 the most important revolutions, recorded in the 
 early pages of the earth's physical history. 
 
 The geological characters of the Isle of Wight 
 are well known to the scientific inquirer, through 
 the labours and publications of Sir Henry Englefield, 
 Mr. Thomas Webster, and other able observers ; 
 while the beautiful models of the stratification of
 
 viii I'UKFACE. 
 
 the Undercliffj and southern coast, constructed 
 l.\ Captain Tbbetson, and the collection of fossils 
 accompanying them, which arc exhibited in the 
 Polytechnic Institution of London, afford an 
 instructive exposition of the strata and organic 
 remains of this interesting district. 
 
 Bui notwithstanding these admirable illustra- 
 tions, I may venture to affirm, that the Geology 
 of the Island is but little known or regarded 
 by the majority of the intelligent persons, who 
 every season flock by thousands to its shores, and 
 rapidly traversing the accustomed routes, visit the 
 picturesque localities noted in the numerous hand- 
 hook-, and take their departure, without suspecting 
 thai they have been travelling over a country, rich 
 with the spoils of nature, and teeming with objects 
 of the highesl interest to the instructed observer. 
 
 Even the inhabitants, with hut a few honourable 
 exc( ptions, manifest an extraordinary degree of 
 apatb.3 in ever} thing relating to the Geology of 
 the Island. In vain will the stranger seek for 
 public collections, illustrative of its physical struc- 
 ture, and fossil remains. In one week, it would 
 be easj for a practical geologisl to collect a more 
 instructive series of specimens, than is contained
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 in the Museum of the Scientific Institution of the 
 capital of the Island — Newport. 
 
 Conceiving that this indifference and neglect 
 may, in a great measure, be attributable to the want 
 of a popular guide to the geological phenomena of 
 the Island, for the well informed, but unscientific 
 visitors, I have attempted to supply the deficiency 
 in the present volume ; which is designed to afford 
 a familiar explanation of the physical structure 
 of the Isle of Wight, and of the adjacent coast 
 of Dorsetshire, and of the organic remains which 
 abound in many of the localities that will come 
 under our notice, in the course of these Ex- 
 cursions. 
 
 For the convenience of the geologist, and of 
 others who may be desirous of investigating the 
 stratification of the Island in detail, a list is 
 subjoined of the principal works and memoirs 
 hitherto published on the subject, and of which 
 a general review is comprised in the following 
 pages. 
 
 19, Chester Square, Pimmco. 
 January, 1847.
 
 " If we look with wonder upon the great remains of human works, such as 
 
 the columns of Palmyra, broken in the midst of the desert; the temples of 
 
 Pestum, beautiful in the decay of twenty centuries; or the mutilated frag- 
 
 ■ Greek sculpture in the Acropolis of Athens, or in our own museums, 
 
 of the genius of artists, and power and riches of nations now passed 
 .may; witli how much deeper feeling of admiration must we consider those 
 grand monuments of nature which mark the revolutions of the Globe; conti- 
 
 iken into islands, one land produced, another destroyed; the bottom 
 oftheo* a fertile soil; whole races of animals extinct, and the 
 
 d exuviae of one class covered with the remains of another, and upon 
 the graves of past generations— the marble or rocky tomb, as it were, of a 
 former animated world — new generations rising, and order and harmony 
 established, and a system oi life and beauty produced out of chaos and death ; 
 proving the infinite power, wisdom, and goodness of the Okeat Cause of all 
 tilings'" Sir H. Davy.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Hints for Visitors to the Isle of Wight, p. 17. 
 
 Description of the Plates, pp. 23 — 30. 
 
 Figures of Fossil Shells from the Freshwater Tertiary Deposits of the 
 
 Isle of Wight, PL I. 
 Fossil Shells and Teeth of Mammalia from the same strata, PL II. 
 
 from the Marine Tertiary Deposits, PI. III. 
 
 ■ of the Greensand Deposits, PI. IV. 
 
 do. do. PI. V. 
 
 from the Wealden Deposits, PI. VI. 
 
 Plan of the Geological Structure of the Isle of Wight, PL VII. p. 94. 
 
 Alum Bay, from Headon Hill, PL VIII. p. 146. 
 
 Displaced Strata at Headon Hill, PI. IX. p. 150. 
 
 Chalk Cliffs at Freshwater'Gate, PL X. p. 194. 
 
 Compton Bay, from Afton Downs, PL XL p. 210. 
 
 Blackgang Chine, from the Seashore, PL XII. p. 234. 
 
 Vertical Chalk and Flint Strata on Brading Down, PL XIII. p. 252. 
 
 Wealden Cliffs, in Compton Bay, PL XIV. p. 274. 
 
 Culver Cliffs, from the Sea, PLXV. p. 336. 
 
 View of the Dorsetshire Coast, from Worbarrow Hill, PL XVI. p. 370. 
 
 Lulworth Cove, from the West, Pl.XVLl. p. 376. 
 
 West Lulworth and Cove, PL XVIII. p. 330. 
 
 Durdle Cove, PL XIX. p. 386. 
 
 Geological Map of the Isle of Wight, PL XX. \>. 30. This Map is 
 
 inserted opposite p. 430.
 
 XM CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. — Introductory, 31. Geological principles, 57. Geology of the 
 
 South-east of England, 50. Tabular arrangement of the strata, 63. 
 
 Order ul' superposition of tlie .strata, 65. London eocene deposits, Go. 
 
 Chalk formation, 66. Wealden formation, 68. London and Brighton 
 
 J section, 72. Geological mutations, 74. 
 
 Chapter II.— South-western railway, 77. Strata of the London basin, 78. 
 London clay. mi. Artesian wells, 81. The railway sections, 83. South- 
 ampton station. 86. Southampton to Ryde, SO. Geological structure of 
 the Isle of Wight, 90. Rivers of the Isle of Wight, 'Ji>. From Cowes to 
 Ryde, 97. 
 
 Chapter III.— Freshwater eocene strata, J00. Binstead quarries, 102. 
 i ,'. rein-deer, 103. Eocene strata at Binstead, 105. Fossil charas, 108. 
 land and river shells, 110. Fossil turtles, 112. Fossil remains of 
 extinct mammalia, 115. 
 
 Chapter IV.— From Hyde to Culver Cliff, 121. Geology of Whitecliff Bay, 
 124. The strata and organic remains, 127. Sandown Bay, 132. Red 
 Cliff, 135. Bones of the Iguanodon, 137. 
 
 t hapter V.— From Ryde, through Newport, to Alum Bay, 139. The river 
 Medina, 140. Newport to Calbourne and Alum Bay, 142. The coast 
 from Ryde to Alum Bay, 145. Headon Hill and Alum Bay, 149. 
 Geology of Headon Hill and Alum Bay, 153. Sequence of Geological 
 mutations, 159. Organic remains, 160. Yarmouth and Lymington, 162. 
 ( hristchurch Bay. 164 strata of Hordwell Cliffs, 166. Hordwel] 
 tip-Mis, in. 
 
 Chapter VI.— The Chalk formation, 17.;. Subdivisions of the cretaceous 
 '"■ 17; '- Han alk through the Isle of Wight, 176. The 
 
 upper and lower chalk, 17.S. Chalk and flint, 170. Silicified fossils of 
 thecb.dk. 181. Fossil animalcules, 183. The Firestone, 1*5. The Gait, 
 ind, 189. Summary of the Cretaceous system, 192. 
 
 Chapter VI] -From Yarmouth to Freshwater Gate, 194. Scratchell's 
 
 Vertical chalk strata, 199. Shattered flints, 202. The Chalk 
 
 il configuration oi chalk hills, 206. from 
 
 ical sections of the southern 
 213. Pebbles and Shingle, 216.
 
 CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 Chapter VIII. — From Compton Bay to Atherfield Point, 219. Atherfiehl 
 cliffs, 221. Greensand series, 223. Neocomian, or Atherfield strata, 227. 
 Greensand fossils, 229. The cliffs at Blackgang Chine, 233. IheUnder- 
 cliff, 237. Geological structure of the Undercliff, 240. Fossils of the 
 Firestone strata, 242. Fossil fuci, 247. Southern range of Chalk Downs, 
 249. Coast of the Undercliff, 251. The coast from Ventnor to Sandown 
 Bay, 257. 
 
 Chapter IX.— The Wealden formation, 262. Nature of river deposits, 264. 
 Wealden strata of the Isle of Wight, 269. Excursion to Brook Bay, 271. 
 Cliffs from Compton Chine to Brook Point, 272. Brook Point, 277. 
 Petrified trees, 279. Structure of the fossil wood, 282. 
 
 Chapter X.— Organic remains of the Wealden, 286. Fossil vegetables, 
 286. Endogenites erosa, 288 Fossil cycadeous plants, 290. Clathraria 
 Lyellii, 292. Fossil shells, 299. Sussex and Petworth marble, 299. 
 Fossil freshwater bivalves, 302. Unio Valdensis, 302. Fossil cyprides, 
 305. Fossil fishes, 307. 
 
 Chapter XI. — Fossil bones of reptiles, 309. The Iguanodon, 312. The 
 Hylaeosaurus, 322. Megalosaurus, 323. Cetiosaurus, 324. Streptospon- 
 dylus, 325. Plesiosaurus, 325. Fossil turtles, 326. Imprints on sand- 
 stone, 326. Ancient ripple-marks, 328. Summary of the Wealden 
 formation, 331. The Country of the Iguanodon, 332. Voyage round the 
 Isle of Wight, 335. 
 
 Chapter XII. — Voyage from Yarmouth to Swanage, 345. Swanage Bay, 
 348. The Purbeck strata, 353. Fossils of the Purbeck strata, 354. The 
 Portland oolite, 359. Geographical distribution of the strata, 361. 
 Southern coast of Purbeck, 362. Kimmeridge coal, 367. South-west 
 coast, 368. Worbarrow Bay, 375. Lulworth Cove, 376. Fossil trees, 
 383. Durdle Cove, 385. Chaldon Downs, 389. Ringstead Bay, 390 
 Pseudo-volcano, 392. The Isle of Portland, 393. The petrified forest, 
 395. Organic remains, 400. Retrospect, 403. The Oolitic epoch, 404. 
 The Wealden epoch, 405. The Cretaceous epoch, 406. The Tertiary 
 epoch, 407. The Pre-historic epoch, 408. Corollary, 409. 
 
 List op Works relating to the " Geology of the Isle of Wight, and the Coasts 
 of Hampshire and Dorsetshire," 415. 
 
 Index of Places, 419. 
 
 General Index, 421. 
 
 Geological Map of the Isle of Wight, opposite p. 430.
 
 LIST OF LIGNOGRAPHS. 
 
 tion from London to the Southern Coast of the 1. 01 Wight, p. 71. 
 
 2. Diagram of the original position of the Tertiary, Chalk, and 
 
 Wealden Form jtions, p. ', k 
 
 3. [deal Section tV London to the Southern Coast of the Islf. of 
 
 Wight, p. 75. 
 
 issil Skull of a Hi i s o Binstead, p. L04. 
 
 i p] of < ■ • . from Whitecliff Baj , p. li 19. 
 li. Sternal plate of a Fossil fresliu ater Tl'KTLi:, from Binstead, p. 110. 
 
 on of thi Carapace of a Fossi] Turtle, from St. Helen's, p. 111-. 
 
 8. Diagram of the Eocene Strata in Whiteclifi Bay, p. L26. 
 
 9. Section from Shanklin to Bembridge Down, across Sandown 
 
 Bay, p. 1 
 
 ! \ \t t.t.Y of the Medina, near Itookley, p. 111. 
 
 1 1. Diagram of the Eocene Strata at Alum Bay and Headon Hill, 
 
 ]i. 155. 
 
 12. Fossil Rotalia, in flint, p. I s I 
 
 L3. Nautilus elegatis, from nearVentnor, p. 186. 
 
 I 1. Ammonites various, from near Bonchurch, p. 187. 
 
 15. Ammonites Mantetti, from near Bonchurch, p. 187. 
 
 16. Section from Aeton Downs to Grange Chine, p. 215. 
 
 ction from Barn's Chine to St. Catherine's Down, p. 215. 
 
 18. Section from 1>i;hok POINT to ShALCOMB DOWN, p. 220. 
 
 19. Fossil Teeth of a species of Wybodus, from Atherfield, ]). 233 
 
 20. Section of the Underi mi i. near Ventnor, p. 256. 
 
 21. Leaf of Lonchopieris Manielli, from the Cliff near Brook, p. 287. 
 
 Stem, of Clathrai Brook Bay, p. 293. 
 
 23. Clathraria Lyellii, from Bonchurch, p. 297. 
 
 24. Petiole oi I sttii, p. 296. 
 
 25. Fossil Gy prides, from Brook Bay, p 
 
 2(J. Thigh-bone of tin / tanodon, from Brook Bay, p. 315. 
 
 II \ I ooth ol thi from Brook Bay, p. : i I T - 
 
 - tion across Sw w m,i Bay, p. 348. 
 19. \ polished slice of Pi rbei e Marble, p. 353. 
 
 80. A Tooth of the Swanagi Fossil I u,i p. 357. 
 
 outh-wes! Coasl ofthe Isle oi Pdrbeck, p 31 I 
 or Bays, on the i loasl of Pdrbeck, p. ■'>', I. 
 on of • it. \\ e ' ridi ol Lin wori b I !o\ e, p. 157!'. 
 tion of the Bast side of Lulworth Cove, p. 380. 
 
 85. Strata in the (iiii on the Basl of Li lwortb Cove, p. 384. 
 
 86. Cliffs from Whitenori Point to Bats-Corner, p
 
 HINTS FOR VISITORS 
 
 Wbt ^jsle of TOt$t. 
 
 As the tourists from Southampton, Gosport, 
 Portsmouth, &c, generally land either atRyde or 
 Cowes, the following Excursions are so arranged, 
 as to afford an explanation of the geological phe- 
 nomena, when proceeding from either of those 
 towns, to the eastern, or western, extremity of 
 the Island. But as the preliminary sketch of the 
 Geology of the South-east of England (p. 59), 
 conveys a general idea of the structure of the 
 country, it is immaterial at what place the observer 
 may commence his explorations. 
 
 " Brannons Travelling Map of the Isle of Wight" 
 will be found very convenient for reference ; and 
 " Barbers Picturesque Illustrations,'''' which contains 
 numerous excellent engravings of the most inter- 
 esting scenery, will serve as a beautiful illustrative 
 Atlas to our geological descriptions. 
 
 B
 
 [8 HINTS FOIl TOURISTS. 
 
 (.'owes. — In tlic vicinity of this town there are 
 no interesting sections of the strata easily acces- 
 sible to visitors, nor any locality rich in organic 
 remains. The blocks of freshwater limestone 
 scattered along the shore, contain the usual fossils 
 of the tertiary lluvio-inarine deposits. 
 
 Ryde.* — The freshwater tertiary strata are 
 fully displayed in the vicinity of Ryde. A de- 
 lightful walk to the village of Binstead, conducts 
 to several quarries of the limestone which is 
 extensively used as a building material along the 
 northern district of the Island. Fine specimens 
 may here be collected of fossil freshwater shells, 
 (see PL I. and II.); and these quarries are worth 
 visiting again and again, for the chance of finding 
 teeth or bones of mammalia, similar to those 
 which occur at Montmartre, near Paris, and 
 of which some relics have been discovered 
 at Binstead, by Mr. Pratt, and Mr. Prestwich, 
 (see PL II.). From Hyde, the Tertiary strata 
 at Brading, Bembridge, St. Helen's, and White 
 Cliff Bay — the Chalk at Culver Cliffs — and 
 the Wealden deposits at Sandown Bay — may be 
 visited; and afterwards the Firestone, Gait, and 
 
 * At Ryde information may be obtained as to the best localities, and mode 
 
 of visiting them, of Mr. G. FoWLSTOKE, Lapidary, 1, Victoria Arcade; who 
 
 has generally on sale a choice collection of pebbles and other specimens, 
 
 te Island; man; oi the so called I li ol W igh( 
 
 arc either German or Scotch agate^ '
 
 HINTS FOR TOURISTS. 19 
 
 Greensand, of the Chalk formation at Shanklin, 
 and along the Undercliff. 
 
 If the direct road from Ryde to the western 
 extremity of the Island is taken, we pass by 
 several quarries at Binstead, on the road-side ; and 
 traverse the interior of the Island, by that pic- 
 turesque spot, Wooton Bridge, to Newport, and 
 from thence to Alum Bay. Grove's hotel, on the 
 summit of the hill, is an excellent resting-place for 
 the visitor desirous of examining the highly inter- 
 esting tertiary strata at Headon Hill, and Alum 
 Bay. From Cowes, by Newport, the same route 
 may be taken. 
 
 By the steamers we may proceed to Yar- 
 mouth,* which is the best locality for surveying 
 the western parts of the Island. The tertiary strata 
 at Colwell Bay, Headon Hill, and Alum Bay, are 
 within a moderate distance ; and magnificent 
 sections of the Chalk are displayed from the 
 Needles, along Scratchell's Bay to Freshwater 
 Gate (see PI. X.). From the latter place ex- 
 cursions may be made either over Afton and 
 Shalcomb Downs, (see PI. XI. and XII.), or 
 under the Cliff by Compton Bay, to Brook Point, 
 
 * Mr. Butler, of the Bugle Inn, Yarmouth, an intelligent pracitcal 
 Ornithologist, will afi'ord the stranger the requisite information as to the most 
 interesting localities, and the best means of visiting them. He has often 
 accompanied me in my geological rambles. 
 
 B l 2
 
 20 PEDESTRIAN TOUR BOUND THE ISLAND. 
 
 where the fossil forest of the Wealden is exposed. 
 From Brook, the Atherfield Coast-guard station 
 may be visited, where there is a foot-track down 
 the Cliff to the sea-shore, near the junction of 
 the freshwater beds of the Wealden, with the 
 marine strata of the Greensand above ; a locality, 
 which the researches of Dr. Fitton have made 
 classic ground to the geologist. 
 
 A pedestrian tour round the Island may be 
 accomplished in ten or twelve days, and the prin- 
 cipal localities visited, and a good collection ob- 
 tained of the organic remains peculiar to each 
 formation. The following notes of a trip made 
 last summer by my young friends, the Messrs. 
 Gladstone, of Stockwell, ma)-, perhaps, be useful 
 to some of my readers. 
 
 ■■ Monday. — By railway from London to Southampton — to 
 by steamer. Examined the blocks of freshwater lime- 
 bore • and collected specimens of Limn: us, 
 (PI. I. figs. ::. ! . Planorbis (PI. I fig. 1 . and other shells. By 
 coach to Newport ; walked to Carisbrook Castle, and after a stroll 
 ihc ruins, examined the chalk pits of Mountjoy, 
 
 Rode to Calbourne, and visited the quarries of 
 tr> shwater limestone. Walked to Grove's hotel on the summit of 
 the hill, over Alum Hay. In the afternoon strolled to the sea- 
 Bhoreal the fool ofHeadon Hill, and along Alum Bay; collected 
 numerous fossil shells from the freshwater strata at the former, 
 and marine Bhells from the London Clay at the latter place. 
 
 Wednesday.- Walked over the Down- to Freshwater Gate: 
 ami from thence bj Alton and Mialcomb Downs to Brook Point
 
 PEDESTRIAN TOUR HOUND THE ISLAND. 2 I 
 
 where we examined the fossil forest of the Wealden. Pro- 
 ceeded by Brixton through Atherfield to Blackgang Chine ; the 
 unfavourable state of the weather prevented our reaching Ather- 
 field Point. 
 
 Thursday. — Proceeded along the Undercliff by St. Lawrence, 
 Yentnor, Bonchurch, and Luccomb Chine, toShanklin ; stopping 
 occasionally to collect specimens, and enjoy the scenery. Went 
 along the shore to Dunnose Point, and gathered numerous 
 fossils: among which were some leaflets of the Wealden fern 
 {Lonchopteris Mantelli), associated with terebratula, and tri- 
 gonice. Slept at Shanklin. 
 
 Friday. — Walked by the sea-side to Sandown Bay, where we 
 collected many Wealden fossils ; proceeded to Braciing. 
 
 Saturday. — Visited the Culver Cliffs and White Cliff Bay, and 
 obtained many fossils similar to those from the north-western 
 part of the Island. In the evening walked to Ryde. 
 
 Monday. — Went to the quarries at Binstead, and collected 
 several good specimens of fossil freshwater shells of the same 
 species as those at Calbourne. Left for Portsmouth ; visited the 
 Dock Yards : to London by the late train." 
 
 These young gentlemen went unattended, and 
 without any previous knowledge of the Isle of 
 Wight, except what they had gathered from con- 
 versations with me, and returned home with an 
 instructive series of the organic remains of the 
 Island; thus affording a practical illustration of 
 Mrs. Barbauld's admirable story of "Eyes and No 
 Eyes?
 
 " To discover order and intelligence in scenes of apparent 
 wildness and confusion, is the pleasing task of the geolo- 
 gical inquirer."— Dr. Paris.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 ORGANIC REMAINS. 
 
 PI. I. — Fossil shells, from the freshwater Eocene 
 strata of the Isle of Wight, at Headon Hill, Calbourne, 
 Shalfleet, and Binstead. 
 
 PI. II. — Fossil shells from the same deposits; and 
 teeth of Mammalia, from the quarries at Binstead, near 
 Ryde. 
 
 PL III. — Fossil shells from the marine Eocene depo- 
 sits, at Alum Bay, Colwell Bay, &c. 
 
 PI. IV. — Fossil shells from the Greensand strata of 
 the Chalk formation. The Perna Mulled, a very cha- 
 racteristic shell, is here figured. 
 
 PL V. — Other shells from the Greensand : the large 
 Scapiiite, which occurs in this division of the cretaceous 
 deposits, is represented on a small scale, in Fig. 1 1 . 
 
 PI. VI. — A few characteristic freshwater shells from 
 the Wealden strata. 
 
 PL VII. — A plan of the Geological structure of the 
 Isle of Wight ; by Professor John Phillips.
 
 '24 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 PI. VIII. — Alum Bay, from Headon Hill. 
 
 This view is taken from the side of the hill, where 
 the pathway from the summit of the Downs winds 
 along the edge of the cliff, to the foot-track that con- 
 ducts to the sea-shore. In this sketch, the nearly vertical 
 Chalk strata which terminate in the isolated wedge- 
 shaped masses, called " Tin Needles" are alone visible. 
 The variegated tertiary sands and clays, that impart 
 so remarkable an aspect to Alum Bay from the sea, 
 form the vertical face of the cliff, on the left hand of 
 the observer, but are not seen in this sketch. The Isle 
 of Portland appears looming in the remote distance. 
 
 PI. IX. — Tertiary Strata of Headon Hill, from 
 
 THE SKA. 
 
 The face of the cliff here represented, exhibits a 
 natural section of a series of tertiary strata, principally 
 of freshwater origin, which have been thrown down, 
 unconformably to the marine deposits in the adjacent 
 cliff of Alum Bay ; for while the latter are vertical, 
 these are nearly horizontal. The foot-path runs from 
 the Downs to the sea-shore, along the steep slope, form- 
 ing the north side of the chasm that separates Headon 
 Hill from Alum Bay ; its situation is indicated by the 
 two upper figures. 
 
 PL X. — Chalk Cliffs, on the west of Fresh- 
 water Gate. 
 
 The face of the cliffs to the west of the landing-place 
 at Freshwater Gate, presents a nearly perpendicular
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 25 
 
 section, 200 feet high, of the Upper Chalk, with 
 numerous layers of flint, the strata being highly in- 
 clined. At the base of the projecting cliff is the entrance 
 to a large cavern, formed by the continued action of the 
 surge on the chalk rock. 
 
 PL XI.- — View of the Cliffs from beyond Compton 
 Chine to Brook Point, as seen from near the 
 base of afton down. 
 
 The foreground is part of the southern slope of Afton 
 Down, and consists of the flinty chalk. The pathway 
 winds over the brow, and leads to Compton Chine, down 
 which a rude foot-track conducts to the beach. The 
 strata at this point are the cretaceous ferruginous 
 sands, which emerge from beneath the Gait on the west, 
 and are succeeded on the east by the Wealden deposits ; 
 but the face of the cliffs along the westernmost part of 
 Compton Bay is not seen in this sketch. The strata 
 forming the cliffs, shown in this view, are the sands, 
 clays, and shelly limestones of the Wealden. 
 
 The first point of land jutting into the sea, and ter- 
 minating in ledges or reefs, is the western boundary of 
 Brook Bay ; at the base of the cliff* is the fossil forest 
 of the Wealden. The limits of Brook Bay are shown 
 by the head-land beyond, which is the eastern point. 
 The farthest land on the shore is the cliff near Black- 
 gang Chine. Saint Catherine's Hill rises in the remote 
 distance.
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 PI, XII. — BiiACKQAiw Chine prom the sba-shobe, 
 
 looking north-east. 
 
 This view presents a fine natural section of the strata 
 composing the Greensand group of the Chalk formation. 
 The highest point in the distance is the escarpment 
 of Saint Catherine's Hill, which is 830 feet above 
 the level of the sea. The upper part of the cliffs is 
 composed of alternating strata of greenish grey sand, 
 and sandstone; from the wearing away of the friable 
 layers, the beds of hard grit become prominent, and 
 appear in this view as very distinct, and nearly hori- 
 zontal, bands of rock. The cliff below the thin bed of 
 ironstone grit, from which the cascade issues, is formed 
 of dark-coloured clay, alternating with ferruginous sand 
 and grit. The long-continued action of the water has 
 produced a deep chasm, or chine, and the stream falls 
 in a nearly perpendicular column from a height of 
 seventy feet, to the base of the cliff, whence it rushes 
 to the sea.* 
 
 PL XIII. — Vertical Chalk Strata on Brading 
 Down. 
 
 This sketch shows the vertical position into which 
 the originally horizontal chalk strata, have been thrown, 
 in the central range of downs. The layers of shattered 
 Hint nodules, render the displacement of the strata 
 obvious to tin' most casual observer. 
 
 ■ The picturesque character of this interesting spot is admirably shown 
 in the views given bj sir Henry Englefleld, and by Mr. Barber; and also in 
 tin- spirit. ci \ i^iuttts on the embellished letter-paper published by the 
 bookseller! in tin- Island.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 27 
 
 PL XIV. — Cllffs of Wealdkn Clays in Oompton Bay. 
 
 SEEN FROM THE WEST. 
 
 In this view, the nearest cliffs are formed by the 
 clays, sands, and shales of the Wealden, which constitute 
 the cliffs and ledges, to beyond Brook Point, and almost 
 as far as Atherfield. The inclined position of the strata 
 is well shown in the sketch. 
 
 The horizontal layer on the top of the cliffs, is an 
 accumulation of drifted materials, composed of gravel, 
 clay, and loam, which in some places is from ten to 
 twelve feet thick, and contains bog-wood, hazel-nuts, &c. 
 The nearest point of land is Bull-face Ledge; and that 
 further to the east, is Brook Point, where the fossil 
 forest forms ledges that stretch far out to sea. The 
 extreme land is the easternmost point of Brook Bay. 
 The view given in Plate XL shows the continuation of 
 the cliffs from beyond Bull-face Ledge to the western 
 point of Brook Bay. 
 
 PL XV. — Culver Chalk-cliffs, from the sea. 
 
 In this sketch, (reduced from Mr. Webster's), is 
 shown the eastern promontory of the Isle of Wight, 
 which is a vertical section of the chalk range, that 
 extends from this point, in a westerly direction, right 
 through the island to the Needles. The interrupted 
 lines denote the layers of flint, and distinctly exhibit the 
 highly inclined position of the strata towards the north. 
 The dip varies from 50 to 70 degrees. The distance 
 on the left, is Sandown Bay ; on the right, are seen 
 the eocene strata of White-cliff Bay.
 
 28 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 VIEWS ON THE COAST OF THE ISLE OF 
 
 PURBECK : 
 
 Reduced from the beautiful Engravings by Mr. Webster, in 
 Sir Henri/ Englefield's Isle of Wight. 
 
 PL XVI. — View of the Dorsetshire Coast, from 
 WoRTn Barrow, looking westward. 
 
 This interesting view oi' the Dorsetshire coast, looking 
 towards the west, is taken from Worth Barrow, a tumulus 
 situated near the summit of a very high precipice of the 
 chalk range. The bay included between the fore- 
 ground and the detached rocks in the sea, is Worth 
 Barrow Bay ; the road down to which, is seen just 
 beyond the projecting point of the chalk cliff. The 
 rocks bounding the bay, are the Purbcck beds, covering 
 the Oolite. The long hill in the middle of the 
 view is the " Sivines back" beyond which is West 
 Lulworth Cove. The Isle of Portland appears in the 
 distance, united to the main land by the Chesil-bank. 
 Weymouth road is indicated by the vessels at anchor. 
 
 The deep sinuosities made in the cliffs along this 
 coast by the inroads of the sea, are well shown in this 
 sketch.* 
 
 PI. XVII. — Lulworth Cove, from the west. 
 
 Lulworth Cove is an almost semicircular bay, formed 
 by the action of the sea, on the vertical strata which 
 constitute this part of the coast ; and in the section thus 
 exposed, the series of rocks, from the chalk to the oolite 
 inclusive, may be traced. A small part of the chalk 
 Henrj Englefield'a Isle of Wigiit. p, is."..
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 29 
 
 cliff is seen on the left of the Cove, and from that to the 
 entrance, where the oolite appears, the intermediate 
 strata occur. The upright rocks in the sea near the 
 foreground, are masses of the Purbeck beds on this side 
 of the bay, while similar blocks appear on the opposite 
 bar. The argillaceous strata on the side of the hill are 
 curiously contorted from lateral pressure. 
 
 PI. XVIII. — West Lulworth and Cove. 
 
 The village of West Lulworth is situated in a deep 
 valley, formed by an interruption of the chalk range 
 that extends from Handfast Point, through Corfe Castle, 
 to the coast. The Cove, which has been produced by 
 the erosive action of the sea on the chalk cliffs, is about 
 1,300 feet in diameter, and vessels of a hundred tons 
 burthen, may at all times remain here in perfect security. 
 
 The hill immediately above the village, is the ter- 
 mination of the long ridge called the Swine's bach, 
 which is half cut into by the Cove, and presents a lofty 
 precipitous chalk cliff. Saint Adhelm's head is in the 
 remote distance ; the nearer headland, seen above the 
 Cove, is Gad Cliff. 
 
 PI. XIX.— Durdle Cove. 
 
 In Durdle Cove, the series of deposits from the upper 
 flinty chalk to the Portland oolite, is exposed in a nearly 
 semicircular bay, walled in by vertical sections of these 
 strata. The chalk appears on the right, forming the 
 high cliff termed Bafs Comer ; and in passing from 
 thence round the bay, the Chalk marl, Firestone, Gait, 
 Greensand, Wealden, and Purbeck strata, may be sue-
 
 30 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 cessively traced to the Portland oolite, which termi- 
 nates the point on the left of the sketch. The natural 
 arched rock, called " Barn Door" at the entrance of the 
 Cove, consists of Portland limestone. 
 
 PI. XX. — Geological Map of the Isle of Wight. 
 
 Each of the three Formations, or principal groups of 
 deposits, of which the Isle of Wight is composed, is 
 defined by a separate colour. 
 
 The pink, denotes the tertiary Eocene strata ; the 
 shaded parts indicate the London clay, and other marine 
 beds, in which but few, if any, freshwater fossils occur. 
 
 The blue, marks the Chalk ; the chief subdivisions of 
 this formation, namely, the Firestone, Gait, and Green- 
 land, being defined by a difference in the lines of 
 shading. 
 
 The sienna, indicates the Wealden deposits, which 
 appear in the bays on the east, and w r est, of the pro- 
 montory of the Under-cliff. 
 
 *»* For the original sketch of the Geological Map. and for the drawings 
 of Organic remains, 1 am indebted to the kindness oi Professor Woodward, 
 of the Agricultural College, Cirencester. 
 
 Allographs are by Mr. James Lee, of Prince's-square, Kennington 
 ■ ommon.
 
 /a 
 
 i < 
 
 iknrvau, ****** s 
 
 
 PL I. 
 
 4 o. 
 
 
 /. idiiTMC.) 
 
 FOSSIL SHELLS FROM Till FRESH-WATER EOCEK J .TRATA O] l n I 
 ISLE "I « I '.I I i
 
 DESCRIPTION OF PLATE 1. 
 
 FOSSIL SHELLS FROM THE FKESH-WATF.I; EOCENE DEPOSITS, 
 
 Fig. 1". — Planorbis euomphalus ; the underside. 
 
 1. — The same shell on the upper side ; from Calbourne. 
 
 •2 Planorbis cylind/ricus ; Calbourne. 
 
 2". — Planorbis obi us us ; Shalfleet. 
 3. — JAmneus longhcaius ; Binstead. 
 4. — Limneus fusiformis ; Headon Hill. 
 5. — Limueu.s maximus ; Calbourne. 
 0. — Palwlina angulosa; Calbourne. 
 7. — Bulimus elliplicus ; Binstead. 
 S. — Bulimus eoslellalus ; Shalfleet. 
 
 These fossil shells occur in the limestone and marls at Headon Hill, 
 and in the quarries at Dodspits, Shalfleet, Calbourne, and Binstead, near 
 Ryde. The Planorbis and Limneus, are the most abundant genera ; and 
 casts of the common species may be seen in profusion in the cream-coloured 
 limestones used in the walls of cottages, barns, ike, in the northern parts 
 of the Island.
 
 
 PI II. 
 
 UffVWlM-l'lL) 
 
 (^M^jW^ 
 
 
 POS6IL SHELLS ■ •■ ...iw.iw REMAINS, FHOW THE PBE8H-WATEH 
 
 - 1 u \ i * "i i n i i- 1 i o] wn mi.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF PLATE II. 
 
 FOSSIL SHELLS AND TEETH OF MAMMALIA, FROM THE FRESH-WATI .1. 
 EOCENE DEPOSITS. 
 
 SHELLS. 
 
 Fig. 1 Potomomya gregaria j from Headon Hill. 
 
 This shell 13 described by Mr. Sowerbv in Mineral Conehology 
 as Mya gregaria. The genus Potomomya, (river mussels), 
 comprises those species which inhabit rivers only, and are not 
 found in estuaries and brackish waters. 
 
 2. — Potamides concams; Headon Hill. 
 
 3. — Melanopsis fusiformis ; Headon Hill. 
 
 4>. brevis ; Headon Hill. 
 
 5. — Neritina concava ; Colwell Bay. 
 
 0. — Melanopsis carinata ; Colwell Bay. 
 
 7. — Helix (jlobosus ; Shalfleet. 
 
 8 Potamides plicatus ; Headon Hill. 
 
 9. ■ — rentricosus ; Headon Hill. 
 
 MAMMALIAN REMAINS. 
 
 10. — Upper canine tooth of Anoplotherium commune ; from Seafield 
 
 near Ryde. 
 11. — The grinding surface of an upper molar, of Palaotherwm medium ; 
 
 from Binstead. 
 12. — One side of the lower jaw of Palaotherium minus, with five 
 
 teeth ; from Seafield.* 
 13", — A tooth of Diehobnne cervinum, from Binstead. 
 13. — The grinding surface of fig. 13 a . 
 
 With the exception of the gigantic snail-shell, fig. 7, the fossil shells 
 here delineated are abundant at Headon Hill, and in the clays and mails 
 at Colwell Bay. The Mammalian remains are of excessive rarity, and 
 have hitherto only been found in the quarries near Ryde, and at Headon 
 Hill. 
 
 * See British Fossil Mammals, p. 323.
 
 PL Til. 
 
 rOSSIL MI1I.I.S FROM THE MARINE EOCENE STIIATA OF THE ISLE OF 
 
 « [oh r.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF PLATE III. 
 
 FOSSII. SHELLS FROM THE MARINE EOCENE DEPOSITS. 
 
 Pig. 1. — Psammobia solida, the valves united ; from Headon Hill. 
 1 °. — The inner aspect of one of the shells of the same. 
 2. — Corbula cuspidata, the united valves; White Cliff Bay. 
 2°.— The inner aspect of one of the shells of the same species. 
 3. — Dilrupa plana ; Alum Bay. 
 
 This pteropodous mollusk is abundant in the sandstone rock, thai 
 
 overlies the mottled clays which intervene between the Chalk 
 
 and the upper Eocene deposits. 
 4. — Ancitlaria subulata ; Alum Bay. 
 5. — Panopeea intermedia ; Alum Bay. 
 6. — Oytherea incrassata ; Colwell Bay. 
 7. — Cardita planicosta, half the natural size; Alum Bay. 
 
 These shells are abundant in most of the localities of the marine tertiary 
 clays, both in the Island and on the opposite coast of Hampshire and 
 Sussex. The Panopeea intermedia, (fig. 5), is a well-known shell in the 
 Bognor Rocks; and the Cardita planicosta, (fig. 7), occurs in profusion in 
 the clay at Bracklesham Bay in Sussex. The Oytherea incrassata, (fig. 6), 
 is found in a sandy clay at Colwell Bay, almost as perfect aud fresh as if 
 recently left by the sea,
 
 PL IV. 
 
 HELLS y ROM THE GREEK I D STRATA O] I II I ill "I Wli.lir.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF PLATE IV. 
 
 In-Ml Mll'll- IKliM Till I.nU I K l.l.TI \'-^.\H DEI'mM'Iv 
 
 Fig. 1 — Corbis corrugata, from the sand-rock, Atherfleld : the figure is 
 one-half tlie size in linear dimensions of the original. 
 
 2. — Trigonia caudata . from the sand-rock, Atherfleld. 
 
 3 GerviUia anceps; from the Cracker Rocks, Atherfleld. a, denotes 
 
 the markings of the hinge, which are seen in consequence of the 
 valves being slightly displaced. Tt is represented half the size 
 linear, of the original. These shells are often much larger, and 
 more elongated than in the figure. 
 
 4. — Venus striato-costata ; a small shell, common in the Cracker 
 Rocks at Atherfleld ; the figure is twice the size of the original 
 in linear dimensions. 
 
 5. — Area TLaulini ; from the sand-rock, Atherfleld. 
 
 6. — Tenia Mullet i ; from the lower beds of sand in junction with the 
 Wealden ; Sandown Bay. The figure is hut half the size of the 
 original, a, the structure of the hinge ; by comparing this 
 figure with a, figure 3, the difference of the hinge in the genera 
 Tenia and GerviUia will he recognised. This large and remark- 
 able shell is highly characteristic of the lower beds of the Green- 
 sand. 
 
 7. — Venus pun. i , from Shanklin Cliff.
 
 PA V. 
 
 J "--Ml. Mil. I.J.-. PROM THE GREED sand STRATA < > I ■ THE ISLE OP WIGHT.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF FLATE V. 
 
 FOSSIL SHELLS FKOH THE LOWER GREEN-SAND DEPOSITS. 
 
 Fig. 1. — Thetis minor ; from the ferruginous sand-rock at the base of 
 
 Slianklin Cliff. 
 2. — Another view of the same, to show the beaks and hinge-line. 
 3. — Gryphea sinuata ; represented one-fourth the natural size ; it is 
 
 often found much larger. From the Green-sand at Shaukliu, 
 
 Ventnor, Sandown, &c. 
 4. — Tornatella albensis ; from the Cracker Rocks, Atherfield. 
 5. — Terebratula sella ; an abundant shell in the sand at Atherfield. 
 6. — Nucula scapha; from the sand-rock, Atherfield. 
 
 The three following shells are imbedded in a fragment of the Crackers' 
 Bock, from Atherfield. 
 
 7. — Natica rotundata. 
 
 8. — Plerocera reivsa. 
 
 9 . — Rostellaria Robin aldina. 
 
 10. — Cerithktm tmricidatum ; from Atherfield. 
 
 11 Scaphites gig as ; from Atherfield. The figure is but one-third 
 
 the size, linear, of the original. 
 
 This fossil is often found two feet in length, associated with Ammonites 
 
 equally gigantic.
 
 PL VI. 
 
 P08IIK IHBLLS FItoM THE WEALDSN STRATA OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF PLATE VI. 
 
 POSSIL SHELLS FROM THE WEALDEN DEPOSITS. 
 
 Fig. 1. — Unio Valdensh ; from the fossil forest at the hase of the cliff at 
 Brook-point. A young shell ; the figure is two-thirds the 
 natural size in linear dimensions. The uppermost figure gives 
 the inner view of the same shell, to show the hinge and mus- 
 cular imprints. 
 
 2. — Taludina elongata, in hard clay, from near Brook-point ; large 
 slahs of laminated clay covered with this species, associated 
 with myriads of C\"prides, are continually laid bare hy the inroads 
 of the sea. 
 
 3. — Pahidina Jfi/viorum ; a portion of a weathered slab of limestone, 
 from Compton Bay. 
 
 4. — Cyrenu media; in a piece of bluish-grey limestone, composed of 
 thin bivalves ; from Compton Bay. 
 
 5. — Potamides carbonarius ; a slab of limestone formed of this 
 species of fresh-water shell ; from Compton Bay. 
 
 I have found the Unio Yaldensn only in the cliffs, along Brook Bay ; 
 the other fresh-water shells are ecrually abundant in Sandown Bay. 
 The shelly limestones of the "Wealden are often used for paving, in the 
 towns and villages of the Island.
 
 GEOLOGICAL EXCURSIONS 
 
 VL\it 3)slc of imti)t. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH- 
 EAST OF ENGLAND — TABULAR ARRANGEMENT OF THE STRATA 
 
 LONDON EOCENE DEPOSITS— CHALK FORMATION — WEALDEN FORMA- 
 TION — LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAILWAY SECTION GEOLOGICAL 
 
 MUTATIONS. 
 
 Introductory. — Although this work is in- 
 tended to serve as a guide for the tourist un- 
 acquainted with geology^ the general diffusion of 
 the elements of the science, which has, of late 
 years, been effected by our periodical literature, 
 renders it unnecessary to enter at large upon the 
 principles of this department of natural know- 
 ledge. Happily, the time has arrived, when the 
 grand truths relating to the physical history of the 
 globe, have, like those of Astronomy, passed into 
 acknowledged axioms : to remind the well-informed 
 reader that the ancient sea and river-beds which
 
 •5C) GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 constitute the dry land of the British Isles have 
 not been produced by the effects of a general 
 deluge, would therefore be as derogatory to his 
 understanding, as to explain that the apparent 
 revolution of the sun round our planet is an 
 optical illusion, occasioned by the rotation of the 
 earth on its axis. 
 
 We may, therefore, assume, that every intel- 
 ligent person is aware that the rocks and stones, 
 and solid mineral masses, composing the dry land, 
 have originally been in a softened or fluid state, 
 either from the effects of water, or from exposure 
 to a high temperature — that the strata are accu- 
 mulations of consolidated mud, sand, and other 
 detritus, the sedimentary deposits of rivers and 
 seas, combined with the durable remains of animals 
 and plants, which lived either on the land, or in 
 the water — that chalk is an aggregation of shells, 
 corals, and amorphous particles of carbonate of 
 lime, so minute as to be undistinguishable by 
 the naked eye, yet easily recognisable under the 
 microscope — that the layers and nodules of Hint 
 have originated from solutions of siliceous earth in 
 heated vapour, or water, that were periodically 
 erupted into tin cretaceous ocean — that the fossils 
 so abundant in the chalk, are the relics of animals 
 and plants thai lived and died in that ancient sea,
 
 GEOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES. >7 
 
 associated with the remains of a few terrestrial 
 species — that these accumulations of organic and 
 inorganic materials, have gradually consolidated, 
 and subsequently been elevated from the depths 
 of the ocean, by those subterranean forces that 
 are every where in action, and of which the 
 earthquake and the volcano are paroxysmal 
 effects — and that such transmutations of the 
 sea and the land have been, and are, constantly 
 taking place. 
 
 Geological principles. — From the first 
 moment that dry land appeared on the earth's 
 surface, whatever may have been the materials of 
 which it was composed, the disintegrating effects 
 of atmospheric agents, and of water in motion, 
 must have commenced. The detritus thus pro- 
 duced, transported to the tranquil depths of the 
 ocean, would there subside in successive layers, and 
 a series of sedimentary strata be gradually formed ; 
 and after the creation of living things, the durable 
 remains of animals and vegetables must have 
 become intermingled with the detritus of the land, 
 and imbedded in the deposits then in progress. If 
 the land were sterile, destitute of vegetation, and 
 untenanted by any species of animals, the relics of 
 the inhabitants of the sea would alone be im- 
 bedded; on the contrary, if the sediments were 
 c
 
 58 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 produced by the action of streams and rivers flowing 
 through a country covered with forests, and swarm- 
 ing with animal life, the strata accumulated in 
 lakes and inland bays would teem with the 
 remains of terrestrial and fluviatile animals and 
 plants. 
 
 The evidence which fossil remains afford of the 
 changes that have taken place in the organic and 
 inorganic kingdoms of nature, in periods antece- 
 dent to all human history and tradition, is, there- 
 fore, of the most positive and unequivocal character. 
 If, for example, a series of strata contains exclu- 
 sively relics of marine fishes, shells, corals, &c, it 
 is obvious that it must have been formed in the 
 sea ; the state of the organic remains, and the 
 nature of the species — whether littoral, i. e. inhabi- 
 tants of shallow waters; or pelagic, i.e. species 
 which lived in the depths of the ocean — affording 
 indications as to the circumstances under which 
 the formation of the strata took place. If an in- 
 termixture of land and fresh-water with marine 
 species occurs, it is evident that rivers and their 
 tributaries brought into the sea the spoils of the 
 land, and the relics of its inhabitants. On the 
 other hand, if an extensive tract is composed of 
 laminated clays, sands, and marls, teeming with 
 terrestrial and fluviatile shells, and containing
 
 STRATA OF THE S. E. OF ENGLAND. 59 
 
 waterworn bones of land-animals, and branches, 
 leaves, and fruits of trees and shrubs, without any 
 intermixture of marine exuviae, we have unques- 
 tionable evidence that these strata are either the 
 consolidated deltas of rivers, or the sediments of 
 lakes of an extensive continent, which was clothed 
 with vegetation, and tenanted by terrestrial quadru- 
 peds. As the principles involved in these deduc- 
 tions afford an easy interpretation of the geological 
 phenomena of the Isle of Wight, I would fain 
 hope that the subject may be rendered intelligible 
 to the general reader, who now, for the first time, 
 enters upon an investigation of the physical struc- 
 ture of this interesting district. 
 
 Geology of the south-east of England. — 
 Before we proceed on our excursions, it is, however, 
 necessary to take a comprehensive view of the 
 Geology of the South-east of England ; for as the 
 "beautiful Island," is but a detached mass of 
 strata, severed at some remote period from the 
 main land, a general idea of the nature of the for- 
 mations of which this part of Great Britain is com- 
 posed, will materially facilitate our comprehension 
 of many local appearances, which, occurring as 
 isolated phenomena, would otherwise be difficult of 
 explanation, if not altogether unintelligible. 
 
 The numerous strata, or accumulations of sedi- 
 c2
 
 60 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 mentary detritus, composing the south-eastern 
 portion of England, are separable into four well- 
 marked natural groups or formations. 
 
 I, The drift, or Alluvium and Diluvium. — 
 These are the uppermost or superficial deposits, 
 and consist of irregular layers of waterworn and 
 drifted materials, containing the skeletons of extinct 
 species of colossal herbivora — as the mastodon, 
 mammoth, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elk, deer, &c, 
 and in certain localities of the remains of Carni- 
 vora, Rodents, &c, some of extinct, and others of 
 species still existing in these islands. These beds, 
 which rarely exhibit indications of tranquil depo- 
 sition, are heterogeneous layers of debris, winch 
 have either been transported by the sea, or by 
 river currents, or by floating ice, or driven by 
 waves of translation occasioned by elevations of 
 the bed of the ocean, into estuaries, bays, and 
 creeks. 
 
 II. Tertiary eocene* formation of the 
 London basin. — This series is chiefly composed 
 of layers of stiff, dark bluish-grey clay, abound- 
 ing in marine shells, and having strata of sand 
 mid gravel in the upper part, and sand, gravel, and 
 mottled clays in the lower part, with freshwater 
 
 » Eociv , a term applied by Mr. Lyell to the earliest tertiary formations. 
 MedaU of Creation," vol. i.
 
 THE CHALK FORMATION. 61 
 
 shells and plants in some localities ; the total 
 thickness amounts to several hundred feet. The 
 fossils are almost entirely of extinct species. 
 
 III. The chalk formation. — The white cal- 
 careous rock called chalk is well known ; but in 
 the nomenclature of Geology, the term Chalk for- 
 mation comprises not only the limestone that 
 extends over so large an area in the south-east 
 of England, but also numerous beds of sand, 
 sandstone, claj^, and limestone, that are very dis- 
 similar in their appearance and chemical characters, 
 yet so far correspond in the nature of their 
 organic remains, as to show that the entire group 
 was formed during the same geological epoch. In 
 other words, that the sea and land, and their in- 
 habitants, underwent no essential change during 
 the period in which the entire series was deposited : 
 it therefore constitutes, in geological language, but 
 one formation. 
 
 The organic remains of the Chalk are essentially 
 marine ; but in some localities drifted wood and 
 plants, waterworn bones and teeth of terrestrial 
 reptiles, and other spoils of the land, are found 
 associated with the shells, corals, and fishes of the 
 cretaceous ocean ; and these have evidently been 
 transported by rivers and streams into the bed of 
 the sea. The fossils are, with but very few excep-
 
 62 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 tions, of extinct species and genera, and dissimilar 
 to those of the tertiary strata. 
 
 IV. The wealden formation. — This is an 
 extensive series of clays, sands, sandstones, and 
 shelly limestones, upwards of 1,000 feet in thick- 
 ness, characterised by the entire absence of marine 
 fossils, and the abundance of river and lacustrine 
 fishes, crustaceans, and shells, intermingled with 
 bones of enormous land-reptiles, and terrestrial 
 plants and trees ; the whole group having evidently 
 been a vast delta. 
 
 The essential characters, of these formations, and 
 of the subdivisions into which they are separated, 
 are concisely expressed in the annexed table.
 
 OF ENGLAND, 
 
 Distribution in thclsle of Wight. 
 
 si Fissures in the tertiary and cre- 
 taceous strata; the subsoil in 
 some localities. 
 
 | The northern parts of the Island. 
 The freshwater beds prevail 
 along the northern shore, from 
 Headon Hill to White-cliff' 
 Bay; the marine from Alum 
 Bay, along the northern flanks 
 of the chalk hills, to White- 
 cliff Bay. 
 
 The Downs from Culver Cliff to 
 the Needles ; and from St. Ca- 
 therine's to Shanklin Down. 
 The UnderclifT and the south- 
 n [ em coast are formed by the 
 lower subdivision » of the 
 chalk ; except in the two fol- 
 lowing localities. 
 
 Sandown Bay, between the 
 Greensand of Red-cliff and 
 Shanklin Chine. Brook Bay 
 s I and along the coast, between 
 the Greensand of Compton 
 Bay and of Atherfield Point. 
 
 C 3
 
 TAP.n.AK AKKAMiEMFAT (if TI11C STRATA "F THF, surTU-EAST (IF EXKLAXn. 
 
 
 
 
 
 A >e .h. m {«;,■»;•;;:;;■■ :■;;::;:■,•;;■;,;-: 

 
 CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE. 65 
 
 Order of superposition. — Such is the chrono- 
 logical sequence of the formations of the south- 
 east of England; in other words, these several 
 groups of marine and freshwater sediments, have 
 been deposited in the following order: — 
 
 1st. The Wealden : the delta of a river, composed of the spoils 
 of a vast continent, of which no other vestiges remain. These 
 strata rest upon a marine formation called the Oolite, but which 
 does not come within the scope of our present observations. 
 
 2dly. The Chalk : the bed of an ocean of great extent, deposited 
 upon the Wealden. 
 
 3dly. The Tertiary Eocene Formation : accumulated in de- 
 pressions or basins on the surface of the Chalk.* 
 
 Now, as each of these formations is many hun- 
 dred feet in thickness, it follows that the inferior 
 strata would for ever have been concealed from 
 observation, had the original order of super- 
 position remained undisturbed. But not only 
 portions of each of the upper series appear on the 
 surface, but even the lowermost deposits form an 
 extensive tract of country which is diversified by 
 hills and valleys, and constitutes one of the richest 
 agricultural provinces of the British Isles. This 
 distribution of the strata has originated from the 
 displacements occasioned by those disturbing forces 
 which elevated above the waters the ancient ocean 
 
 * With the view of simplifying the subject, the Drift, or superficial alluvial 
 deposits, will not be especially alluded to in these excursions.
 
 66 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 and river beds, and converted them into dry land. 
 The nature of those changes we now proceed to 
 consider. 
 
 London eocene formation. — The London 
 Tertiary or Eocene deposits form the area on which 
 the metropolis is situated, as well as the sur- 
 rounding country to a distance varying from 
 ten to twenty or thirty miles. Around these 
 strata the Chalk presents a distinct boundary of 
 hills on the south, west, and north ; but on the 
 east the range is broken, and through this chasm 
 the Thames winds its way to the sea. 
 
 From this geological character of the metropo- 
 litan district it results, that all the lines of rail- 
 way that proceed from London, traverse for the 
 first ten or twenty miles beds of clay, loam, and 
 loosely aggregated sand and gravel ; hence the 
 numerous slips that have taken place in the 
 embankments at New Cross, Wandsworth, Han- 
 well, &c. ; and in all these lines it is obvious 
 from the nature of the soil and the steepness of the 
 cuttings, that similar subsidences will again occur. 
 
 Chalk formation. — The next geological 
 feature observable along the London railways, is 
 the. Chalk, which is invariably traversed by steep 
 cuttings and tunnels; as for example in the South- 
 eastern line, from Croydon to Merstham; and in
 
 THE CHALK FORMATION. 67 
 
 the Great Western, from Maidenhead to beyond 
 Wallingford. After passing through the Chalk, 
 the lower subdivisions of the Cretaceous formation, 
 viz. the Marl, Firestone, Gait, and Greensand, 
 successively appear ; and these are followed by 
 the Oolite on the Great Western and Birmingham 
 lines, and by the Wealden on the South-eastern ; 
 but on the South-western, by which we shall 
 travel to Southampton, the Chalk and the Tertiary 
 strata only are exposed. 
 
 The Chalk, as is well known, constitutes the pre- 
 valent geological feature of this part of England. 
 The upper or white chalk rises into chains of 
 hills, called downs, which are remarkable for their 
 smooth and undulated outline, and form a well 
 defined geographical boundary. The southern 
 range extends from Hampshire, through Sussex to 
 the sea-coast, terminating in the bold promontory 
 of Beachy Head ; the northern passes from Hamp- 
 shire through Surrey and Kent to the British 
 Channel, and ends in the line of cliffs near Dover. 
 
 The lower cretaceous strata compose ranges 
 of hills less uniform in elevation and extent, 
 which skirt the inner margin and escarpments of 
 the Downs, and in some parts of Surrey and 
 Western Sussex attain an altitude equal to that 
 of any portion of the North or South Downs.
 
 68 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Leith Hill, in Surrey, is nearly 1,000 feet above 
 the level of the sea.* 
 
 Wealden formation. — The Wealden deposits 
 fill up the whole of the area between the North 
 and South Downs, and are bounded on the west 
 by the cretaceous strata of Hampshire, and on the 
 east by the British Channel ; they form the sea- 
 coast from Pevensey in Sussex to Hythe in Kent. 
 
 Looking down upon the Wealden, from any of 
 the heights that command a view across the district, 
 and of the distant boundary of chalk downs — as for 
 example from Leith Hill, or from the summit of the 
 escarpment of the North Downs, near Reigate j- — 
 the observer might suppose that these freshwater 
 sediments occupy a depression or basin on the 
 surface of the chalk, and that the strata of the 
 North and South Downs extend under the whole 
 of the deposits in the intervening area, as in the 
 following diagram : — 
 
 * For details, vide a " Memoir on the Geological Structure of the Country 
 seen from Leith Hill," in the County History of Surrey, published by Mr. 
 Ede of Dorking. 
 
 t See " Wonders of Geology," vol. i. p. 342.
 
 STRUCTURE OF THE S. E. OF ENGLAND. 69 
 
 Several writers on geology have fallen into this 
 error, and indulged in the most absurd speculations 
 accordingly. A slight examination of the relative 
 position of the respective strata where in contact, 
 is, however, sufficient to show the incorrectness of 
 this hypothesis, and to prove that the Wealden 
 extends under the Chalk, both on the north 
 and south, as shown in the subjoined plan, and 
 in lignographs 2, 3. It is therefore certain that 
 the cretaceous formation was deposited upon the 
 Wealden ; and it is ecpially clear, that it origi- 
 nally extended, not only over the entire district 
 between the North and South Downs, and was 
 connected on the west with that of Hampshire and 
 Wiltshire, but also that it filled up the space now 
 occupied by the British Channel, and was united 
 with the chalk of the Isle of Wight and of the 
 Continent. 
 
 South 
 Downs. 
 
 Chalk Formation. 
 
 North 
 Downs. 
 
 Wealden Formation. 
 
 If we assume the original position of these 
 ancient fluviatile and marine formations to have 
 been as represented in the above diagram, and sup- 
 pose that the middle portion of the chalk, a, a, were
 
 70 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 removed, so as to expose the underlying Wealden, 
 we should have chalk downs on the south and 
 north, with an intervening area of the inferior 
 beds denuded or laid bare by the removal of the 
 superincumbent strata. Such, in fact, would have 
 been the actual state of the South-east of England, 
 if the changes here contemplated had been pro- 
 duced by the wearing away of the chalk from the 
 underlying fluviatile sediments, and the horizon- 
 tali ty of the strata had been maintained. But 
 a careful examination of the phenomena under 
 review, shows that the removal of the chalk was 
 not effected by simple denudation, but by a force 
 acting from beneath, which elevated the entire 
 series of tertiary, cretaceous, and wealden forma- 
 tions in a line bearing a general direction from 
 east to west; by which movement an anticlinal* 
 position has been given to the strata on each 
 side the axis of greatest elevation. This axis is 
 denoted in the physical geography of the district 
 by the chain of hills called the Forest-range, that 
 extends from the sea-coast at Hastings through the 
 interior of the country by Crowborough, the highest 
 elevation, to Loxwood, west of Horsham, where the 
 Wealden disappears beneath the overlying green- 
 
 AiiIk i.i.al— inclined towards each other, like the ridge-tiles of the roof 
 of a house.
 
 SECTION FROM LONDON TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 71 
 
 3 q 
 
 \ * 
 
 sand strata. In all transverse sec- 
 tions of the district, i. e. from north 
 to south — whether on the coast, or 
 | inland — the strata on the north of the 
 | | central line dip northward, or rather 
 £ 1 to the north-east, and those on the 
 
 o 
 
 * south to the south-west. There are, of 
 a course, many local variations in the 
 
 * inclination of the rocks, and nu- 
 h merous lesser anticlinal axes, or 
 S saddles, as they are provincially 
 £ termed, and also longitudinal ridges 
 
 and corresponding valleys, running 
 parallel with the principal line of the 
 disturbing force. 
 
 In consequence of this displace- 
 ment of the strata, a section drawn 
 from London through the North 
 Downs, across the Wealden district, 
 through the South Downs, and car- 
 ried on to the southern coast of the 
 Isle of Wight, would present the 
 arrangement shown in Ugn. 1. 
 
 In this lignograph are represented 
 the tertiary of the London basin 
 resting on the chalk ; the chalk of the 
 North Downs, dipping northwards •
 
 72 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 the anticlinal position of the Wealden ; the chalk of 
 the South Downs, clipping southwards, with tertiary 
 strata on the southern flank: then the depression 
 which forms the channel of the Solent sea; the 
 tertiary strata extending over the northern portion 
 of the Isle of Wight ; the chalk downs of the island, 
 dipping northward ; and, lastly, a small portion of 
 Wealden, emerging from beneath the chalk, on the 
 south coast, at Brook and Sandown bays. 
 
 London and Brighton railway section. — 
 A portion of this section is w T ell displayed along 
 the line of railway from London to Brighton. 
 Leaving the station at London-bridge, the tertiary 
 clays with their characteristic fossils, are seen from 
 beyond Deptford, by New Cross, Sydenham, &c. ; 
 and approaching Croydon, beds of gravel appear, 
 with interspersions of olive-green sand. The valley 
 beyond Croydon, along the side of which the 
 railway proceeds, is a thick bed of gravel resting 
 on the chalk. Beyond the station called Stoats 1 - 
 nest, is a fine section of the chalk with Hint, and 
 the North Downs are traversed by a long tunnel 
 carried through the solid chalk, and emerging 
 near Merstham, where the firestone and marl 
 rise to the surface. The sands and clays of the 
 chalk are passed at the Red-hill, and Godstone 
 stations, and the Wealden clays appear, and at
 
 SECTION FROM LONDON TO BRIGHTON. 73 
 
 Horley are succeeded by shales, limestones, sands, 
 and sandstones, to the Crawley station. Passing 
 through a long tunnel in the Wealden, we arrive 
 at Balcombe, where laminated sandstone and shale 
 are seen on each side the cutting. The general 
 dip of the strata hitherto passed is to the north- 
 east; but after crossing the deep wealden valley 
 beyond Balcombe, over a magnificent viaduct, the 
 line runs along alternating layers of sands and 
 clays, which dip to the south-west ; we have 
 therefore arrived on the southern side of the 
 grand anticlinal axis of the Forest ridge. The 
 Wealden strata continue with the same general 
 inclination by Hayward's Heath, which is traversed 
 by a tunnel, to beyond St. John's Common, where 
 they disappear beneath the lowermost greensand 
 beds of the chalk formation. The gait, firestone, 
 and marl succeed, and, lastly, the white chalk of 
 the South Downs, at Clayton Hill ; through the 
 base of which a long tunnel is carried, and emerges 
 on the Downs on the south. The remainder of 
 the line to the Brighton station, runs over, or 
 through, hills and valleys, of the white chalk. Thus 
 this railway passes through two ranges of chalk hills, 
 viz. the North and South Downs, by tunnels ; two 
 of greensand, viz. near Red Hill in Surrey, and 
 Hurstperpoint in Sussex; and two principal ridges
 
 74 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 i! I 
 
 of Wealden, tiz. at Balcombe, 
 and Hayward's Heath. 
 
 Geological mutations. — 
 The present distribution of the 
 strata, as shown by the pre- 
 ceding observations, appears to 
 admit of the following explana- 
 tion. Assuming the original de- 
 position of the strata to have 
 taken place as in lign. 2 — 
 the wealden resting on the 
 oolite, the chalk on the weal- 
 den, and the tertiary on the 
 chalk — the surface of the 
 country must have consisted of 
 the same strata as those of the 
 immediate vicinity of London. 
 Now if any elevatory force 
 acted from beneath, in the di- 
 rection of the arrow, B, the 
 entire scries would be broken 
 through, and the chalk with 
 the tertiary it supported thrown 
 into highly inclined positions 
 to the north and south ; and if 
 a similar disturbance took place 
 along the area now occupied
 
 SECTION FROM LONDON TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 75 
 
 
 by the Britisli Channel, Eng- 
 land would be separated from 
 the continent, and the small 
 portion, now the Isle of Wight, 
 forced into its present position, 
 by a subsidence taking place 
 in the direction of the arrow, 
 a, along the present bed of 
 the Solent Sea. The actual 
 position of the strata, could 
 our observations extend to a 
 sufficient depth, would pro- 
 bably present the section 
 sketched in Ugh. 3 ; which is 
 in accordance with the local 
 phenomena that will come 
 under review in our geological 
 excursions round the Isle of 
 Wight. It is obvious that if the 
 Forest range of the county of 
 Sussex were swept away by 
 the encroachments of the sea, 
 and the area it occupied buried 
 beneath the waves, the North 
 Downs would present a strict 
 analogy in geological structure 
 to the Isle of Wight ; for a
 
 76 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 portion of the "Wealden would appear on the south 
 shore at the base of the chalk escarpment, and be 
 succeeded on the north by the greensand, gait, 
 iirestone, marl, and white chalk ; and the latter 
 would be covered by tertiary eocene deposits.* 
 
 * For detailed information on the geology of the South-east of England, 
 and of the subjects embraced in this concise sketch, see " Elements of 
 Geology," by Mr. Lyell, and the " Geology of the South-east of England," 
 and the "Wonders of Geology," by the Author. On the elevation of the 
 Wealden and the consequent changes in the relative level of the sea and 
 land, the masterly paper of Mr. Hopkins, " On the Geological Structure of 
 the Wealden District and of the Bas Boulonnais," (Geol. Trans, vol. vii.), 
 should be consulted.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SOUTn-WESTERN RAILWAY — STRATA OP THE LONDON BASIN — ARTE- 
 SIAN WELLS RAILWAY SECTIONS — SOUTHAMPTON STATION FROM 
 
 SOUTHAMPTON TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT — GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE 
 OF THE ISLAND — RIVERS AND STREAMS — FROM COWES TO RYDE. 
 
 South-western Railway. — The railway from 
 London to Southampton and Gosport lies so far 
 to the west of the Wealden denudation of the 
 south-east of England, which is traversed by the 
 Brighton line (see p. 72), that all the deposits 
 below the Upper-chalk are concealed from view, 
 and inconsiderable cuttings through tertiary 
 strata, and chalk, are alone exposed. 
 
 The metropolitan station at Vauxhall, on the 
 southern bank of the Thames, is situated on the 
 alluvial silt and loam, which are spread over areas 
 formerly covered by the waters of the river, and 
 now constitute the subsoil of the meadows and 
 lowlands that skirt its banks ; these beds contain 
 shells of recent species of fluviatile mollusca. On 
 penetrating the soil, gravel, loam, and sand are 
 met with, in which are found bones and teeth of 
 several kinds of large mammalia belonging to 
 d 2
 
 • O GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 extinct species of elephant, rhinoceros, horse, buf- 
 falo, elk, deer, &c. ; an assemblage of organic 
 remains common in similar deposits in other parts 
 of England and on the Continent.* 
 
 In the county of Surrey the subsoil of the dis- 
 trict traversed by this railway in many parts con- 
 sists of thick beds of gravel, in which fossil bones 
 and teeth of elephants, horse, and deer, have been 
 discovered ; but remains of this kind are more 
 abundant in the loam and clay. The gravel is 
 almost entirely formed of broken chalk -flints, 
 worn by the action of water into boulders, peb- 
 bles, and sand. It abounds in siliceous fossils of 
 the chalk, and an interesting series of the sponges, 
 zoophytes, and echini of that formation may be 
 collected from the pits around the metropolis. - } - 
 
 Strata of the London basin. — The ter- 
 tiary or eocene strata of the London basin which 
 lie beneath the accumulations of drifted materials 
 above described, and liil up a depression of the 
 chalk (see Han, 1, p. 71), are divided into three 
 groups; viz. 1, Bagshot sands ; 2, London dan; 
 3, Plastic clay. The uppermost \ consists of beds 
 
 ■ See Wonders of Geology, fifth edition, vol. i. p. 145. 
 t The flints of the gravel often enclose beautiful examples of the micro 
 scopic fossils which abound in many of the siliceous nodules of the chalk : 
 the most interesting specimens of fossil animalcules in my cabinet 
 obtained from the gravel <>n Clapham and Wandsworth commons. 
 
 tiol sands; so called from the district over which they are most 
 widely expanded.
 
 STRATA OF THE LONDON BASIN. 79 
 
 of sand and sandstone, with intercalations of marl 
 and clay. These strata cover the London clay 
 from near Finchley on the north to Hampstead- 
 heath, and form part of the eminence on which 
 Highgate is situated. The Bagshot sands appear 
 at Egham, and extend, with some interruptions, to 
 near Guildford ; and from the vicinity of Kingston 
 to seven miles west of Bagshot, spreading over 
 part of Windsor forest. Several eminences in 
 Surrey are capped by this sand ; at Tucksbury- 
 hill, north of Farnham, it occurs at an elevation 
 of 500 feet.* From the siliceous nature of the 
 soil formed by these deposits, the districts in 
 which they occur are exceedingly sterile, sup- 
 porting only a covering of heath and furze ; hence 
 the numerous uncultivated wastes within a short 
 distance of London. But where the clays rise to 
 the surface, verdant spots appear in the midst of 
 these desolate tracts. The situation of these 
 argillaceous beds is indicated by the oozing of 
 water, and the growth of rushes in the bottoms of 
 the shallow valleys that traverse the sandy plains, 
 and which are often covered with peat. Some of 
 the Bagshot sandstone is remarkable for its struc- 
 ture, which partakes more of the character of a 
 peculiar crystallization than of a mere aggregation 
 
 * Brayley's History of the County of Surrey, vol. i. p. 131.
 
 80 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 of siliceous particles ; a mass of the white variety 
 recently broken strikingly resembles the surface 
 of lump sugar. Erratic blocks of this sandstone 
 are common on the chalk clowns of Wilts, Sussex, 
 Kent, &c, and are provincially called the Grey 
 Wethers ; they occur also in the superficial drift 
 and gravel. 
 
 London clay. — This deposit in the neighbour- 
 hood of the metropolis forms a dark-blue stiff 
 soil, and has occasional intermixtures of green 
 and ferruginous sands and variegated clays. It 
 abounds in spheroidal nodules of indurated argil- 
 laceous limestone termed septaria,* which are 
 internally traversed by veins of spar disposed in a 
 radiated manner from the centre towards the 
 circumference, and often contain shells and other 
 organic remains. -j- The septaria are generally dis- 
 tributed in horizontal layers, and lie at unequal 
 distances from each other. Brilliant pyrites and 
 crystals of sulphate of lime abound in the clay. 
 
 Plastic clay. — Beneath the extensive and thick 
 deposits of London clay, and interposed between 
 them and the chalk, there occur in some localities 
 strata of sand of various colours, alternating with 
 layers of bluish plastic clay; and there is very 
 
 * The septaria, when calcined and ground, constitute the composition 
 called Roman a >ru ni 
 
 t Medals ol' Creation, p. liT.'i.
 
 ARTESIAN WELLS. 81 
 
 constantly in the lower part of the series a bed of 
 green sand, which abounds in oyster shells, and 
 pebbles, and in some localities (as near Bromley) 
 passes into a hard rock or shelly conglomerate. 
 Lignite, leaves of land-plants, and freshwater 
 shells are contained in some of these layers ; but 
 in many places there are no remains of this kind 
 found in the eocene beds immediately above the 
 chalk; and the term plastic clay, as indicating a 
 particular group, can only be regarded as of limited 
 application.* 
 
 Artesian wells. — From the alternation of 
 porous sandy strata with stiff impervious clays 
 throughout the London basin, the district around 
 the metropolis is favourable for obtaining water, 
 by means of the borings, termed Artesian wells ; 
 by which perennial fountains are raised from 
 the natural reservoir of water in the lowermost 
 arenaceous deposits. The nature of these springs 
 is easily explained. The beds of sand under 
 the clay are fed by the rain that falls on the 
 uncovered margin of the basin, and the water 
 percolating through the porous strata, gradually 
 
 * The term plastic clay (argille plastiquc) was given to this lowermost divi- 
 sion of the eocene strata in conformity with the nomenclature of the French 
 geologists ; but the beds thus named are less developed in the London than 
 in the Paris basin, and do not with us possess distinctive characters suffi- 
 ciently important to warrant their separation from the other intercalated fresh- 
 water deposits of this formation.
 
 82 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 accumulates till a reservoir is formed beneath 
 the central plateau of clay. If this stratum be 
 penetrated, the water must necessarily rise to 
 the level of the fluid in the highest part of the 
 subterranean lake, and may therefore flow to the 
 surface, or even escape in jets, to a considerable 
 height above it. Such is the phenomenon of 
 the Artesian wells in and near London. The 
 impermeable clay confines the water contained 
 in the sand beneath ; the engineer perforates 
 this bed with his borer, and introduces tubes 
 for the passage of the pure element to the 
 surface, and the exclusion of the brackish water 
 that may ooze from the saliferous strata above ; 
 for although the wells sunk into the London 
 clay yield no water, the sands alternating with 
 the argillaceous beds afford a limited quantity. 
 The prevalence of various saline minerals, how- 
 ever, in the clay, such as the sulphates of iron, 
 lime, and magnesia, generally renders the water 
 derived from this source unfit for domestic pur- 
 poses ; and the borings are carried down to the 
 sands of the plastic clay before a copious supply 
 of excellent water can be obtained.* The total 
 
 • Tin' most remarkable instance of success in obtaining a perennial foun- 
 tain from a deep Bource by the process oi boring described in the text, is thai 
 
 of Sri m lit , Dear Paris. An Artesian well is there carried to the extraordinary 
 depth of I. miii I., i, |iassinn through the entire thickness of the eocene strata
 
 THE RAILWAY SECTIONS. 83 
 
 thickness of the London clay, in some situations, 
 is estimated at nearly 1,000 feet; the wells on the 
 Surrey side of the Thames are from 100 to 600 
 feet deep. 
 
 The Railway sections. — The above pre- 
 liminary remarks will enable the observer to un- 
 derstand the nature of the strata of which transient 
 glimpses may be obtained on each side the railway 
 in the rapid transit from London to Southampton, 
 on which we now proceed without further com- 
 ment. Although no considerable sections of 
 the eocene strata are traversed by this line, yet 
 here and there the characteristic soil of the Lon- 
 don clay may be seen in the cuttings, where the 
 surface has not acquired a covering of turf. On 
 Wandsworth Common the banks on each side are 
 composed of this clay with a superficial capping 
 of gravel and sand. When the railway was in 
 progress numerous fossils were dug up ; and even 
 now the slips of the embankments which occa- 
 sionally take place, expose specimens of nautili 
 and other shells, petrified wood, &c* 
 
 of the Paris basin, and the underlying chalk, firestone, and gait, to the green- 
 sand. The water rises in a powerful column to the height of 30 feet above 
 the highest part of Paris, and has a temperature of 91° Fahrenheit ; being 
 sufficiently warm for the heating of green-houses, &c. 
 
 * See " Geological Survey of Surrey" in iirayiey's History of the County, 
 vol. i. pi. 1, 2, in which several of the fossils discovered in the clay of Wand.s- 
 worth Common are figured.
 
 84 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 At Esher the clayey district of the Bagshot 
 sands prevails and overlies the London clay, which 
 in our further progress is generally concealed by 
 the sands of this subdivision of the eocene strata. 
 At Goldsworth-hill, four miles north of Guild- 
 ford, a deep section of the Bagshot sands is ex- 
 posed, consisting of greenish and yellowish sands, 
 in which fossil teeth and other remains of several 
 kinds of fishes (principally of the Shark family), 
 and casts of shells, have been discovered. The most 
 interesting fossil obtained is a large tooth of a 
 Saw-fish, which, at that time, was the only known 
 instance of the genus Pristis in the English strata ; 
 but subsequently, examples of the teeth have been 
 found in the clay of Bracklesham, in Sussex. The 
 other teeth are referable to three kinds of car- 
 tilaginous fishes, and with them were associated 
 teeth and palatal bones of Bays, and vertebrae of 
 osseous fishes, of species common in the clay of 
 Sheppey; also a portion of the carapace or buckler 
 of a freshwater turtle.'* 
 
 At Weybridge the banks show an example of 
 false stratification, as it is termed, of white and 
 fawn-coloured sands, with the usual capping of 
 gravel and clay. At Woking Common the Bag- 
 
 • Notice- of Fossils discovered in the Bagshot Sand at Goldsworth-hill, 
 Surrey) by the Rev. Dr. Backhaul. Proceeding* <>f the Geological Society of 
 London, vol. ii. p, 687.
 
 THE RAILWAY SECTIONS. 85 
 
 shot sands still prevail, their sterile surface being- 
 covered with heather and broom, except in a few 
 places, where interspersions of clay produce ver- 
 dant spots, which appear like oases in the desert. 
 Greenish clays and marls, alternating with sand, 
 are next seen, and extensive plains clothed with 
 heather, and dotted with clumps of pines and firs. 
 Between Woking and Farnborough many sections 
 of the Bagshot sands are passed, and at the Wing- 
 field station the country presents the same geo- 
 logical character. Although from the rapidity of 
 our progress but transient glimpses can be ob- 
 tained of the adjacent district, yet the character 
 of the vegetation, and the appearance of the un- 
 enclosed tracts, destitute of all traces of habitation, 
 save a few solitary turf cabins, convey some idea 
 of the nature of the untractable soil produced by 
 these siliceous deposits. Such, indeed, is the 
 general aspect of sterility in the worst parts of 
 the Bagshot-heaths, that when the adjacent fertile 
 region is hidden from view, a stranger might sup- 
 pose himself transported to a desolate mountain 
 moor in the border countries.* 
 
 About three miles before we reach the station 
 at Basingstoke,-]- the Chalk emerges, and is seen 
 
 * Mr. Warburton on the Bagshot Sands, Geol. Trans, vol. i. p. 49. 
 t The picturesque ruins of the Chapel of the Holy Ghost, said to have been 
 erected temp. Edward IV., on the right of the station at Basingstoke, are
 
 86 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 covered with a bed of tertiary sand; and at 
 Andovcr-road station the railway cutting exposes 
 a good section of the Upper-chalk, which now 
 continues, in greater or less thickness, surmounted 
 in some places by patches of tertiary clays, and 
 in others by gravel and loam, till we approach 
 Southampton, where it is wholly concealed by the 
 alluvial and eocene deposits. At the Winchester 
 station, which is on the chalk of the Hampshire. 
 downs, we have a fine view of the river valley, in 
 which stands the venerable city of the immortal 
 Alfred, hallowed by so many glorious associations 
 of the olden time ; and we catch a glimpse of that 
 precious monument of antiquity, the Hospital of 
 Saint Cross, with occasional views of the crystal 
 streams of the river Itchin, as they pursue their 
 tortuous course through the verdant chalk-valley 
 to Southampton-water. 
 
 Southampton station. — The accumulations 
 of alluvial gravel and loam around Southampton 
 are in many places of considerable thickness. The 
 organic remains hitherto discovered in these beds 
 are but few; comprising only some detached bones, 
 and a tooth of a mammoth, and bones of a species 
 
 worthy the notice of the traveller. An elegant hexagonal turret tower at 
 
 tlu- south-west, and part of the east ami south walls, are visible from the 
 railway.
 
 SOUTHAMPTON ARTESIAN WELLS. 87 
 
 of horse and deer; and as the tertiary strata are 
 in a great measure obscured by the superficial 
 deposits, there are no productive localities of 
 fossils in the immediate vicinity of Southampton. 
 The nature of the strata to a considerable depth, 
 has been ascertained by the borings lately under- 
 taken to obtain a more ample supply of water for 
 the inhabitants, than that yielded by the numerous 
 private wells in the town. These are sunk through 
 the bed of gravel which overlies the London clay, 
 to a depth of from 10 to 25 feet, this clay forming 
 the water shed or natural tank of the surrounding 
 district. At the railway station an Artesian well, 
 which overflows from a depth of 220 feet at the 
 rate of ten gallons per minute, was formed by 
 boring till the beds of sand of the plastic clay, 
 which lie between the London clay and the chalk, 
 were reached ; the water in this well rises, there- 
 fore, from the same geological source as the springs 
 near London. 
 
 A few years since it was resolved to obtain a 
 more copious and constant supply for the town, 
 by sinking an Artesian well on the Common. The 
 operations were commenced in 1838, and have 
 now reached a depth of 1,260 feet, at an expense 
 of 24,000/. The following is the section made 
 by the borings : —
 
 88 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Drift, or alluvial soil . . . . 38 feet. 
 
 London clay 304 * — 
 
 Plastic sands and clays ... 97 — 
 
 Chalk 821 — 
 
 This well yields by pumping 15,000 cubic feet of 
 water daily, but the quantity is only one half of 
 that required, and it will be necessary to continue 
 the borings till the firestone is reached (probably 
 a further depth of from 1 50 to 200 feet) before an 
 adequate flow of water is likely to be obtained.f 
 The impervious blue chalk-marl or gait, which 
 underlies the firestone, generally supports an abun- 
 dant sheet of water ; but whether a stream will 
 rise to the surface is extremely uncertain, and 
 depends on the level from which the water is 
 derived that feeds this subterranean reservoir, and 
 the condition of the basin which sustains \t.\ 
 
 The branch of the South-western railway that 
 extends to Gosport, cuts through a few ridges of 
 tertiary clays, sands, and gravel, capped with drift, 
 but these present no sections of particular in- 
 
 • Many of the characteristic shells of these strata were brought up by the 
 borer. 
 
 t See an admirable Address on this subject to the Mayor of Southampton 
 and the Members of the Artesian Well Committee, by the Very Rev. Dr. 
 Bnckland; July, 1845. At the late meeting of the British Association of 
 Science at Southampton, the president, Sir Roderick Murchison, and several 
 other eminent geologists, examined the borings, and recommended the con- 
 tinuance of the operations till the firestone was reached. 
 
 ; In the chalk districts of t he south-cast of Sussex copious streams of the 
 purest water rise from the junction of the grey mail with the white chalk.
 
 SOUTHAMPTON TO RYDE. 89 
 
 terest.* At Stubbington, between four and five 
 miles west of Gosport, near which the line passes, 
 many interesting fossils have been obtained from 
 the tertiary clays and sands. -j- 
 
 Southampton to Ryde. — The steamers from 
 Southampton to the Isle of Wight generally touch 
 at East Cowes, and proceed to Ryde ; those from 
 Portsmouth cross Sjrithead to the latter town, the 
 distance being scarcely five miles. In the former 
 route we pass down Southampton-water, an arm of 
 the sea which extends ten miles inland in a north- 
 westerly direction, and separates the eastern part 
 of the coast of Hampshire from the New Forest 
 on the west. The entrance of Southampton-water 
 is guarded on the west by Calshot Castle, which 
 was erected by Henry VIII. on the narrow slip of 
 land that here advances some little distance from 
 the line of coast* We now obtain a distinct 
 view of the north side of the " beautiful Island ;" 
 and as we approach the land, two parallel chains 
 of hills may be observed, stretching in a direction 
 east and west through the whole extent of the 
 landscape. The nearest range is of moderate 
 height, and slopes towards the shore ; the distant 
 
 * Portsmouth and Gosport are built on eocene strata ; the wells penetrate 
 the London clay to the depth of from 200 to ouo feet. 
 
 t Several species of shells, collected by Mr. Holloway, of Portsmouth, are 
 figured in "Sowerby's Mineral Conchology."
 
 90 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 chain, which bounds the horizon on the south', 
 rises with a bolder sweep, and to a much greater 
 elevation, and exhibits the smooth and rounded 
 aspect, and undulated outline, which are so cha- 
 racteristic of the mountain masses of the white 
 chalk, as to indicate their geological character, 
 even when seen from a considerable distance. 
 The first line of hills consists of freshwater strata, 
 which are superimposed on the eocene marine 
 deposits ; the distant range is part of the chain of 
 chalk downs that traverses the island throughout 
 its entire length, forming on the east the promon- 
 tory of Culver-cliff, and on the west that of the 
 Needles (see the map, PL XX.). 
 
 Geological structure of the Isle of Wight. 
 — Before we land, and proceed to examine par- 
 ticular localities, it will be necessary to take a 
 general view of the distribution of the three 
 formations of which the island consists. It is 
 shown in ligti. 3, (p. 75,) that the Solent and Spit- 
 head occupy a trough or channel from two to 
 seven miles wide-, formed by the London clay and 
 other tertiary deposits which lie upon the chalk. 
 The wells at Southampton, Portsmouth, &c, prove, 
 in the absence of natural sections, that although 
 the strata have undergone great disturbances, the 
 same order of superposition is maintained, as in
 
 GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE ISLAND. 91 
 
 the south-east of England ; and in the southern 
 division of the Isle of Wight, where not only the 
 lowermost cretaceous strata, but even the wealclen, 
 rise to the surface, in consequence of the highly 
 inclined position into which the central mass of 
 rocks has been thrown, the natural order of the 
 deposits is not inverted.* 
 
 The Isle of Wight is of an irregular rhomboidal 
 form, being in length, from east to west, twenty- 
 three miles, and from north to south, in the widest 
 part, thirteen miles ; the circumference is between 
 seventy and eighty miles. Its surface comprises 
 about 105,000 acres, of which 75,000 acres are 
 under tillage, 20,000 acres are pasturage, and 
 10,000 acres unproductive heaths and commons. 
 The population is estimated at nearly 45,000. 
 
 The map, PL XX, shows the range and extent 
 of the respective formations which lie beneath the 
 vegetable soil and superficial loam and gravel. The 
 section in the same plate represents a vertical cut 
 through the island, from Cowes on the north, to 
 the sea-shore beyond St. Catherine's down on the 
 south, and exhibits the relative position and direc- 
 
 * The Underclitl" presents an apparent exception, for in some instances 
 masses of white chalk are seen covered with beds of firestnne, marl, and 
 gait ; hut these are merely portions of the cliffs that have fallen down in a 
 retroverted position from the encroachments of the sea in comparatively very 
 modern periods. 
 
 E
 
 92 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 tion of the principal deposits ; these are further 
 exemplified by the instructive diagram, PL VII, 
 p. 94. 
 
 By a reference to the map it will be seen that 
 the eocene strata which were deposited on the 
 chalk when the latter was in a horizontal position 
 (lign. 2, p. 74), form the northern division of the 
 island ; this tract of country is coloured pink. 
 
 The other portion (coloured blue) is almost en- 
 tirely composed of the different members of the 
 cretaceous system. The white-chalk forms a range 
 of downs from the eastern to the western extre- 
 mity, and is flanked on the south by the lower 
 beds of this formation. These are succeeded by 
 another group of chalk-hills, that expands into a 
 broad and lofty promontory, in some parts be- 
 tween 800 and 900 feet high, crested by St. Cathe- 
 rine's, Boniface, and Shanklin downs. On the 
 southern escarpment of this chain the inferior 
 deposits of the cretaceous system reappear, and 
 fallen masses of these rocks form the irregular 
 line of terraces which constitute the Undercliff. 
 The downs on the southern coast are separated 
 from those inland by an anticlinal axis which 
 extends through this part of the Island, and is 
 produced by the upheaval of the firestone, gait, 
 and greensand. Tins is shown by the section
 
 GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE ISLAND. 93 
 
 from north to south given in the map (PL XX), in 
 which the different members of the chalk forma- 
 tion are denned by variations in the lines of shading, 
 as explained in the index of colours. 
 
 The promontory of the Undercliff is flanked 
 both on the east and west by extensive bays, 
 which have been excavated in the clays and sands 
 of the wealden and inferior cretaceous deposits, 
 by the long continued encroachments of the sea. 
 The wealden (coloured sienna on the map) occu- 
 pies an inconsiderable extent of surface ; but in 
 Sandown bay on the east, and in Brixton, Brook, 
 and Compton bays on the west, the cliffs, which 
 are formed of the upper clays and sands of this for- 
 mation, are exposed to unremitting destruction 
 from the action of the waves. The sea-shore is, 
 therefore, strewn with the detritus of these fluvia- 
 tile strata, and the shingle contains innumerable 
 water-worn fragments of the bones of reptiles, and 
 other organic remains. 
 
 That the general reader may obtain an accurate 
 idea of the phenomena above described, the dia- 
 gram, PL VII, for which I am indebted to my 
 friend Professor John Phillips, is subjoined. In 
 this plan the geographical features of the island 
 are intentionally exaggerated, that the most im- 
 portant physical characters may be clearly under-
 
 * a 
 
 £ O 
 
 = ,§ 
 
 J
 
 RIVERS AND STREAMS. 95 
 
 stood. The northern district, consisting of fresh- 
 water and marine eocene deposits, is marked 
 tertiary. The chalk downs are seen in their full 
 extent from east to west, the dotted lines denoting 
 the inclined direction of the strata as indicated 
 by the layers of flint nodules ; and the lower mem- 
 bers of the cretaceous system occupy the southern 
 portion of the Island ; the principal subdivisions, 
 viz. the firestone (/.), gait (g.), and greensand (g*s.), 
 being marked with letters of reference. The 
 wealden strata (w.) are shown in the bays on the 
 east and west of the Undercliff. The vertical cut 
 or section through jlie island from north to south, 
 explains the position and flexures of the strata, 
 which have given rise to the present geological 
 characters of the surface of the country ; the 
 wealden constituting the foundation and central 
 axis of the Island. 
 
 Rivers and Streams. — There is a good supply 
 of water, at a moderate depth, throughout,, the 
 greater part of the less elevated districts ; but the 
 rivers and streams are neither numerous nor con- 
 siderable. The drainage of the country is chiefly 
 effected by four or five rivers that flow from the 
 northern flanks of the chalk downs. Of these, 
 the principal is the Medina, which, rising at the 
 north-eastern base of St. Catherine's-hill, meanders
 
 96 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 along the valley that runs to the east of Gat- 
 combe and Mount joy. The river flows on to the 
 east of the town of Newport, and soon expands 
 into a wide estuary, which opens into the sea on 
 the north ; the towns of East and West Cowes 
 being situated on the banks of the embouchure 
 of the river. 
 
 Between Ryde and Cowes there is an estuary 
 fed by springs that issue from the northern 
 foot of Arreton and Ashey downs, and form a 
 considerable breadth of water at Wooton-bridge, 
 called Wooton-river ; the estuary below the bridge 
 communicates with the sea, and is termed Fish- 
 bourne-creek. 
 
 The most considerable estuary of the Island is 
 Brading Haven, which covers 800 acres, and at 
 high water has the aspect of a beautiful lake ; but 
 during low water it is a muddy swamp, through 
 which meanders an inconsiderable river, called the 
 Eastern Yar, originating in springs that rise at the 
 foot of the chalk range near Godshill. 
 
 Newtown Bay, between Cowes and Yarmouth, 
 is the mouth of a small river of the same name, 
 which is mainly fed by a copious stream that 
 rises near Calbourne. 
 
 The Western Yar has its source from springs 
 that burst forth from the foot of the chalk near
 
 FROM COWES TO RYDE. 97 
 
 Freshwater, within a short distance of the southern 
 shore, and quickly expands into an estuary that 
 falls into the sea at Yarmouth, the entire length 
 of the river scarcely exceeding three miles. 
 
 Along the southern shore of the Island there 
 are no streams sufficiently large to deserve the 
 name of rivers ; but the clay beds that in some 
 parts of the cliffs are covered by porous strata 
 many "yards in thickness, give rise to copious 
 rivulets, some of which issue from a great height, 
 and dashing from ledge to ledge, fall into the sea 
 in cascades of considerable picturesque beauty; 
 those of Shanklin and Blackgang Chines {PL XIII.) 
 are well known examples. 
 
 From Cowes to Ryde. — From the highly 
 cultivated state of that portion of the Island we are 
 approaching, and the luxuriant woods and copses 
 with which it is adorned, its geological structure is 
 almost wholly concealed from view. The water- 
 worn blocks of limestone on the sea-shore, and 
 the layers of tertiary strata exposed in those 
 places where recent encroachments of the sea 
 have undermined the low cliffs which skirt the 
 plantations along the water's edge, afford, how- 
 ever, indications of the nature of the deposits 
 composing this district. As there are no loca- 
 lities of geological interest around Cowes that are
 
 98 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT, 
 
 accessible to strangers, we proceed to Ryde, the 
 quarries at Binstead in the vicinity of that town 
 exhibiting good sections of the freshwater strata, 
 which extend through the island from Headon- 
 hill on the west, to St. Helen's and Bembridge 
 on the east. On landing at Ryde pier, if at the 
 recession of the tide, it will be instructive to notice 
 the appearance of the surface of the sand and 
 silt that extend along the shore, for it is often 
 deeply impressed with ripple-marks produced by 
 the action of the waves ; and similar appearances 
 will be presented to our notice on the slabs of 
 limestone, and laminated clays and shales of the 
 wealden, and other ancient deposits.* 
 
 The sea-shore at Ryde, during the last century, 
 has undergone a remarkable change in its geolo- 
 gical character, which is worthy of attention. Sir 
 Henry Englefieldf states that, "when Fielding, 
 in the year 1753, was at Ryde, on his voyage to 
 Lisbon, the town was totally inaccessible except 
 
 On a late visit to Ryde, the wind having ;t few hours previously been 
 exceedingly variable, 1 found the ripple-marks formed on the surface of the 
 muddy dunes by the agitated waters of a very remarkable character, and 
 strikingly resembling the appearance of the limestone covered with fossil 
 fuei. from the Alleghany Mountains: and shortly afterwards 1 obtained from 
 I 111 W I allien at Sandown-bay a slab of shelly marble, with the upper-surface 
 rippled in precisely a similar manner. 
 
 I " Descriptions of the Picturesqui Bi nth Intiquitie , and Geological 
 Phenomena ol the Isle of Wight," bj Sir Henrj ('. Englefleld, Bart. 18 1C 
 
 p. 16.
 
 THE SEA-SHORE AT RYDE. 99 
 
 at or near high water, as the tide on its recession 
 left a vast breadth of mud, which was too soft to 
 bear the lightest weight. But this mud-bank is 
 now almost covered by a layer of fine white sand, 
 which has formed a surface smooth and firm 
 enough to bear wheel-carriages, and which renders 
 bathing at all times safe and agreeable. This bed 
 of sand reaches to Binstead, having, during the 
 last fifty years, covered two miles of the shore ; 
 and it is said to be still extending to the west- 
 ward. To what cause this change is owing it is 
 difficult to explain ; but it is an example of an 
 alternation of deposits from the action of the sea 
 in circumstances apparently unchanged."
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FRESHWATER EOCENE STRATA OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT — QUARRIES 
 AT BINSTEAD — FOSSIL SKULL OF A REIN-DEER — EOCENE STRATA AT 
 BIXSTEAI) — FOSSIL CHARA — FOSSIL LAND AND RIVER SHELLS — 
 FOSSIL TURTLES — FOSSIL REMAINS OF EXTINCT MAMMALIA. 
 
 Freshwater eocene strata. — The most remark- 
 able peculiarity in the eocene formation of the 
 Isle of Wight as compared with that of London, 
 consists in the lacustrine and fluviatile character 
 of the upper series of deposits, which are super- 
 imposed on marine strata identical with those of 
 the metropolis. For though in some localities 
 clays and sands containing marine and estuary 
 shells, alternate with marls and limestones abound- 
 ing in fluviatile species ; and in others the strata 
 are fluvio-marine, that is, contain an intermixture 
 of marine and freshwater shells ; yet throughout 
 a considerable thickness of deposits the organic 
 remains are entirely fluviatile and terrestrial. In 
 tli is respect the tertiary system of the Island cor- 
 responds with that of the Paris basin, which is 
 characterised by alternations of freshwater marls,
 
 FRESHWATER EOCENE STRATA. 101 
 
 gypseous limestones, and siliceous millstones, with 
 marine sands and clays. It was from the gypsum 
 quarries of Montmartre that those relics of ex- 
 tinct mammalia were obtained, which the genius 
 of the illustrious Cuvier called forth from their 
 rocky sepulchres, and invested anew with the 
 forms and lineaments of life.* 
 
 In the Isle of Wight the freshwater series con- 
 sists of marls, limestones, and shelly concretions, 
 with intercalations of clay, marl, and sand; the 
 gypseous marls and limestones, and the siliceous 
 millstones of the Paris group are altogether want- 
 ing. Nevertheless, there is evidence that the two 
 formations were contemporaneous, for the relics of 
 Cuvierian pachydermata have been discovered in 
 the Binstead limestones (see PI. II.). 
 
 The freshwater eocene strata of the Island, which 
 are spread over the whole of the northern part, 
 are denoted on the map {PI. XX.) by pink on a 
 plain ground ; the marine beds appear on the 
 surface as a narrow band extending along the 
 northern flank of the chalk downs, and are in- 
 dicated by the same colour on a ground shaded 
 with parallel lines. The localities which exhibit 
 the most instructive sections of the marine and 
 freshwater deposits in their natural order of 
 
 * Wonders of Geology, vol. i. p. 240.
 
 102 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 superposition arc Headon Hill, Alum Bay, and 
 Whitecliff Bay. 
 
 Binstead quarries.- — The limestones in the 
 vicinity of Hyde have been quarried for many 
 centuries ; the shelly, as well as the compact 
 varieties, having been in great demand during the 
 middle ages for building.* Though the sections 
 exposed in the quarries now open are inconside- 
 rable, they will suffice to illustrate the characters 
 of the strata and the nature of their fossils, and 
 render the interpretation of the phenomena here- 
 after to be examined more easy of comprehension. 
 I would, therefore, first conduct the reader to 
 Binstead, which lies about a mile to the west of 
 Ryde. There are several quarries on both sides 
 of the turnpike road to Newport, and others in a 
 field which lies on the left of the footpath that 
 turns oil" from the main road just beyond a Doric 
 lodge, and leads by copses and hedge-rows to the 
 picturesque hamlet of Binstead, affording here 
 and there glimpses of the most charming rural 
 scenery. The quarries for the extraction of the 
 stone vary in depth from ten to twenty feet, and 
 
 * A great part of Winchester Cathedra] is built of stone from the old 
 quarries at Binstead. Some- of tin- walls of Lewes Priory were faced with 
 this -lone; and several ancient Sussex churches an- in part constructed of it. 
 ii tj composed of comminuted shells, held together by a sparry calca- 
 reous cement, was extensivel] used; it has been frequently mistaken for 
 Caen stone by our antiquaries.
 
 FOSSIL REIN-DEER. 103 
 
 appear to have been opened without regard to any 
 regular plan, wherever it was thought a layer of 
 compact stone could be easily reached.* 
 
 Fossil rein- deer. — Upon entering a quarry at 
 Binstead, the dislocated state of the beds of lime- 
 stone immediately strikes the observer. Vertical 
 and diagonal fissures and chasms, extending in 
 some places to the depth of fifteen feet, are seen 
 traversing the solid rock, and filled with the 
 alluvial loam and clay that form the general sub- 
 soil of this district ; in these deposits bones of a 
 species of horse and ox have been discovered. On 
 a recent visit, I obtained a considerable portion 
 of the skull of a Rein-deer (Cervus tarandus), from 
 clay occupying the bottom of a vertical fissure at 
 the depth of ten feet from the surface. It con- 
 sists of the posterior part of the cranium, and 
 closely resembles a specimen found in a cavern at 
 Berryhead, in Devonshire, and figured by Pro- 
 fessor Owen in British Mammalia ;f the latter is 
 referred by that eminent palaeontologist to the 
 recent species of Rein-deer, chiefly from the proxi- 
 mity of the bases of the antlers to the occipital 
 
 * Quarr Abbey. — In a sequestered valley, within a short distance of Bin- 
 stead, are a few mouldering walls, the only remains of the once celebrated 
 Quarr Abbey, which are generally visited by the tourist : the beauty of the 
 scenery will amply repay the pedestrian geologist for the extension of his 
 walk to this lovely spot. 
 
 t " British Fossil Mammals," p. 181, fig. 198.
 
 104 
 
 GEOLOGY OF TITE 1*1. F, OF WIGHT. 
 
 crest. Dr. Falconer, who, with his wonted cour- 
 tesy, obliged me by comparing the Isle of Wight 
 specimen with the skulls of recent deer in the 
 British Museum, agrees with me in the opinion 
 that there is no appreciable difference between 
 the fossil cranium and that of the Rein-deer. 
 Lign. 4,* represents the specimen viewed from 
 
 LIGN 4. — FOSSIL SKULI. OF A REIN-DKER, FROM A FISSURE IN A QUARRY 
 AT KINSTF.AD 
 
 a. a. The osseous bases to which the antlers were attached. 
 (One-third linear of the natural tize.) 
 
 the occipital aspect ; the figure is one-third the 
 size of the original. The skull appears to have 
 belonged to an adult, that had but recently shed 
 its antlers. 
 
 * Engraved by Mr. Haptr. 6S, Gower Street.
 
 EOCENE STRATA OF B1NSTEAD. 105 
 
 Eocene strata of Binstead. — The strata in 
 this locality are entirely of freshwater origin, 
 containing no intermixture whatever of marine 
 detritus. This is evident from the fossils, which 
 consist of shells of the common genera of mollusca 
 that inhabit lakes and rivers ; of seed-vessels and 
 stems of aquatic plants ; bones of freshwater tur- 
 tles ; and teeth and bones of land mammalia. An 
 inspection of Plates I. and II. will give an idea of 
 the assemblage of organic remains found in this 
 locality. The layers of stone are commonly broken 
 and dislocated, but not far removed from their 
 original position. On my visit last summer, the 
 following section was exposed in the principal 
 quarry near the road-side ; it presents the usual 
 appearance and arrangement of the upper series 
 of freshwater strata of the Island ; the beds incline 
 slightly to the north. 
 
 1. Vegetable mould. 
 
 2. Alluvial loam and clay, in which are water- 
 
 worn blocks of shelly limestone (but ex- 
 tending in fissures tc a depth of 1 5 feet) . 3 feet. 
 
 3. Sand, with a layer of shelly limestone, more 
 
 or less separated into blocks which are 
 waterworn 2 feet. 
 
 4. Shelly limestone, in thin layers .... 1 foot. 
 
 5. Very tenacious loam and clay, of a dark 
 
 brown colour, much resembling in appear- 
 ance the dirt-bed of the Isle of Portland . 1 foot.
 
 10G GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 G. Fine sand with comminuted sheila . . . 6 feel. 
 
 7. Compact grey limestone; termed siliceous 
 
 limestone by Mr. Webster, from its con- 
 taining a large proportion of sand ; but 
 
 few fossils were observable 2 feet. 
 
 8. Fine sand. "Water issues from this bed, 
 
 being thrown up (according to the quarry- 
 men) by underlying beds of clay. 
 
 The upper beds of limestone abound in casts 
 and impressions of shells. No. 3, is full of hollows 
 left by the decay of the shells, and the subsequent 
 separation of the casts of their cavities. This bed 
 appears to have been formed by the infiltration of 
 calcareous matter into a layer of shells, the moulds 
 and casts of which are now cemented together by 
 sparry concretions. A coating of white powder 
 on the casts is almost the only vestige of the con- 
 stituent substance of the shells now observable. 
 In this sparry limestone the minute seed-vessels 
 of charw hereafter described, fragments of bones 
 of turtles, and casts of planorbes (PL I. fig. 1) and 
 limnei (PL I. fig. 3) are abundant. 
 
 The sand, No. 6, is intimately mingled with 
 comminuted shells, the whole being loosely held 
 together by an infiltration of marl ; the most 
 coherent masses readily crumble into powder 
 between the fingers. I have not succeeded in 
 obtaining a single shell entire; but from a micro-
 
 EOCENE STRATA OF BINSTEAD. 107 
 
 scopical examination am led to conclude thai the 
 shelly particles are the detritus of the freshwater 
 snails (limnei, and planorbes), so abundant in the 
 limestone ; waterworn bones of turtles occur in 
 this bed. In some of the quarries there is a layer 
 of very hard limestone entirely composed of com- 
 minuted shells cemented together by a crystalline 
 calcareous infiltration ; it contains extremely 
 minute waterworn fragments of turtles' bones, and, 
 very rarely, teeth and bones of mammalia. I be- 
 lieve this bed to be the equivalent of No. 3, from 
 winch it differs simply in its consolidation, and in 
 the absence of sand and marl. This shelly lime- 
 stone is observable in the walls of the most ancient 
 castles and religious edifices in Hampshire and 
 Sussex. 
 
 The siliceous limestone, or rag as it is locally 
 termed, being very compact and durable, forms an 
 excellent building material. The upper limestones 
 yield stone sufficiently firm for walls, &c, and 
 are extensively quarried in the northern district 
 of the island. The surface of the blocks in newly 
 erected buildings, often exposes such interesting 
 groups of fossil shells, as to present a strong 
 temptation to the geologist to trespass with his 
 hammer. 
 
 I will now more particularly describe the fossils 
 
 F
 
 108 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 which occur in these strata. The shells, as we 
 have seen, are very abundant, hut they include 
 only a few genera and species, a circumstance 
 characteristic of fluviatile and lacustrine forma- 
 tions. With the exception of waterworn frag- 
 ments of wood, the Chares are the only fossil 
 vegetables that have come under my notice. The 
 mammalian remains are, at present, of excessive 
 rarity ; but I doubt not diligent research would 
 soon add to the number already known to the 
 palaeontologist.* 
 
 Fossil Chara. — The aquatic plant termed Chara 
 is, of course, familiar to every one, as it abounds in 
 lakes, streams, and rivulets, throughout the king- 
 dom. The stems are hollow, and composed of 
 tubes filled with a fluid in which green globules 
 circulate. The fruit is a minute spherical body, 
 enclosed in a calcareous integument formed of five 
 spirally-twisted plates, which unite at the sum- 
 mit. -J- These fruits or seed-vessels when first dis- 
 covered in a fossil state were supposed to be the 
 
 * I would refer the general reader, who is not conversant with the various 
 conditions in which the remains of vegetables and animals occur in the 
 mineral kingdom, according to the circumstances under which they were 
 originally imbedded, and the chemical changes they may have subsequently 
 one, to my remarks "On the Nature of Fossils or Organic Remains," 
 Chap. III. Medals of Creation, vol. i. See also " Instructions for the collecting 
 Of fossils," vol. ii. p. 885. 
 
 t McdaN of Creation, vol. i. p. 188.
 
 FOSSIL CIIAIUR. 
 
 109 
 
 shells of an unknown species of mollusk, and a 
 genus was formed for their reception, and termed 
 gyrogonites, or twisted stones, a name by which 
 they are still often designated. These fossil 
 bodies, from their extreme minuteness, are likely 
 to elude the observation of the inexperienced col- 
 lector, unless their structure and appearance are 
 particularly noted; but a reference to the figures 
 in lign. 5, will enable the reader easily to dis- 
 tinguish them, with the assistance of a pocket 
 lens. 
 
 " . ;.£ MV/V-.IR-- 
 
 I.IGN. 5.— FOSSIL SEED-VESSELS OP CHARGE. 
 
 (Mr. Lye/1.) 
 
 Fig. 1. — C/iara medicnginula ; a section showing the nut within the 
 pericarp. 
 2. — Chara tuberculala ; the pericarp. 
 3. — Portion of a spiral valve, magnified. 
 4 and 5. — The natural size of figs. 1 and 2. 
 
 On breaking the compact limestone, the surface 
 often appears studded with small spherical cavities, 
 and these, with a lens of moderate power, will be 
 
 f2
 
 110 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 found to present the inner surface of the pericarp 
 or shell of the Chara, the nut or kernel being 
 absent. By a little practice, some of these fossils 
 may be obtained with the external surface ex- 
 posed, and, rarely, with the nut in the shell, as in 
 fig. 1, which is copied from Mr. Lyell's paper in 
 the Geolog. Trans. In the limestone at White- 
 cliff Bay, a species was discovered by Mr. Lyell, 
 having the pericarp composed of nine spiral valves, 
 covered with tubercles (fig. 2). On a recent visit 
 to that locality, there were many blocks of limestone 
 on the sea-shore, in which these bodies were so 
 numerous as to constitute a large proportion of 
 the mass, but I did not succeed in obtaining any 
 specimens with the nut ; the cavity of the pericarp 
 was generally lined with calcareous spar. In some 
 of the sands gyrogonites occur in abundance, 
 and may be detected by examining with a lens 
 a little of the earth spread out on a sheet of 
 paper. 
 
 Fossil Shells. — The shells at Binstead are 
 chiefly those of univalve gasteropoda, and be- 
 long to genera common in our rivers and 
 lakes. The Planorbis, or discoidal river-snail, 
 I 'I. I. ligs. 1, 2,) may be distinguished by the 
 .shell being involuted or coiled up in a nearly ver- 
 tical plane; five or >i\ specie's have been found.
 
 FOSSIL FRESHWATER SHELLS. 1 1 1 
 
 The Limneus,* (PL I. figs. 3, 4, 5,) is characterised 
 by its elongated oval form, pointed spire, and deli- 
 cate shell, with an oblique fold on the inner lip 
 of the aperture ; of this genus there are six species 
 in the tertiary strata of the Island. The Bulimus,\ 
 a genus of land snails, is comparatively rare at 
 Binstead; but casts of the large species figured 
 PI. I. fig. 7, are occasionally met with, invested with 
 a white friable coating of the original shell. This 
 species is a reversed shell, that is, the aperture is 
 to the left of the observer, instead of to the rierht. 
 as is most common ; some specimens are two inches 
 in length. There are indications of a sjjecies of 
 Cyclas,% a genus of freshwater bivalves, but the 
 examples met with are not sufficiently perfect to 
 require particular notice. A small species of 
 Unio$ is also sometimes found. 
 
 Specimens of the Cypris,\\ a small freshwater 
 crustacean, of which several species abound in 
 
 * Limnei and Planorbes are generally joint inhabitants of our pools and 
 streams. They are pulmoniferous, that is, possess air-breathing organs ; 
 hence they are obliged frequently to rise to the surface of the water to respire. 
 
 t Bulimus (properly hulinus), a genus of terrestrial pulmoniferous testa- 
 ceous mollusca. These animals are herbivorous, and some of the species that 
 inhabit warm climates are very large, their eggs being equal in size to those 
 of the Wren. 
 
 X Medals of Creation, p. 411. 
 
 § Unio, a genus of river mussels, of which a few fossil species have been 
 observed in certain deposits apparently of (luviatile or lacustrine origin. 
 
 || Medals of Creation, p. 544.
 
 112 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 some of the eocene deposits, occur at Binstead, 
 but I have not observed them in any considerable 
 number. 
 
 Fossil Turtles. — Waterworn fragments of the 
 bony plates of chelonian reptiles, which, from their 
 granulated or cancellated dermal surface, appear 
 
 L1GN. ti .— S1XKK.U, PLATE <)l A FRESHWATER TURTLE, FROM BINSTEAn. 
 
 (One-third linear, the natural size.) 
 
 The outline, a, represents the corresponding portion of the plastron. 
 
 to have belonged to the group of soft freshwater 
 tint It's called Trionyx, are often found associated 
 with the shells above described, in the tertiary
 
 FOSSIL TURTLES. 113 
 
 limestones and sands of the Isle of Wight. It is 
 very rarely, however, that any of the bones are 
 sufficiently perfect to indicate the affinities of the 
 original animal. The most instructive specimen 
 I have obtained is the fossil represented in lign. G ; 
 it is from the bed of sand marked No. 6, in the 
 section p. 106, and when found was so thickly 
 encrusted, that its characters were altogether con- 
 cealed till the investing sand was removed. 
 
 It is one of the bones (ineso-sternaT) of the plas- 
 tron, or sternum, of a turtle belonging to the 
 predaceous tribe of freshwater chelonians, termed 
 Trionyx, from having three claws. This is evident 
 from the peculiar form of the bone, and the can- 
 cellated outer surface, which is well represented 
 in the lignograph : an outline of the corresponding 
 portion is added to show the position of the bone 
 in the sternum.* 
 
 That specimens of great interest and beauty may 
 reward more active and judicious research than 
 has hitherto been bestowed on the palasontological 
 treasures of the Island, is manifest from the 
 discovery a few years since, of one of the most 
 remarkable fossil chelonians hitherto found in 
 this country. It was obtained from the tertiary 
 limestone that occurs in a low cliff" near St. 
 
 * See Medals of Creation, vol. ii. p. 766.
 
 114 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Helen's, a locality we shall hereafter notice, and 
 was sold to a dealer, who afterwards disposed of 
 it to a casual visitor. It consists of the entire 
 carapace or Luckier of a turtle, apparently of an 
 
 -T. 
 
 lign. /. — tortios ok the buckler of a fossil turtle, from 
 st. Helen's. 
 
 (Size of the original carajiace sixteen inches long, and nine wide.) 
 
 adult Triowjx. It is sixteen inches in length, 
 and about nine inches in its greatest width ; and 
 is formed of eight pairs of ribs, united by a 
 dorsal series of eight plates. The ribs are of 
 nearly equal breadth throughout their entire 
 length, and have their dermal surface cancellated 
 somewhat after the pattern of the meso-sternal 
 plate figured in lign. 6. The buckler is as convex 
 ;i~- in some of the land tortoises, and therefore 
 differs greatly from the usual form of the carapace 
 in thi' recent Trionyx, which is depressed, and has
 
 FOSSIL REMAINS OF EXTINCT .MAMMALIA. 115 
 
 a soft flattened margin; a modification of structure 
 
 enabling these animals to conceal themselves in 
 the mud at the bottoms of rivers and lakes, and 
 seize the mollusca which constitute their principal 
 food.* 
 
 The only vestige of any other order of reptiles 
 observed in these strata, is a tooth of the croco- 
 dilian type, apparently of the Alligator Hantonien- 
 sis ; a fossil species described by Mr. Searles 
 Wood, from a splendid specimen of the lower 
 jaw and teeth, &c, found in the freshwater beds 
 at Hordwell Cliff, on the Hampshire coast.f 
 
 FOSSIL REMAINS OF EXTINCT MAMMALIA. 
 
 From the general correspondence between the 
 tertiary formations of Hampshire and Paris, it 
 is probable that these strata were deposited con- 
 temporaneously, and under very similar con- 
 ditions ; their respective basins being connected 
 with the same sea, and alike characterised by 
 alternations of marine and fluviatile sedimentary 
 detritus. When, therefore, the attention of 
 
 * I very much regret my inability to give a correct representation of the 
 entire carapace; but having been promised the refusal of the specimen by 
 the dealer, I contented myself with the sketch of the part here figured ; the 
 form of the bones, and the sculpturing of the surface, are correctly shown in 
 the lignograph. 
 
 t Of this most interesting specimen a beautiful representation is given in 
 the first number of the new periodical,, called " The London Geological 
 Journal, or Record of Discoveries in British and Foreign Palaeontology ." 
 published by Churchill.
 
 116 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 the scientific world was directed to the fossil 
 mammalia found in the gypseous marls of Mont- 
 martre, in consequence of the extraordinary in- 
 terest with which the late Baron Cuvier invested 
 them, British geologists were sanguine in their 
 anticipations of discovering traces of these extinct 
 animals in the freshwater strata of England. But 
 not a relic of this kind was found till some years 
 after the appearance of the " Geograph. Min. des 
 Environs de Paris." The first evidence of the 
 occurrence of the extinct pachyderms of Paris in 
 the British strata was obtained by Mr. Thomas 
 Allan, of Edinburgh, who found a lower molar 
 tooth of an Anoplotherium in a quarry at Binstead.* 
 In 1830 Mr. Pratt discovered teeth and bones of 
 Anoplotheriitm, Palccotherium, and Dichobune, in 
 the same quarries ;-j- up to the present time, eight 
 species, belonging to four genera, have been dis- 
 covered in the strata near Ryde. At Headon 
 Hill a tooth and some bones have been found by 
 Mr. Prestwich ; and from the freshwater beds at 
 Hordwell Cliff, on the Hampshire coast, the re- 
 searches of Mr. Searles Wood have recently 
 
 * This specimen was figured and described by Dr. Auckland, in the Annals 
 of Philosophy, 1825. 
 
 | " Remarks on the Existence of the Anoplotherium and Palaeotherium in 
 the Freshwater Formation at Iiit.stead;" by Samuel Peace Pratt, Esq. F.R.8. 
 Trans, vol. iii. New Si
 
 FOSSIL REMAINS OF EXTINCT MAMMALIA. 117 
 
 brought to light several interesting additions.* 
 The following list comprises the specimens 
 hitherto discovered : — 
 
 Anoplotiierium commune; teeth (PI. II. fig. 10) and bones; 
 Binstead. 
 
 secundarium ; teeth and bones ; Seafield.f 
 
 Ch^ropotamus Cuvieri ; part of the lower jaw with teeth ; 
 
 Seafield ; by Kev. W. D. Fox. 
 Pal^otherium medium; teeth (PI. II. fig. 11) ; Binstead. 
 
 • magnum ; a tooth ; Seafield ; by the Kev. W. 
 
 D. Fox. 
 crassum ; teeth ; Binstead and Seafield. 
 minus; right ramus of the lower jaw with five 
 molar teeth (PL II. fig. 12) ; portions of the 
 skull, radius, and tibia ; Seafield, near Eyde ; 
 by the Eev. W. D. Fox. 
 Dichobune cervinum ; lower jaw and teeth (PL II. fig. 13) ; 
 Binstead ; by Mr. Pratt. 
 
 All the fossils in the above list are figured and 
 described by Professor Owen in "British Fossil 
 Mammals," J a work of the highest interest, 
 replete with the most profound views of the cor- 
 relation of animal organization, and therefore of 
 inestimable value to the palaeontologist. I have 
 introduced figures of a few teeth in PL II., that 
 
 * See London Geological Journal, No. 1, pp. 5, 6. 
 
 t Seafield is a little hamlet to the east of Ryde, but the quarries are not 
 accessible to strangers. 
 
 t " A History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds. By Richard 
 Owen, F.R.S. &c." 1 vol. 8vo, with numerous Illustrations. Published by 
 Van Voorst, London, 1846.
 
 J 18 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 the reader who visits the Binstead quarries may be 
 aware of the appearance and characters of these 
 relics ; the lower jaw of the Palouotherium mi it ax, 
 with five molar teeth {PL II. fig. 12), is a highly 
 instructive specimen.* 
 
 It is unnecessary to enter at large on the struc- 
 ture and habits of the pachydermata to which 
 these remains belonged ; for even the forms of 
 these extinct beings must be familiar to the 
 reader, as Cuvier's restorations of several species 
 are introduced into every popular work that treats 
 of the ancient inhabitants of our globe, j The 
 Anoplotheria are remarkably distinguished by 
 having feet with but two toes, as in the ruminants, 
 and an uninterrupted dental system; the teeth 
 being placed in a continuous series, as in man, 
 without any interval between them. The A. com- 
 mune was eight feet long, and of the height of a 
 wild boar, but of a more elongated shape ; it had 
 a long and thick tail, which, it is supposed, like 
 that of the Otter, assisted it to swim with facility ; 
 from the structure of the teeth it is inferred that 
 it browsed on grass like the horse. The A.secun- 
 
 ' Tin Palaeotherium had seven molar teeth on each side the lower jaw ; in 
 
 figured, three true molars, and two of the premolars, remain , 
 tin- seventh or last molar has three crescent-shaped lulus; the others but 
 ■ ich. 
 
 I tails ot their anatomical structure are given in Cuvier's '■(>■ 
 I. iii.
 
 FOSSIL REMAINS OF EXTINCT MAMMALIA. I If) 
 
 darium was a smaller species. The Chwropotamw 
 was of the hog tribe, and nearly related to the 
 Peccari, but one-third larger. The Palwotheria 
 resembled the Tapirs in the form of the head, 
 and in having a short proboscis, but their molar 
 teeth were more like those of the Rhinoceros ; 
 their fore-feet had but three toes, instead of four, 
 as in the Tapirs. Upwards of eleven species, 
 varying from the size of the Rhinoceros to that 
 of the Hog, have been discovered in the tertiary 
 strata of France. The P. magnum was of the 
 size of a horse four or five feet high, with a mas- 
 sive head and proboscis, and short extremities. 
 The P. medium was one-sixth smaller than the 
 American Tapir, but had longer and slighter legs 
 and feet. The P. minus was an elegant creature 
 of the size of the Roebuck, with light and slender 
 limbs. The Dichobune is related to the Anoplo- 
 therium, but characterised by the peculiarity of 
 its dental system, which approaches that of the 
 ruminants in the cusps of the molars having a ten- 
 dency to form a double series of crescents. (See 
 PL II. fig. 13.*). 
 
 We must here terminate our investigation of 
 the strata exposed in the quarries near Ryde, and 
 
 • In " Brit. Foss. Mam." (p. 440) beautiful figures arc given of portions 
 of a lower jaw with teeth, found at Binstead, by Mr. Pratt.
 
 120 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 proceed to the eastern end of the island, to ex- 
 amine the marine deposits that underlie the flu- 
 viatile and lacustrine strata, to which our attention 
 has hitherto been exclusively directed.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FROM RYDE TO CULVER CLIFF — GEOLOGY OF WHITECLIFF BAY 
 
 STRATA AND ORGANIC REMAINS SANDOWN BAY BONES OF 
 
 COLOSSAL REPTILES. 
 
 From Ryde to Culver Cliff. — On the north 
 side of Culver Cliff, the eastern extremity of the 
 chalk downs and of the island, the long-continued 
 action of the sea on the tertiary strata has exca- 
 vated an irregular bay, which is bounded by cliffs 
 that expose a section of the entire series of 
 marine and freshwater eocene deposits. This ex- 
 cavation is called Whitecliff Bay, and is about 
 nine miles from Ryde.* 
 
 The road from Ryde passes over a country 
 prettily diversified by gentle hills and dales ; but 
 the strata are concealed by pasturage and cul- 
 tivation, and the geological character of the dis- 
 trict can only be traced in the low borders along 
 the sea-shore, and in the pits and quarries opened 
 
 * See the diagram, PI. VII. p. 94 ; and the Map, PI. XX. The reader will 
 remember that Whitecliff and Alum Bay are natural sections of the vertical 
 and horizontal tertiary strata that extend through the island from east to 
 west, on the north of the chalk downs.
 
 122 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 for the extraction of limestone for economical 
 purposes. The whole of this tract consists of 
 freshwater marls, clays, sands, and limestones, 
 like those of Binstead. As we approach Brading 
 the chalk downs which form the horizon rise up 
 in bold relief, and flank the tertiary strata on the 
 south. On the summit of this line of hills is the 
 signal tower on Ashey Down, which forms a con- 
 spicuous object in the landscape. 
 
 The picturesque town of Brading, with its ve- 
 nerable church,* stands on a low ridge of chalk ; 
 and in descending the gentle declivity beyond, the 
 highly-inclined position of the chalk may be per- 
 ceived in the bank on the right-hand, the layers 
 of flint being nearly vertical. As we proceed, 
 the marl, firestone, and gait appear, and are 
 succeeded by the ferruginous sands belonging to 
 the lowest group of the cretaceous system, and 
 which continue to the sea-shore at Sandown. 
 But our route lies to the left, and w r e pass 
 by cuttings of chalk and marl, Brading Haven 
 
 • Brading Church. This interesting edifice is supposed to have been 
 erected soon after tin- Conquest : but, independently of its claims as an 
 object of antiquity, it deserves notice from having been for many years the 
 scene of the pastoral labours of the late Rev. Legh Richmond. The admirers 
 of that interesting Author who visit tin- island, should procure the cheap and 
 elegant littll hand book to the scenes described in the " Annuls uf the Poor," 
 entitled " Th< Lam capi Beauties of tin Isle oj Wight, as described by Iht 
 hiii lie. Legh Richmond; by c,,,,n: Brannon"
 
 FROM RYDE TO CULVER CLIFF. 123 
 
 being spread out before us on the left, till we 
 approach Yaverland church,* which stands on a 
 little knoll overshadowed by elms, near the foot 
 of Bembridge Downs. From this spot there is ;t 
 narrow road to some fields on the north of the 
 hill, through which a path leads to the brink of 
 the precipitous cliff that overhangs Whitecliff 
 Bay, near the junction of the chalk and eocene 
 strata. Here a very steep foot-track winds down 
 the face of the cliff, which is covered with ferns 
 and brush-wood to the sea-beach. But the main 
 road leads to Bembridge, f and Whitecliff is 
 reached by a walk of nearly two miles along 
 the shore. After much rain, however, the bay 
 is scarcely accessible, for mud and sand-banks 
 
 * Yaverland church is supposed to have been erected in the twelfth or thir- 
 teenth century. It was in this church that Legh Richmond made his first 
 attempt to preach extempore, and com pletel y failed ; though he was after- 
 wards celebrated for the power and eloquence of his extemporaneous dis- 
 courses. This interesting spot is graphically described by Mr. Richmond in 
 ' • The Dairyman's Daughter." " It is pleasantly situated on a rising bank at 
 the foot of a bold chalk hill, and being surrounded by trees, has a rural and 
 retired appearance. Close to the churchyard stands a large and ancient 
 mansion, which was formerly the residence of an opulent and titled family, 
 but has long been appropriated to the use of the estate as a farm-house. Its 
 outward aspect bears considerable remains of ancient grandeur, and gives a 
 pleasing character to the spot of ground on which the church stands. In 
 every direction the roads that lead to this sacred edifice possess distinct but 
 interesting features. One of them ascends between several rural cottages 
 from the sea-shore, which adjoins the lower part of the village street; 
 another winds round the side of the adjacent hill ; and a third leads to the 
 church by a gently rising approach, between high banks covered with young 
 trees, bushes, ivy, hedge-plants, and wild flowers." 
 
 t There is a good hotel at Bembridge, and a passage ferry across the mouth 
 of Blading Haven to St. Helen's. 
 
 G
 
 124 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 obstruct the way, and the slippery state of the 
 ground renders walking most wearisome. 
 
 Geology of Whitecliff Bay. — From Bern- 
 bridge, the tower of an ancient church painted 
 white, and serving as a land-mark, is seen on the 
 opposite side, on the northern point of the haven ; 
 the pretty village of St. Helen's, embosomed in 
 trees, stands on the brow of the neighbouring 
 hill. A low cliff, composed of freshwater strata, 
 may be observed near its base ; and from this locality 
 the fossil turtle, described in p. 114, was obtained. 
 The cliffs immediately beyond Bembridge are 
 from twenty to thirty feet high, and consist of 
 alluvial gravel and clay, resting upon freshwater 
 strata ; the ledges and rocks on the sea-shore 
 are denuded waterworn masses of the limestone 
 that have fallen from the cliff. After passing the 
 Foreland, and proceeding a few hundred yards 
 along the shore, the tertiary calcareous deposits 
 form the base of the cliffs, and lie in a nearly hori- 
 zontal direction ; but towards the northern ex- 
 tremity of the bay they gradually rise, and at 
 length are bent upwards in a curved position, 
 and rest somewhat unconformably on the almost 
 vertical beds of clay.* This is the point of junction 
 
 * A beautiful sketch of this part of the cliffs is given in PI. XV. ; and of 
 thi Hay, in PI. XVII. No. I, of Sir Henry Englefielu's " Isle of Wight."
 
 WHITECLIFF BAY. 125 
 
 of the freshwater and marine series of the Isle of 
 Wight eocene deposits. The cliff now entirely 
 consists of the London clay beds, which are ex- 
 posed wherever there is a break or slip in the 
 turf-covered slopes. These strata become more 
 developed towards Culver Cliff, where the lower- 
 most tertiary, and uppermost cretaceous strata, 
 are in juxta-position. 
 
 The magnificent chalk cliffs of Culver can only 
 be seen to advantage from the sea (see PI. XIV.) ; 
 the dip of the beds is about 70° to the north, and 
 is well defined, even from a distance, by the layers 
 of flints. Most of these siliceous nodules, though 
 imbedded in the chalk, and still retaining their 
 original forms, are splintered to atoms, probably 
 from the concussion produced by the upheaval of 
 the strata ; this phenomenon was first pointed out 
 by Sir Henry Englefield.* 
 
 Whitecliff Bay, though destitute of those re- 
 markable characters which have rendered Alum 
 Bay so attractive to the tourist, is highly interest- 
 ing to the instructed observer. From the period 
 when Sir H. Englefield and Mr. Webster first 
 directed attention to the phenomena here exhi- 
 bited, this locality has been explored by many 
 
 * See Linna;an Transactions, vol. vi. p. 108; also, Fossils of the South 
 Downs, p. 151. 
 
 G 2
 
 12G 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT, 
 
 eminent geologists,* and the 
 mineralogica! character, organic 
 remains, and order of succession 
 of the strata, have been accu- 
 rately determined. f But a few 
 months since an elaborate and 
 important memoir, with ample 
 illustrations, and details, was laid 
 before the Geological Society by 
 Mr. Prestwich. % In the present 
 work a concise view of the most 
 interesting facts is alone admis- 
 sible, and which the annexed 
 diagram (lign. 8), from a section 
 exhibited by Mr. Prestwich, will 
 serve to render intelligible. 
 
 The eocene strata in White- 
 cliff Bay appear in the same 
 order of superposition as at 
 Alum Bay, as we shall point 
 out when we visit that locality ; 
 but the cliffs before us are less 
 
 * In 1S22 Mr. Lyell made an accurate examina- 
 tion of this cliff, and favoured me with a series of 
 specimens and a detailed section of the strata. 
 
 + See list of publications relating to the Geology 
 of the Isle of Wight, in the Appendix. 
 
 i since published in the "Quarterlj Journal 
 of the Geological Society," August,
 
 WIIITECLIFF BAY. 127 
 
 precipitous than those in the north-west of the 
 Island, and their slopes are covered by debris, 
 and in many places with vegetation, down to the 
 shore. 
 
 The eocene deposits of the Isle of Wight, ac- 
 cording to the investigations of Mr. Prestwich, 
 may be regarded as forming three principal 
 groups ; viz. the upper freshwater series, and the 
 marine series, which is divisible into the London 
 clay, and the Bognor deposits (see lign. 8).* 
 
 The strata and organic remains. — If we 
 retrace our steps from Culver Cliff towards the 
 Foreland, we find that the lowermost tertiary 
 strata, those in actual contact with the chalk, 
 consist of mottled plastic clays, in which no ves- 
 tiges of animal remains have been observed. These 
 are followed by a brown sandy clay, with septaria, 
 &c, and a series of sands, sandstones and clays, 
 which abound in species of shells of certain ge- 
 nera, long known to prevail in the strata that 
 emerge along the western coast of Sussex, and 
 
 * The Bognor fossils were first mentioned by Mr. Webster ; a more 
 extended notice was published in my " Fossils of the South Downs," and 
 "Geology of the South-East of England." "The rocks at Bognor are 
 evidently the ruins of a deposit once very extensive, and which, even within 
 the memory of man, formed a line of low cliffs along the coast; at present a 
 few groups of detached rocks, covered by the sea at high water, alone 
 remain, and the period is not far distant when these will be swept away by 
 the action of the waves. These beds are decidedly analogous to the calcaire 
 grossier of Paris." — Geol. S. E. of England, p. 51.
 
 128 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 particularly at Bognor ; the rocks on the shore at 
 that watering-place consisting of coarse sandstone 
 full of similar fossils. The lowermost or earliest 
 bed of this series, is a layer of brownish clay with 
 green sand (in some parts passing into concre- 
 tionary sandstone) almost made up of the tubular 
 shells of one species of pteropodous mollusk, the 
 Ditrupa plana, formerly called Dentalium planum, 
 (PL III. fig. 3); the Bognor rocks are full of 
 these shells. The clays and sands that succeed 
 swarm with certain marine bivalves (ostrecc, 
 myw, turritellw, pectuncull), which also occur at 
 Bognor. The Panopma intermedia (PI. III. fig. 5), 
 is a very characteristic fossil.* 
 
 A considerable thickness of variously coloured 
 sands and clays, in which no organic remains have 
 been found, is next in order ; and then the 
 suite of deposits of the London clay teeming 
 with marine exuviae. Among the shells are 
 the species figured in PL III. figs. 1, 2, 4, 
 6, 7 : the Cardita planicosta (fig. 7), is a strong 
 and thick bivalve that abounds in some of the 
 argillaceous beds, and often attains a large 
 
 * The position of the strata containing the Ditrupa and the Pun"/,,, a is 
 shown in the diagram, lign. 8. A few weeks since, several blocks of the 
 greenish limestone, covered with Ditrupte, were lying on the beach near the 
 spot indicated.
 
 WIIITECLIFF BAY. 129 
 
 size.* Shells of the genera Nummulites,f Venus, 
 Ancillaria, Voluta, Cerithia, &c, occur in im- 
 mense numbers ; J and in the greyish blue clay 
 are myriads of minute species. Teeth and 
 bones of fishes, and of reptiles, and remains of 
 crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, &c.) are occasionally 
 found. In the upper beds of the London clay 
 lignite t (carbonized wood), and shells of certain 
 genera which inhabit estuaries (Melanopsis, PI- 
 II. figs. 3, 6,) and some freshwater species are 
 met with, indicating that the strata were de- 
 posited in brackish water. These are the upper- 
 most of the highly inclined marine beds at 
 Whitecliff Bay. 
 
 * At Bracklesham Bay, on the western coast of Sussex, the clay, at low 
 water, is in many parts literally paved with these shells, and great numbers 
 may be collected in a very short space of time. Bracklesham is also prolific 
 in numerous other fossils of the London clay. In 1821, I made a considerable 
 collection of the organic remains of this part of the Sussex coast, and pub- 
 lished a list of them in the " Fossils of the South Downs," and a more 
 extended one in the " Geology of the South-East of England." But of late 
 years diligent research has brought to light numerous fossils of great interest ; 
 and besides many new species of shells, vertebrae and bones of fishes, ser- 
 pents, turtles, and crocodiles, have been collected. For an excellent notice 
 of this locality by Mr. Bowerbank, see "Medals of Creation," vol.ii. p. 903. 
 Mr. Dixon has a splendid collection of the Bracklesham fossils, comprising 
 several new species of Miliobatis (eagle-ray), A'etobatis, and other genera of 
 the Rays. Spines of these fishes, and of a species of Silurus, have also been 
 discovered. 
 
 t Nuninutlites, a fossil polythalamian shell, ofadiscoidal flattened form, 
 resembling a coin, hence the name. See " Medals of Creation," p. 242. 
 
 X A chisel as well as a hammer, and a pickaxe to break up large masses 
 of the stiff clay in which the shells are imbedded, will be required to extract 
 perfect specimens.
 
 130 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 The freshwater series next appears ; but in the 
 lowermost division of this group there is an inter- 
 mixture of estuary and marine shells; these de- 
 posits would, therefore, he more correctly desig- 
 nated flmio-marine. Calcareous marls, sandstones, 
 and limestones, abounding in fluviatile and lacus- 
 trine shells, similar to those of Binstead, form the 
 succeeding portion of the cliff. On a recent visit 
 the fallen masses of rock were full of fossil seed- 
 vessels of chaxae (C. tuberculata, lign. 5, p. 109). 
 Some of the upper strata are of a fluvio-marine 
 character, and within 100 feet of the superior layer, 
 there is a seam of oyster-shells in a bed of marl 
 near the top of the cliff at Bembridge-ledge, which 
 was pointed out by Mr. Lyell in 1824. 
 
 There are several layers of pebbles in the marine 
 vertical strata ; and in some of the calcareous 
 sandstones of the upper series, pebbles and an- 
 gular fragments of flint are imbedded, alternately 
 with seams of freshwater shells. 
 
 The total thickness of the eocene strata at 
 Whitecliff Bay is about G50 yards ; * of which, 
 according to the measurements of Mr. Prestwich, 
 the mottled clays are 142 feet; the Bognor series 
 about 300 feet; the London clay 9o0 feet: and 
 
 * Where the beds are vertical, the horizontal distance of com i 
 tm thickness of the deposits.
 
 WHITECLIFF BAY. 131 
 
 the fluvio - marine and freshwater group 550 
 feet. 
 
 The assemblage of organic remains in these de- 
 posits is regarded by Professor E. Forbes as indi- 
 cating the following sequence of changes in the 
 condition of the basin in which they were formed. 
 " This fauna, which did not begin until after a 
 considerable thickness of mottled clays, in which 
 no traces of animal organization appear, had 
 been deposited upon the chalk, commences by 
 numerous peculiar mya-form shells, pectunculi, 
 ostrege, and their associates, in a series of sands 
 and clays. The earliest fossiliferous bed is a most 
 remarkable one, consisting of a thin stratum, 
 almost entirely composed of the shells of a ptero- 
 podous mollusk (the ditrupa plana, PL III. fig. 3), 
 which appears to have continued but a short specific 
 time in life, and to have entirely disappeared. In 
 the midst of this group, strata charged with 
 myriads of foraminifera (nummulites), probably in- 
 dicating some change in the depth of the sea, 
 appear, and cease. The sudden conversion of the 
 sea into a freshwater lake, denoted by a stratum 
 of paludina clay, its return into a brackish state, 
 and the consequent reappearance of certain marine 
 animals — its reconversion into a freshwater lake 
 thronged with myriads of fluviatile mollusca (plan-
 
 132 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 orbes, llmne'i) — and the almost momentary influx 
 of salt water during that period, which lasted only 
 long enough for a race of oysters to live and die 
 away — all render the tertiary strata in this locality 
 of high interest." * 
 
 It may assist the collector to state that the 
 ditrupa bed is exposed in the cliff at the distance 
 of from 45 to 50 paces from the junction of 
 the lowermost tertiary clay with the chalk. At 
 150 paces further, towards Bemb ridge, are green- 
 ish grey sands and clays, in which the cardita 
 planicosta {PI. III. fig. 7), and numerous other 
 marine shells occur ; and about 200 paces onwards 
 similar shells, with large nummulites, volutes, 
 cerithia, &c, are abundant in strata of the same 
 character. -j- 
 
 Sandown Bay. — To pursue the natural order 
 of our inquiry, we should now retrace our steps to 
 Ryde, and proceeding to the north-western ex- 
 tremity of the Island, examine the corresponding 
 phenomena in Alum Bay. But it may be more 
 convenient to the visitor if we first conduct him 
 to the southern side of Culver Cliff, where a 
 natural section of the strata of the cretaceous 
 
 * l'aport of the fourteenth meeting of the Brit. Assoc, of Science for 
 1844. Transactions of the Sections, p. 41. 
 
 t Sec an interesting paper " On the London and Plastic Clay Formations 
 nf the Isle of Wight," by .!. S. Bowerbank, Esq. F.R.S. Geol. Trans.
 
 SANDOWN BAY. 133 
 
 system (see table, p. 63), and of the upper Weaklen 
 deposits, constitutes the line of cliffs forming 
 the boundary of Sandown Bay (see the Map, 
 PL XX.). 
 
 But we shall restrict our remarks to a very 
 general description of the geological structure of 
 these cliffs, and reserve a particular account of 
 the chalk and weaklen formations till we enter 
 upon the examination of the south-western lo- 
 calities of these deposits. 
 
 From Bembridge we return to the foot of the 
 Downs by Yaverland church,* and thence through 
 the village to the sea-shore, near the centre of 
 Sandown Bay, the distance from Yaverland scarcely 
 exceeding a mile.-f- It is desirable to alight before 
 we reach the Fort, and as near to the coast as 
 possible, and then proceed along the strand to- 
 wards the eastern end of the bay. J The annexed 
 sketch, from the accurate sections of Dr. Fitton, 
 will convey a general idea of the relative position 
 of the strata. 
 
 * There is a small chalk-pit on the side of the hill worth examination, as it 
 well displays the highly inclined position of the chalk and flint strata. 
 
 t The stranger must not attempt to go round the headland of Culver Cliff 
 by the strand, even at low water; Sandown Bay can only be safely reached in 
 a boat, except by the road described in the text. 
 
 t At the village of Sandown there is an inn where refreshment may be 
 obtained for "man and horse." The coach from Ryde to Ventnor stops at 
 the King's Head, near the sea-shore, where the geologist travelling by this 
 conveyance should alight.
 
 134 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 The distance com- 
 prised in the section is 
 between four and five 
 miles ; Slumklin Down 
 forms the western, and 
 Bembridge Down the 
 eastern limit. On the 
 eastern side of the bay 
 the flinty chalk has a 
 total thickness of about 
 200 feet ; the lower chalk 
 and chalk marl, 200 feet ; 
 the firestone 100 feet; 
 and the gait 50 feet. 
 The greensand beds that 
 follow, correspond with 
 those of Atherfield cliffs, 
 which we shall here- 
 after visit, and contain 
 similar fossils; the low- 
 ermost bed abounding 
 in that remarkable and 
 characteristic shell, the 
 Perm Mulleti (PL IV. 
 fig. 6). The Wealden 
 deposits occupy the mid- 
 dle of the bay ; and on
 
 SANDOWN BAY. 135 
 
 the west, the sands and clays, of the greensand 
 reappear, and form the cliffs from Sandown to 
 Shanklin, where they are covered by the gait, 
 firestone, chalk-marl, and flinty chalk ; the latter 
 attaining an elevation of nearly 800 feet. Sandown 
 Bay comprises, therefore, a double series of the 
 strata of the cretaceous system, thrown into an 
 anticlinal position by the elevation of the wealden, 
 which constitutes the axis of this line of coast.* 
 
 Along the middle of the bay opposite the Fort 
 the subsoil, except after very heavy tides, is con- 
 cealed by a thick bed of shingle.-j- 
 
 Red Cliff. — On proceeding eastward a low 
 bank appears, and the coast gradually rises to the 
 lofty hills of Red Cliff. The strata first acces- 
 sible to observation are the ferruginous sands and 
 mottled clays belonging to the wealden formation, 
 which become more developed as we advance 
 towards the chalk strata that terminate in the 
 
 * The anticlinal axis and order of superposition of the strata at Sandown 
 Bay, and the correspondence of these deposits with the wealden and cre- 
 taceous systems of Sussex and Surrey, were ascertained more than twenty- 
 four years since by Mr. Lyell, and communicated to me in a letter dated Bartley 
 Lodge, July, 1822, accompanied by a section from Culver Cliff to Shanklin 
 Down, and a suite of specimens comprising examples of all the principal 
 deposits ; this collection is now in the British Museum. 
 
 + In the section, for the sake of perspicuity, the wealden strata in the 
 middle of the bay are represented more lofty than they actually appear ; for 
 in general the sea-beach extends over the whole surface. But after sweeping 
 spring tides in the early months of the year, the clay and sands are exposed 
 as here represented.
 
 136 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 bold promontory of Culver, which forms a striking 
 object from this part of the bay. In the shingle 
 may be found rolled blocks and pebbles of the 
 wealden shelly limestones ; and of jasper and 
 quartz, with rolled silicified zoophytes that have 
 been washed out of the chalk. 
 
 In the wealden, bones of large reptiles, and 
 fruits of coniferous plants, have from time to 
 time been discovered; and many colossal bones 
 of the Iguanodon have been obtained from 
 the shingle. Slabs of the paludina-limestone 
 (see PL VI. fig. 3), commonly called Sussex 
 marble, and of indurated shale full of fresh- 
 water bivalves {PL VI. fig. 4), may generally be 
 seen protruding from the clay.* Masses of lig- 
 nite that have fallen out of the cliffs are often 
 found on the beach, and sometimes pebbles of 
 silicified wood. A few hundred yards before we 
 reach the chalk strata, laminated clay and shale 
 appear in the face of the cliff, and the surfaces 
 of most of the lamina? are studded with myriads 
 of the cases of minute freshwater crustaceans, 
 termed cyprides (see lign. 25), belonging to two or 
 three species which are peculiar to the wealden 
 de])osits. 
 
 * In a late visit to this spot (August 1846) a layer of Sussex marble having 
 a band of fibrous calc-spar an inch thick, above and below, was exposed in 
 the clay near the base of the cliff.
 
 SANDOWN BAY. 137 
 
 It is only after recent slips of the cliffs from the 
 inroads of the sea, that the beds are clearly 
 exposed, and after heavy rains, that the fossil 
 bones are brought to view by the washing away of 
 the clay in which they are imbedded ; but at all 
 times instructive specimens of the strata, and of 
 the usual species of shells, may be obtained. The 
 greensand and gait are not so prolific in fossils 
 as in some other localities ; but the marl and fire- 
 stone contain many organic remains characteristic 
 of those beds. 
 
 Bones of the Iguanodon, &c. — The occur- 
 rence in this locality of bones of the Iguanodon 
 and other reptiles whose remains had previously 
 been observed only in the strata of Tilgate 
 Forest, was first made known in 1829 by the pre- 
 sent Dean of Westminster, Dr. Buckland. An 
 enormous toe-bone {metatarsal), weighing six 
 pounds, and measuring six inches in length, and 
 sixteen inches in circumference at its largest ex- 
 tremity, was found in the ledges of ferruginous 
 sand, a little to the east of Sandown Fort.* A 
 considerable number of bones, comprising several 
 gigantic vertebra?, portions of a femur or thigh- 
 bone, fragments of ribs, &c, were discovered near 
 the same spot, at the foot of the low cliff that 
 
 * Geol. Trans, vol. iii. p 425.
 
 138 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 forms the sea boundary of Yaverland farm. They 
 were observed on the shore after a week of very 
 stormy weather, which had swept away the beach 
 and sand to the depth of two feet, and thus 
 laid bare the fossils, which probably had fallen 
 from the cliffs long previously, and being very 
 heavy, had sunk deep into the shingle, and lain 
 concealed till brought to light by the denuding 
 effects of the storm. In the adjacent cliff of 
 grey sandstone interspersed with clay, several 
 cones of a plant allied to the Zamicc, mixed with 
 fragments of lignite, have been discovered.* 
 
 We now return to Ryde that we may proceed to 
 the north-western part of the Island, and examine 
 the eocene strata at Alum Bay and Headon Hill. 
 
 * One of these fossil fruits is figured ami described in "British /'< ii 
 Flora," under the name of Zamia crassa; and in " Medals of Creation,' 
 vol. i. j). 160.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FROM RYDE TO NEWPORT THE RIVER MEDINA NEWPORT TO C.W.- 
 
 ' \E AND ALUM BAY — THE COAST FROM RYDE TO ALUM BAY 
 
 1IEADON HILL AND ALDM BAY GEOLOGY OF HEADON HILL AND ALUM 
 
 BAY — SEQUENCE OF GEOLOGICAL CHANGES — ORGANIC REMAINS — 
 
 YARMOUTH AND LYMINGTON ■ — CHRISTCHURCH BAY STRATA OP 
 
 IIOKDWELL CLIFFS — HORDWELL FOSSILS. 
 
 From Ryde, through Newport to Alum Bay. 
 —From Ryde, the journey to Alum bay may be 
 performed either by land or sea. The road passes 
 by Binstead, and through the picturesque village 
 of Wooton-bridge, to Newport, the capital of the 
 Island. In the rooms of the Newport Institution, 
 there is a miscellaneous collection of organic 
 remains; but it is much to be regretted that a 
 complete series of specimens, illustrative of the 
 geology of the Isle of Wight, is not to be met 
 with in this, or any other town, in the Island. 
 
 Newport is situated on freshwater eocene strata, 
 which are a continuation of those of Headon Hill, 
 and lie in a nearly horizontal position ; the wells 
 in the town are sunk through these beds, to the 
 
 H
 
 140 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 depth of 200 feet. At Parkhurst barracks, a wel! 
 was dug through 300 feet of London clay, con- 
 taining a few thin seams of shells. On examining 
 the nature of the soil in the tract between the 
 town and the neighbouring chalk hills, the ver- 
 tical marine strata are found occupying the same 
 relative position as at Whitecliff Bay.* In a heap 
 of clay that had recently been dug up from the 
 bottom of a well, Mr. Webster discovered vestiges 
 of coleopterous insects ; and obtained several fossil 
 seed-vessels of a plant related to the Meadow-rue 
 (Thalictrum) ; they consisted of the pericarp, in a 
 carbonized state, filled with clay.-j- 
 
 The quarries in the neighbouring chalk down of 
 Mountjoy, to the southward of the town, expose 
 some interesting sections of the highly inclined 
 strata of chalk and flint ; and the summit of the 
 hill commands a most extensive and delightful 
 prospect. 
 
 River Medina. — The Medina river, which 
 rises at the foot of St. Catherine's Down, and 
 divides the Island into two nearly equal portions, 
 called the East and West Medina, flows through 
 
 * Mr. Webster notices a clay-pit, opened for a brick manufactory, in which 
 were clay and sand strata, in a nearly vertical position, and the upper por- 
 tions contorted .is if from pressure. Sir H. Englefield's " Isle of Wight," 
 pi. xxxiv. fig. 1. 
 
 t A figure of this fruit (which has been named by M. Adolphe Brongniart, 
 Thalictroide* Weblteri,) is given in the " Medals of Creation," vol. i. p. 190.
 
 RIVER 3IEDINA. 
 
 141 
 
 a transverse valley of the chalk range on the south, 
 and winding round the east end of the town, be- 
 comes navigable for vessels of considerable bur- 
 then, to its entrance into 
 £ 3 the sea at Cowes. The val- 
 
 g ley of the Medina, like the 
 
 river valleys of the North and 
 South Downs,* is a transverse 
 £ ■§ dislocation, or rent, across the 
 5 range of chalk hills, produced 
 » ° by the tension of the strata 
 
 § 3 I. during their elevation from 
 
 S | s fo < 
 
 g a, o the horizontal to their present 
 
 8 c 7 nearly vertical position. 
 
 a ^> I The transverse course of 
 
 § ! h the Medina through the mid- 
 
 "f die of the central ridge of 
 
 > ts chalk, is noticed by Mr. 
 
 • Hopkins, in his memoir 
 
 ft. — X 
 
 z " On the Geological Struc- 
 
 ture of the Wealden District, 
 T ««</ o/* £/^ Bas Boulonnais,"-f 
 
 «^ with the accompanying dia- 
 
 gram, %w. 10, which re- 
 presents an east and west section of the valley 
 
 * Geology of the South-East of England, p. 350. 
 t Geol. Transactions, vol. vii. p. 24. 
 
 h2 
 
 m 
 
 .":'!
 
 142 GEOLOGY OF TUE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 near Rookley, about four miles south of Newport. 
 " It presents," observes Mr. Hopkins, " a north 
 and south line of flexure which must almost neces- 
 sarily be accompanied by a corresponding north 
 and south fracture, in which I conceive the valley 
 to have originated." 
 
 Newport to Calbourne and Alum Bay. — 
 From Newport, the road passes through the pic- 
 turesque and interesting village of Carisbrook, 
 and near the venerable castle, which stands on 
 an eminence of chalk, on the left;* and from 
 thence to Calbourne, a little village, five and a half 
 miles from Newport. In the vicinity of Calbourne 
 there are several quarries of freshwater limestone, 
 where the stone is extracted for building, and 
 agricultural purposes. The shells in the lime- 
 stone of this part of the Island are generally in a 
 much better state of preservation than those found 
 at Binstead. The finest specimens in my collec- 
 tion, were obtained from the quarries at Calbourne, 
 Khalfleet (a village on the Yarmouth road), and on 
 
 * Carisbrook Castle, so interesting to the tourist, from the historical events 
 with which it is associated, was founded in the time of Edward IV. The gate 
 way, with its round towers at the angles, and machicolated battlements, 
 resembles the Castle gateway at Lewes, which was erected by John Earl dc 
 Warren, temp, Edward III. See " A Day's Ramble in ami about //" ancit hi 
 Town of Lewes," p. 109. 
 
 The well at Carisbrook Castle is said to he 300 feet deep ; it probably reaches 
 the chalk-marl, which is in general the first water shed when the white chalk 
 is perforated.
 
 NEWPORT TO CALBOURNE. 143 
 
 Dodspit farm, about one mile and a half beyond 
 Calbourne, in the same direction. In a pit opened 
 in a field near the farm-house, at the latter place,* 
 the limestone was peculiarly rich in those species 
 of land and river shells, that are rare at Binstead. 
 The snail-shell {Helix globosus), figured PL II. 
 fig. 7, and the bulimi, pethidines, limnei, and plan- 
 orbes (PL I.), are of a large size, and very per- 
 fect. Occasionally, the shells are preserved; but, 
 for the most part, sharp casts alone remain. The 
 limestone occurs in large concretionary masses, 
 forming regular beds of moderate thickness in 
 calcareous marl ; the strata have a slight northerly 
 dip. 
 
 From Calbourne,-]- the road inclines to the left, 
 and continues in a line nearly parallel with the 
 chalk range, through Chessel, and Afton, to the 
 foot of the downs that extend to the western ex- 
 tremity of the Island. 
 
 Soon after leaving Carisbrook, these hills arc- 
 seen forming the distant horizon, their outline 
 appearing as three distinct eminences. That 
 on the left, is the chalk range of High-Down, 
 
 * In the summer of 1844. 
 
 + Calbourne church is an interesting edifice, of early v crruan architecture. 
 There is a little inn in the village, and if the visitor's time permit, a day may 
 he well spent In examining the quarries in the localities mentioned; a rich 
 collection of the eocene freshwater fossils may with certainty be obtained.
 
 144 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 above Freshwater-gate, attaining an altitude of 
 700 feet ; the middle eminence is the hill to the 
 west of the vertical strata of Alum Bay ; and 
 that on the right, or north side, is Headon Hill, 
 which is 400 feet high. The road passes within 
 half a mile of Freshwater-gate, and winds up a 
 steep ascent to the summit of the down, where a 
 splendid and extensive prospect suddenly opens 
 on the view. On the right is Headon Hill, sepa- 
 rated from the eminence on the left, Alum Bay, 
 by a deep chasm ; and on the extreme left, is the 
 lofty chalk ridge of High-Down, which extends 
 westward into the sea, and terminates in the 
 isolated wedge-shaped masses of chalk, called 
 " The Needles." In the remote distance, on the 
 opposite shore, the chalk cliffs, near Swanage, in 
 the Isle of Purbeck, may be distinguished ; and 
 likewise the low line of tertiary cliffs on the 
 Hampshire coast, by Barton and Hordwell. On 
 the north-west brow of the hill, commanding a fine 
 view of the entrance of the Solent sea, is " Grove's 
 Hotel;" a very convenient resting-place, for a 
 short sojourn.* From this spot there is a foot- 
 path along the north side of the chasm that sepa- 
 rates Headon Hill from Alum Bay, which leads 
 
 * The intelligent landlord has a small collection of fossils, gathered from 
 the neighbouring cliffs ; it contained several interesting specimens, when I 
 last inspected it.
 
 COAST FROM RYDE TO ALUM BAY. 145 
 
 to the sea-shore, near the point of separation be- 
 tween the horizontal and vertical eocene deposits. 
 PL VIII. is a view from the right hand side of 
 the hill, about half way down, showing the vertical 
 face of the chalk cliff which bounds the bay on 
 the south, and extending westward, terminates 
 in the Needles. The Isle of Portland is dimly 
 visible in the remote distance. 
 
 The Coast from Ryde to Alum Bay. — The 
 steam-packets from Ryde to Yarmouth and Ly- 
 mington, pass sufficiently near the northern shore 
 of the Island, to afford a general view of the out- 
 crop of the strata in the cliffs and bays formed by 
 the inroads of the sea, and at the mouths of the 
 rivers and estuaries. The coast from Ryde to 
 Cowes presents no features of particular geolo- 
 gical interest. Here and there, slips or subsidences 
 in the low cliffs have exposed beds of calcareous 
 marl and freshwater limestone, covered by allu- 
 vial clay and loam, along the sea-boundary of 
 Her Majesty's demesnes of Osborne, and of the 
 grounds of Norris Castle.* Along the shore at 
 
 - Mr. Webster mentions that the arenaceous limestone of which the castle 
 is built was quarried near the spot In these quarries, for ten or twelve feet 
 below the surface, the strata consist of sand and imbedded waterworn blocks 
 of limestone. Sir H. Englefleld states that <;: the low cliff on the shore, the 
 same species of shells as in the limestone, occur as pcrfjct as if fresh from the 
 river or lake.
 
 146 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Low water numerous fossil shells washed up by 
 the sea are often to he met with. 
 
 On the north side of Gurnet Bay, about two 
 miles to the west of Cowes, the cliffs are com- 
 posed of alternating beds of clay and limestone, 
 the latter abounding in freshwater shells (espe- 
 cially in potamides, PL II. figs. 2, 8, 9) and gijro- 
 gonites. In Thorney (or Thorness) Bay, similar 
 strata are exposed, with layers of blue clay and 
 sand, containing marine shells.* In several loca- 
 lities along the northern shores of the Island, as. 
 for instance, between Ryde and Cowes, and near 
 Cowes, fluvio-marine clays appear on the sides of 
 the sloping banks; but the exact stratigraphies] 
 position of these beds is concealed by vegetation ; 
 they are probably the equivalents of the strata in 
 the northern end of Whitecliff Bay, that contain 
 an intermixture of marine and fluviatile shells. 
 
 Beyond Newtown Bay, arc Hampstead (Mill's 
 (about three miles east of Yarmouth), consisting 
 of calcareous marls, with the usual fluviatile shells, 
 in great abundance. In this locality, leaves of 
 dicotyledonous plants,-}- occasionally occur ; and 
 Mr. Prestwich has recently discovered great nuin- 
 
 i states thai the entire buckler with the bono of a tortoisi 
 obtained from Thorness Hay. Geol. Trans, vol. ii. i>. 290. 
 
 i] u i" those found in the plastic clay at Newhaven, in Sussex, and 
 i Isof th( South Downs, ' /'/. I.
 
 HEADON HILL AND ALUM BAY. 149 
 
 bers of an undescribed species of Gypris. The 
 lower part of the cliff consists of sand containing 
 freshwater with marine and estuary shells. 
 
 We next pass Yarmouth, and doubling the 
 headland on which was Worsley's Tower, opposite 
 Hurst Castle, enter Colwell Bay, where the cliffs 
 exhibit alternations of marine and freshwater 
 strata. In the fissure called Bramble Chine a 
 thick bed of oyster shells is exposed, apparently 
 in its original state, the valves being in contact 
 with each other as when living; this appears to 
 be the equivalent of the oyster bed observable at 
 Whitecliff Bay. Many beautiful fossil shells 
 may be collected in this locality. The elegant 
 Cytherea incrassata (PL III. fig. 6), and Neritlna 
 concava (PL II. fig. 5), are found in sandy clay, 
 in as perfect a state as if but recently thrown 
 up by the waves. In Totland, or Tolland's Bay, 
 similar sands, clays, and marls form the cliffs. 
 
 Headon Hill and Alum Bay. — We now 
 approach Headon Hill and the richly coloured 
 vertical strata of Alum Bay. The picturesque 
 character of the dislocated masses of strata forming 
 the face of the cliffs at Headon Hill is shown in 
 PL IX. The appearance of Alum Bay from the 
 sea is imposing in the extreme, and is thus gra- 
 phically described by Sir Henry Englefield : —
 
 150 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 " The scenery of this bay is very superior in 
 magnificence to that of any other part of the 
 Island. The chalk forms an unbroken face every 
 where nearly perpendicular, and in some parts 
 formidably projecting, and the tenderest stains 
 of ochreous yellow and greenish moist vegetation, 
 vary without breaking its sublime uniformity. 
 This vast wall extends nearly a quarter of a mile, 
 and is more than 400 feet in height ; it terminates 
 by a thin projection, of a bold broken outline, 
 and the wedge-shaped Needle Rocks, rising out 
 of the blue waters, continue the cliff, in idea, 
 beyond its present boundary, and give an awful 
 impression of the stormy ages which have gra- 
 dually devoured its enormous mass. The pearly 
 hue of the chalk under certain conditions of the 
 atmosphere and light is beyond description by 
 words, and probably out of the power oven of the 
 pencil to portray. 
 
 " The magical repose of this side of the bay 
 is wonderfully contrasted by the torn forms and 
 vivid colouring of the clay cliffs on the opposite 
 side. These do not, as at Whitecliff, present 
 rounded headlands clothed with turf and shrubs, 
 but offer a series of points of a scalloped form, 
 and which are often sharp and pinnacled. Deep 
 rugged chasms divide the si rata in main plans.

 
 GEOLOGY OF ALUM BAY. 153 
 
 and not a trace of vegetation appears in any part. 
 All is wild ruin ! The tints of the cliffs are so 
 bright and so varied, that they have not the aspect 
 of anything natural. Deep purplish red, dusky 
 blue, bright ochreous yellow, grey, nearly ap- 
 proaching to white, and absolute black, succeed 
 each other, as sharply defined as the stripes in 
 silk ; and after rains, the sun which, from about 
 noon till his setting in summer, illuminates them 
 more and more, gives a brilliancy to some of these 
 nearly as resplendent as the bright lights on real 
 silk. Small vessels often lie in this bay for the 
 purpose of loading chalk and sand, and they serve 
 admirably to show the majestic size of the cliffs 
 under whose shade they lie diminished almost to 
 nothing." * 
 
 Geology of Alum Bay. — Although the uncon- 
 formable position and dislocated state of the strata 
 at Headon Hill, appear, at first sight, to present 
 but little correspondence with the nearly horizon- 
 tal freshwater deposits at Whitecliff Bay, and the 
 richly-coloured and variegated stripes of sands and 
 clays of the vertical cliffs of Alum Bay, still less 
 to resemble the dull ochreous marine beds ex- 
 posed in the breaks of the turf-covered slopes of 
 that locality — yet a careful examination will soon 
 
 » Sir H. Englefield's " Isle of Wight," p. 81.
 
 154 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT: 
 
 convince the observer, that the geological charac- 
 ters of this north-western section of the eocene 
 strata, agree in every essential feature with those 
 which engaged his attention at the eastern extre- 
 mity of the Island.* The diagram, lign. 11, will 
 serve to show the close analogy between the de- 
 posits of Whitecliff, and of Alum Bay. This 
 correspondence, and the extension of the same 
 beds throughout the northern portion of the Isle 
 of Wight, were ascertained, and distinctly enun- 
 ciated by Mr. Webster, in his admirable memoir 
 on the " Strata above the Chalk." f 
 
 From the incessant action of the sea on the base 
 of Headon Hill, large masses of the upper beds 
 are continually falling down ; and the face of the 
 cliff is generally in so ruinous a state, that the 
 true stratigraphical position of the deposits is 
 seldom visible. Repeated observations have, how- 
 ever, ascertained that the superior beds are nearly 
 horizontal, but curve upwards as they approach 
 the vertical strata, in the same manner as the cor- 
 responding layers at Whitecliff. In the sketch, 
 PL IX., the upper masses of marl and limestone 
 
 * Mr. Prestwich has given accurate and detailed sections of Alum Hay, 
 and Whitecliff, in juxta-position on the same plate, and thus admirably illus- 
 trated the relations of the strata in the two localities, Geol. Journal, No. 7. 
 
 t On the " Freshwater Formations in the Isle of Wight," (fee. Geol. Trans. 
 vol. ii. p. 161, First Series; l.sl I.
 
 ALUM BAY AND HEADON HILL. 
 
 155 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 -2 ^ ' 
 
 
 55 
 
 are lying in this position. 
 The footpath that leads from 
 Grove's hotel, down the chasm 
 by which Headon Hill is sepa- 
 rated from Alum Bay, reaches 
 the sea shore at the point 
 marked b, in lign. 11, and 
 which is indicated by the two 
 upper figures in PL IX. The 
 visitor, therefore, upon arriving 
 on the strand, has the horizon- 
 tal freshwater series on the 
 north, and the vertical marine 
 beds on the south, flanked by 
 the lofty chalk cliffs of High 
 Down, and The Needles. 
 
 At Alum Bay, as at White- 
 cliff, the lacustrine and fluvia- 
 tile deposits are the upper- 
 most series {lign. 11, a,); the 
 strata most decidedly marine, 
 comprising the London clay, 
 occupy a vertical position, and 
 are the middle series {lign. 11, 
 c,)\ the group denominated the 
 Bognor strata, being the lower- 
 most ; then follow the mottled 
 i
 
 156 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 clays, and these abut against a bed of sandy loam, 
 with pebbles and slightly rolled flints, that is in 
 immediate contact with the chalk; as shown in 
 lign. 11, d. The thickness of the eocene strata, 
 from the chalk to the uppermost bed in Headon 
 Hill, is stated by Mr. Prestwich to be 16G0 feet; 
 which is 300 feet less than the series at Wnitecliff. 
 The surface of the chalk in contact with the 
 tertiary beds is much worn, and covered by a layer 
 of sandy loam, containing pebbles, and rolled 
 flints, which are invested with a coating of green 
 earth ; flints of this kind occur, also, at New- 
 haven, and in the fissures and sand-pipes of the 
 Surrey and Sussex downs. Mottled clays and 
 sand, with traces of lignite, as at Whitecliff, next 
 appear, for a thickness of nearly 100 feet ; and then 
 the brown clay, with layers of septaria, abounding 
 in the ditritpa; this is the lowermost bed of the 
 Bognor rocks.* Beds of sandy clay with seams 
 of pebbles, belonging to the same group, succeed, 
 and in some of the layers marine shells are 
 numerous. A fossil crab, common at Sheppey, 
 
 * More than twenty species of shells, and some teeth Of sharks, are enume- 
 rated by Mr. Prestwich, from this group. The most characteristic are 
 hiii a], a pin, in, />, riu nciii us brevirostris, Turritella imbricataria, Pholadomya 
 
 „i,ii-,/iinhii , a, I', nmp, ,u i iili-rnii ilia, and Vrrmi'liia Bognorensit; all well- 
 known Bognor shells, and mentioned in the earliest list of the fossils of that 
 locality. See my " Gi ologj of the South-East of England."
 
 STRATA OF ALUM BAY. 157 
 
 (Cancer Leachii,) was found in this clay, by Mr. 
 Bowerbank. 
 
 The variegated and deeply-tinted sands, marls, 
 and clays, which impart so remarkable and bril- 
 liant an aspect to the cliff, are the next in order, 
 and form a total thickness of between 700 and 800 
 feet. The alternations and variety of the vertical 
 seams, or layers, are almost innumerable ; the 
 sands are of every shade of red, yellow, green, 
 and grey ; some are white, and others almost black : 
 the clays are equally diversified. Mr. Webster 
 remarks, that " the variety of the vertical layers 
 is endless, and may be compared to the vivid 
 stripes of a parti-coloured tulip. On cutting down 
 pieces of the cliff, it is astonishing to see the ex- 
 treme brightness of the colours, and the delicacy 
 and thinness of the several layers of white and red 
 sand, shale and white sand, yellow clay and white 
 and red sand; and, indeed, almost every imagi- 
 nable combination of these materials." In the 
 midst of this series, there are vertical layers of 
 pebbles, and one thick stratum and many seams 
 of lignite ; in some of the clays, dicotyledonous 
 leaves have been discovered, but no animal re- 
 mains. 
 
 These richly-coloured strata are followed by 
 clays with septaria, seams of pebbles, and a bed 
 i 2
 
 158 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 of green sand ; the whole comprising a thickness 
 of between 200 and 300 feet. In some of these 
 deposits, the usual London clay shells are abun- 
 dant, especially near the spot marked c, in lign. 
 11.* The dark sandy clay immediately on the 
 north side of the chasm b, is also very prolific, 
 and I have collected from it numerous choice 
 specimens ; nummulites, and other foraminifera, 
 occur in some of the beds.-j- 
 
 We now arrive at the foot of Headon Hill ; and 
 here the lowermost stratum visible on the beach 
 is a pure white sand, which is largely exported 
 for the glass manufactories ; this is covered by 
 a bed of yellowish clay. A series of variously 
 coloured sands, marls, and clays, with layers of 
 friable limestone succeed. The predominating 
 fossils are species of the freshwater genera, limneus, 
 planorbis, melanopsis, potamides, cyrena, Sec, with 
 which the reader is already familiar. But there 
 are in some of the beds a lew marine and estuary 
 shells, as cytherea, ancUlaria, corbida, &c. ; and 
 a layer of oyster shells occurs, similar to that 
 already noticed in the cliff in Colwell Bay. 
 Within 50 feet of the top of the hill, there is 
 
 * The two figures in the fore-round, PL IX., are near this locality. 
 t See Mr. Prcstwich's " Memoir," for lists of the characteristic fossils 
 found in each stratum, throughout the entire series of deposits.
 
 GEOLOGICAL MUTATIONS. 159 
 
 a stratum of reddish brown and mottled clay, 
 with seams of lignite ; and on this i.s superimposed 
 whitish sand and marl, with interstratiiied layers 
 of concretionary limestone, full of freshwater 
 shells. A thick bed of gravel forms the alluvial 
 covering on the summit of the hill. 
 
 Geological ^mutations. — From this sketch of 
 the lithological characters and organic remains of 
 the strata in this locality, it will be seen that the 
 phenomena under review present a close analogy 
 to those observable in Whitecliff Bay ; the dis- 
 crepancy being inconsiderable, and such as may 
 have resulted from slight changes in the hydro- 
 graphical condition of the district during the accu- 
 mulation of the deposits. In both places there 
 are proofs that the commencement of the eocene 
 formation took place in a wide and open sea; the 
 first accumulation of detritus on the water-worn 
 surface of the chalk, being an argillaceous sedi- 
 ment, in which no animal remains were imbedded. 
 The earliest group of fossils, the Bognor series, 
 comprises the shells of marine mollusks that do 
 not inhabit deep sea-water, but live in depths 
 averaging from ten to twenty fathoms. This 
 depth, as Mr. Prestwich observes, would be ob- 
 viously inadequate to allow of the accumulation 
 of detritus sufficient to form strata, which, when
 
 160 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 desiccated, are from 200 to 300 feet in thickness ; 
 and as the lithological character of the beds denotes 
 a quiet and uniform deposit for a considerable 
 time, and the fossils indicate an unaltered con- 
 dition of animal life throughout the same period, 
 a tranquil and gradual subsidence of the sea- 
 bottom must have taken place. The many hun- 
 dred feet of sedimentary strata which were super- 
 imposed on the Bognor series, denote a subsequent 
 subsidence to a great depth, to allow of the accu- 
 mulation of the London clays, and sands. This 
 epoch was followed by a gradual transition to an 
 estuarine and lacustrine condition, as shown by 
 the layers of fluvio-marine and freshwater shells. 
 But the freshwater lake, or estuary, was subjected 
 to occasional irruptions of the sea ; hence the bids 
 of oysters, and interspersion of a few marine shells. 
 A barrier was at length raised to the influx of sea- 
 water, and the sediments became exclusively of a 
 iluviatilc and lacustrine character ; this is proved 
 by the prevalence of freshwater plants, crustaceans, 
 and mollusks ; and the presence of bones of ter- 
 restrial reptiles, and of mammalia.* 
 
 Organic remains. — Alum Bay and Headon 
 
 * This interpretation of the phenomena, is a concise expression of the 
 generalization of Mr. Prestwich, whose admirable Memoir should be carefully 
 studied by those who would enter fully into all the bearings of this infc 
 inquiry. See " Journal of the Gtolog. Sot ii ty," No. 7.
 
 ALUM BAY FOSSILS. 1G1 
 
 Hill, will afford the visitor an abundant supply 
 of fossil shells, in great perfection and variety. 
 Figures of a few characteristic species, are given 
 in PI. I. and II. 
 
 Potomomya gregaria, 
 
 PI. II. 
 
 fig. 1. 
 
 Hcadon Hill. 
 
 Potamides concavus . 
 
 — 
 
 _ 2. 
 
 — 
 
 !• . 
 
 — 
 
 — 8. 
 
 
 pilLaLUS . . 
 
 
 ventricosus 
 
 — 
 
 — 9. 
 
 — 
 
 Planorbis euomphalus 
 
 PL I. 
 
 — 1. 
 
 — 
 
 Limneus fusiform is 
 
 — 
 
 — 4. 
 
 — 
 
 lnnm«.«t n . 
 
 
 — 3. 
 
 — 6. 
 
 
 JOnglSCaullS . 
 
 Paludina angulosa . . 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 Melanopsis fusiform is 
 
 PI. II. 
 
 — 3. 
 
 — 
 
 bi'evis . . 
 
 — 
 
 — 4. 
 
 — 
 
 Psammobia solida . . 
 
 Pllll. 
 
 — 1. 
 
 — 
 
 Cytherea incrassata . . 
 
 — 
 
 — 6. 
 
 — 
 
 Corbula cuspidata . . 
 
 — 
 
 — 2. 
 
 Alum Bay. 
 
 Ancillaria subulata . . 
 
 — 
 
 — 4. 
 
 — 
 
 Neritina concava . . . 
 
 PI. II. 
 
 — 5. 
 
 — 
 
 Ditrupa plana .... 
 
 PL III. 
 
 — 3. 
 
 — 
 
 Panoptea intermedia . 
 
 — 
 
 — 5. 
 
 — 
 
 Cardita planicosta . . 
 
 — 
 
 — 7. 
 
 — 
 
 Teeth of two species of PalEeotherium (P. cras- 
 sim, and P. medium,) were obtained by Mr. Prest- 
 witli from Headon Hill; and I have seen a block 
 of limestone, in which were imbedded several ribs 
 of a small mammalian, from the same locality. 
 
 A few species of crustaceans have been collected 
 from the blue London clay, near the footpath. 
 Gyrogonites, and impressions of dicotyledonous
 
 162 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 leaves, and lignite, are the only vegetable remains 
 I have observed. 
 
 The fluvio-marine and freshwater shells, may 
 be collected in great numbers from the fallen 
 masses of strata that lie on the sea shore. In 
 the marls, the shells of the limnei, planorbes, &c, 
 arc well preserved ; a chisel will be required 
 to extract them. Thousands of the small species 
 of potamides, mdanopsis, &c, will be found on the 
 strand, having been washed out of the clays and 
 sands composing the cliff. Very fine specimens 
 of several species of marine shells may be obtained 
 from the dark clay at the point marked b, in 
 lign. 11. The spot which I have found most 
 prolific, is the base of the cliff at the commence- 
 ment of the footpath, near the sea-shore. 
 
 Yarmouth and Lymington. — It is unnecessary 
 to extend our remarks on the eocene formations 
 of the Island ; from what has been advanced, the 
 intelligent visitor will readily comprehend the 
 geological phenomena observable in the localities 
 not comprised in our excursions. But before 
 entering upon the examination of the next system, 
 the Chalk, we would recommend a brief sojourn 
 at Yarmouth ; which is a convenient location for 
 the geologist to visit Totland and Colwell Bays, 
 llampstead Cliff, and a few places on the opposite
 
 LYMINGTON. 163 
 
 coast of Hampshire, which have long been cele- 
 brated for their organic remains. 
 
 The town of Lymington is situated on the 
 western bank of the river of the same name, about 
 four miles from Yarmouth, across the Solent Sea; 
 to this place there are steam-packets from the 
 Island, several times in the day. The town is 
 spread over a low hill of tertiary strata. Near 
 the brick-kilns on the eastern bank of the river, 
 not far from the toll-gate, a deep excavation has 
 been made in beds of sand and clay, containing 
 fossils.* An alluvial layer of gravel, ten feet 
 deep, lies upon laminated blue and greenish clays, 
 with interspersions of lignite, four feet in thick- 
 ness. The next stratum is fine white sand, like 
 that of Headon Hill, and Hordwell Cliff, six feet ; 
 and beneath is blue (London ?) clay, to an uncer- 
 tain depth. In this clay I found several vertebras 
 and dermal bones of a crocodile, (Crocodilus Spen- 
 ceri,-\) and a few fragments of bones of turtles. 
 I observed no vestiges of shells ; but learnt from 
 the workmen that several kinds were occasionally 
 found, and also many bones, but none had been 
 preserved. \ 
 
 * This section was open in 1845. 
 
 t A well-known species of the London clay, at Sheppey. 
 X This brief notice is inserted to direct attention to a locality, hitherto, I 
 believe, unexplored. I recommended the workmen to save every shell, bone,
 
 164 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Christchurch Bay. — Christchurch Bay is a 
 semi-elliptical excavation, about eleven miles long, 
 formed b) r the action of the sea on the Hampshire 
 coast, which is here composed of an extension of 
 the eocene strata of the north-west part of the Isle 
 of Wight ; the two portions being now separated 
 by the British Channel, which flows into the 
 Solent Sea. The westernmost point of the bay, 
 is Hengisibury Head, near Christchurch ; the 
 easternmost, is the bar of shingle on which Hurst 
 Castle is situated. Along the line of coast bound- 
 ing the bay, there are several places in which sec- 
 tions both of the marine and freshwater strata are 
 exposed ; and Hordle, or Hordwell Cliff, near the 
 little village of that name, has long been known as 
 an inexhaustible mine of fossil relics. So long 
 since as 17(56, a quarto work was published in 
 illustration of the organic remains of this locality, 
 with engravings, which, for accuracy and artistic 
 skill, far surpass most of the modern figures of 
 objects of this kind,* 
 
 Hordwell is about midway between Lymington 
 and Christchurch ; but from Yarmouth, in fine 
 
 and tooth, they might meet with; some future visitor will, perhaps, reap the 
 benefit of tin- suggestion. 
 
 • " Fossilia Hantoniensia collecta et in Musaco Britannioo deposits, a 
 Gustavo Brander, Londini, 1766." " Hampshire Fossils," &c, with nine 
 plates, containing 131 figun
 
 CHRISTCHURC1I BAY. 165 
 
 weather, a boat offers the most convenient trans- 
 port. Hurst Castle, which guards the narrow 
 part of the Solent Strait, here not a mile across, 
 is built on the extremity of a bar of shingle, that 
 extends nearly two miles from the mainland, on 
 the eastern part of Christchurch Bay. This bank 
 consists of waterworn chalk-flints, and gravel, de- 
 rived from the alluvial drift, which is so largely 
 distributed over the coast district. " It is re- 
 markable," as Sir Henry Englefield observes, 
 " for its uncommon solidity ; for it is merely 
 a submarine cliff of shingle, 200 feet high, the 
 depth of the channel close to the castle being 
 33 fathoms ; and the tide flows through it with 
 a rapidity which, at certain times, no boat can 
 stem; yet this natural breakwater has remained 
 unmoved for centuries." * 
 
 At the junction of the bar of Hurst Castle with 
 the mainland, a low bank of gravel extends for 
 about a quarter of a mile, and is succeeded by 
 tertiary sands and clays, which gradually rise into 
 cliffs 200 feet high ; the first mile and a half being 
 Hordwell Cliff, properly so called, which reaches 
 to Long-mead End. From this spot to a ravine 
 formed by a stream at Beacon Bunny, a distance 
 
 * See Sir H. Englefield's " Isle of Wight," p. 14, for many interesting 
 remarks on the bed of the Solent.
 
 1G6 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 of half a mile, the cliff is named Beacon Cliff. The 
 next two miles and a quarter is Barton Cliff, 
 which is terminated by a stream at Ckerton Bunny ; 
 and the remainder of the line to near Muddiford, 
 is High Cliff.* The alluvial gravel which forms 
 the subsoil of so large a portion of this coast, 
 appears at the top of the cliffs in a bed varying 
 from twenty to fifty feet in thickness. -j: 
 
 Strata of Hordwell Cliff. — The eocene 
 strata in the coast sections have in no instance a 
 vertical, or even highly inclined position, but 
 gently dip to the east. The Headon Hill series 
 first appears, and constitutes the Hordwell Cliff; 
 and the London clays and sands which rise to the 
 surface at Barton Cliff, form the remaining portion 
 of this line of coast. The strata of Hordwell Cliff 
 consist of alternating beds of marl, sand, and clay, 
 often of a greenish colour, with thin bands of 
 indurated shell-marl full of the usual freshwater 
 species. Mr. Searlcs Wood mentions that a thin 
 seam of sandy clay, abounding in marine shells, is 
 intercalated with these lacustrine strata a few paces 
 
 ' These localities are accurately described by Mr. Webster, in his second 
 " Memoir," and are here introduced that the visitor may have no difficulty 
 in finding the places hereafter mentioned as yielding certain species of 
 organic remains. 
 
 t The stratification of the coast, from the west of Christchurch to the chalk 
 at Studland Bay, in Dorsetshire, a distance of seventeen miles, is di 
 by Mr. Lyell, in Geol. Trans, vol. ii. p. 27:>.
 
 STRATA OF HORDWELL CLIFF. 167 
 
 westward of a ravine that is situated half a mile 
 from the village of Milford. It is about ten or 
 twelve feet above high- water mark, and extends 
 many yards along the cliff.'* The freshwater beds 
 continue as far as Beacon Bunny, and in the upper 
 part of that ravine, beneath the alluvial gravel, 
 there is a bed of fluvio-marine sand, containing an 
 intermixture of estuary and fluviatile shells, which 
 may be traced to the eastward under the fresh- 
 water marl, to about 300 yards from Mead-end, 
 where it disappears beneath the shingle of the 
 beach.f This is succeeded by fine white siliceous 
 sand, like that at the base of Headon Hill, form- 
 ing a stratum from 60 to 100 feet thick. The 
 London clay series next appears, and extends 
 through Barton and High Cliffs. The upper por- 
 tion of the beds consists of sandy clay of a dark 
 green colour, like that at the base of the cliff in 
 Alum Bay (marked b in lign. 11), and abounds in 
 marine shells ; beneath are layers of septaria. 
 
 The strata at Hordwell Cliff are regarded by 
 Mr. Lyell as the equivalents of the lacustrine beds 
 which form the coast from Yarmouth to Gurnet 
 Point, where the strata lose the character of an 
 indurated calcareous marl, and are not unfre- 
 
 * The new " London Journal of Palaeontology and Geology," p. 2. 
 t Mr. Searles Wood, loc. cit.
 
 168 GEOLOGY OF TIIK ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 quently of a bright green colour, like many of the 
 layers of marl and clay at Hordwell. Detailed 
 descriptions of the strata and their fossils are 
 given by this eminent geologist in the second 
 volume of the Geolog. Trans. ; the following sum- 
 mary will be useful to the visitor : — 
 
 1. Alluvial gravel, forming the top of the cliff; composed of 
 
 broken chalk-flints, with interspersions of sand and marl ; 
 thickness from 5 to 50 feet. 
 
 2. Fine white sand with greenish marl ; — from 3 to 12 feet. 
 
 3. Green marls, with arenaceous clays ; — 16 feet. Contain 
 
 bituminous wood and seed-vessels, with shells of the 
 genera Helix, Unio, Melanopsis, Planorbis, and other 
 lacustrine species. The lowest stratum is laminated marl, 
 with layers of Cyprides. 
 
 4. Sands and clays; — 15 feet. Numerous shells of the mya 
 
 V' garia. Lignite occurs in a layer of bituminous clay. 
 
 5. White calcareous marl, largely constituted of aggregated 
 
 freshwater shells; contains gyrogonites (see p. 109). It 
 rests on a layer of black carbonaceous clay, with lignite; 
 1 foot. 
 
 6. Green unctuous and arenaceous marls ; the lower portion 
 
 consists of beds of pure white sand, with argillaceous 
 sands;— 15 feet. Numerous fluviatile shells. The white 
 sand contains abundance of the shells of a small mussel 
 (mya plana) in a very perfect state. 
 
 7. Light green calcareous and sandy marls, with layers of a 
 
 carbonaceous clay containing lignite; — 22 feet. Nu- 
 merous shells; and seed-vessels. 
 
 8. Green marl, carbonaceous clay and lignite, ferruginous clay, 
 
 marl with r<</<hi/i/< imi>nssions, and green clay; 
 It feet. Freshwater shells, principally two or throe 
 species of bivalves.
 
 STRATA OF IIOHDWELL CLIFF. 169 
 
 9. White siliceous sand, without shells ; rises near Long-mead 
 End, and extends through Beacon and Barton Cliffs to 
 the middle of High Cliff.* 
 
 Near Bournemouth, a little watering-place on 
 the Hampshire coast, between Hengistbury Head 
 and Poole Harbour, dicotyledonous leaves, in a 
 carbonized state, of the same species of plants 
 as those found in Alum Bay {ante, p. 162), occur 
 in a sandy marl, which traverses a cliff of firmly 
 aggregated white sand.-)- I am informed by 
 Will tarn Smart, Esq., of Cranbourne (to whom 
 I am indebted for many interesting specimens of 
 these fossil leaves), that the seam of marl is only 
 four inches in thickness, and is limited to a few 
 yards of the cliff, near the base ; it is about mid- 
 way between Bournemouth and Boscombe Chine. 
 
 In addition to the fossils previously discovered, 
 Mr. Searles Wood has recently obtained the re- 
 mains of five genera of mammalia and of one 
 alligator, consisting of a jaw with all the teeth, 
 of lizards, serpents, and birds. The following 
 remarks on the geological phenomena observable 
 at Hordwell Cliff are too pertinent to be omitted : 
 " From the examination of the various strata 
 
 * " On the Freshwater Strata of Hordwell, Beacon, and Barton Cliffs, 
 Hampshire," by Charles Lyell, Esq. Geol. Trans, vol. ii. p. 287, Second 
 Scries. 
 
 t "Medals of Creation," vol. i. p. 193.
 
 170 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 which are exhibited in the beautiful section of 
 Barton and Hordwell Cliffs, and of their peculiar 
 fossils, one may follow in imagination the gradual 
 silting up of an estuary, and its passage east- 
 ward into a pure river deposit. Leaving the 
 regular beds of London clay, which dip gradually 
 to the eastward, and are lost in the beach below 
 Beacon Bunny and Long-mead End, we meet with 
 a stratum of sand in which marine and freshwater 
 shells are intermixed, and one of clay containing 
 leaves and seeds, with an extensive layer of lig- 
 nite. Upon this is a bed whose organic contents 
 display a still nearer approach to freshwater origin 
 by the absence of the more decidedly marine 
 genera, as oliva, natica, &c, and the presence of 
 cyrena, potomomya, &c. in great abundance. Next 
 comes a layer of brown sand, containing rolled 
 fragments of bones of Palcvotherium , Trionyx, &c. y 
 which, from their appearance, may have been 
 transported from a considerable distance. Over 
 this rests a deposit of marl and white sand (No. 6 
 in Mr. Lyell's section), the latter in the state of 
 an impalpable powder; in this were deposited 
 nearly all the fossils above mentioned. The strata 
 incline to the east at an angle of about 5°. The 
 direction of the stream was no doubt westerly, 
 thai is, toward the marine beds; but at the spot
 
 HORDWELL FOSSILS. 171 
 
 at which I obtained so many interesting fossils there 
 were indications of a contrary current ; a circum- 
 stance, however, which may very probably have 
 depended upon a sudden bend in the river. The 
 uniformly fine character of the sand, and the con- 
 dition in which it was thrown down, would lead 
 me to infer that the flow of the stream was ex- 
 tremely gentle. The gradual disappearance of 
 marine species, such as are found at Long-mead 
 End, and their replacement, as we proceed east- 
 ward, by species of freshwater origin, is just such 
 a succession as we should expect to meet in 
 tracing the course of a river upwards from its 
 mouth." * 
 
 Hordwell fossils. — The numerous marine 
 fossil shells which are obtained from this part of 
 the coast of Hampshire are generally known as 
 Hordwell fossils, but it is scarcely necessary to 
 remark, that they almost entirely belong to the 
 London clay strata, and are procured from Barton 
 C'lifis. These fossils are most conveniently ob- 
 tained from the low cliff near Beacon-bunny, and 
 occur in greatest abundance in the upper part of 
 the dark green sandy clay. There are generally 
 blocks of the indurated portions of the strata on 
 the beach, from which fossils may be extracted. 
 
 * The new "London Geological and Palceontoloyical Journal." loc. cit. 
 K
 
 172 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 It was from Barton Cliff that Brander's fossils* 
 were obtained. Sowerby's "Mineral Conchology" 
 contains figures of numerous species and genera.f 
 
 The freshwater shells, and the remains of plants 
 and land animals, are to be looked for in Hordwell 
 Cliff, and in the fallen masses lying on the 
 strand. J 
 
 In conclusion, it may be remarked that shells 
 of those beautiful chambered cephalopoda, the 
 nautili, are seldom, if ever, observed in the eocene 
 strata of these cliffs, or in those of the Island; 
 though the nautilus imperialis is not uncommon in 
 the septaria on the western coast of Sussex, and 
 in the London clay at Sheppey. 
 
 * Fossilia Hantoniensia. 
 
 + A collection of Hordwell fossils, consisting of teeth of several species 
 of sharks and rays, hones of turtles, and a great variety of shells, may be 
 purchased at a reasonahle price of Jane Webber, dealer in fossils, Barton 
 Cliff, near Christchurch. 
 
 % The highly interesting specimens which have rewarded the recent inves- 
 tigations of Mr. Searlcs Wood, will douhtless induce many a collector to visit 
 the spot. The lower jaw of the Alligator Bantoniensis, a coloured plate of 
 which embellishes the first numher of the new "London GeologicalJournal,'' 
 is one of themost splendid British fossils hitherto discovered. Plate 2 of the 
 same work contains figures of some of the mammalian remains discovered 
 at Hordwell by Mr. S. Wood.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE CHALK FORMATION — SUBDIVISIONS OF THE CRETACEOUS SYSTEM — 
 RANGE OF THE CHALK IN THE ISLE OF WIGHT — THE UPPER AND 
 
 LOWER CHALK CHALK AND FLINT — SILICIFIED FOSSILS OF THE 
 
 I'll VI.K — THE FIRESTONE THE GALT THE GREENSAND — SUMMARY. 
 
 The Chalk formation. — The different mem- 
 bers of the Cretaceous system, though presenting 
 considerable variety of lithological character, are 
 yet essentially of the same type, and are linked 
 together by a peculiar fauna, indicating the pre- 
 valence of a similar oceanic condition, throughout 
 the vast period of time comprised in this geolo- 
 gical epoch. 
 
 The features of a chalk district are so well 
 known, that a brief notice of the physical geo- 
 graphy of that part of the Island which is com- 
 posed of the cretaceous strata, will suffice for our 
 present purpose ; and a reference to the map, 
 PL XX., will render local details unnecessary. 
 The rounded summits of the hills covered with 
 short verdant turf — the smooth undulated out- 
 line of the downs, unbroken save by the sepulchral 
 v o
 
 174 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 mounds of the early inhabitants of the country — 
 the coombes and furrows ramifying and extending 
 into the dee]) valleys which abruptly terminate 
 at the base of the hills, and appear like dried up 
 channels of rivulets and streams, though free from 
 all traces of alluvial debris — thus bearing the 
 impress of physical operations of which the 
 agents that produced them have long since passed 
 away — are phenomena familiar to every one 
 who has travelled over the downs of the south- 
 east of England, and are displayed in striking 
 characters in the chalk districts of the " beau- 
 tiful Island." These features are restricted to 
 the hilly districts of the white-chalk, and have 
 resulted from the peculiar nature of the sedimen- 
 tary detritus of which the strata comprised in the 
 upper division of the cretaceous system are com- 
 posed. For in the lower groups, clays, marls, 
 sands, and sandstones prevail, and where these 
 deposits approach the surface and form the sub- 
 soil, the country is broken and diversified, and 
 the landscape presents a striking contrast with 
 the down scenery ; as may be observed in the 
 picturesque district which flanks the escarpment 
 of the chalk hills. 
 
 It may perhaps be necessary to remind the 
 unscientific observer that these strata are but
 
 SUBDIVISIONS OF TUE CRETACEOUS SYSTEM. 175 
 
 an insulated portion of an ancient sea-bottom, 
 or in other words a mass of consolidated sedi- 
 ments formed in the profound depths of the 
 ocean, in a very remote period of the earth's 
 physical history. This detritus is made up of 
 inorganic and organic materials : the former con- 
 sist of the debris of the cliffs and shores which 
 encompassed the ancient sea ; of the spoils of 
 islands and continents brought into the ocean by 
 freshwater currents ; and of chemical deposits 
 thrown down from mineral solutions. The or- 
 ganic substances are the durable remains of 
 animals and plants which lived and died in the 
 ocean, and of fluviatile and terrestrial species 
 that were transported from the land by rivers and 
 their tributaries ; the whole forming such an 
 assemblage of sedimentary deposits as would pro- 
 bably be presented to observation, if a mass of 
 the bed of the Atlantic 2000 feet in thickness 
 were elevated above the waters, and became dry 
 land. 
 
 Subdivisions of the Cretaceous system. — 
 The nomenclature of the chalk formation has 
 undergone so many alterations, that to avoid con- 
 fusion, it is necessary to define the precise mean- 
 ing which the terms employed in the following 
 pages are intended to convey.
 
 176 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Chalk formation, and Cretaceous system, are syno- 
 nymous terms, and designate the entire series of 
 deposits between the Wealden and the lowermost 
 eocene stratum. 
 
 The Chalk— signifies the white chalk, including 1. the 
 upper or flinty chalk ; and 2. the lower or hard 
 chalk, in •which hut few, if any, flints occur. 
 
 TnE Firestone or Glauconite — comprises the chalk- 
 marl, without any intermixture of green particles, as 
 well as the limestone called in Sussex malm-rock ; 
 and the sands and arenaceous marls and limestones 
 full of green particles of silicate of iron, and termed 
 by geologists the upper-green-sand and firestone. 
 This group is the Glauconie crayeuse, of the French 
 geologists. 
 
 The Galt — a deposit of stiff blue clay underlying the 
 firestone, and characterised by particular species of 
 organic remains : called also Folkstone marl, and 
 Blue chalk-marl. 
 
 The Greensanh — designates the scries of clays, sands, 
 sand-tones, and arenaceous limestones; comprising 
 the Iron-sand of Mr. Webster, the Lowcr-greensand 
 of Dr. Fitton (and of tbc map PI. XX.) ; the Shank- 
 Hit sands of the author; and tbc lower argillaceous 
 group, termed the Neocomian or Aiherfield deposits. 
 
 Range of the Chalk formation m the 
 Island. — The various members of the cretaceous 
 system, as previously stated, constitute the 
 southern half of the Island ; a range of chalk 
 hills, broken through by the transverse valley of 
 the Medina, extending from east to west, and
 
 RANGE OF THE CHALK FORMATION. 177 
 
 separating the northern and southern districts. 
 At Sandown Bay, we have seen the lower divi- 
 sions of the formation successively appearing in 
 the cliffs, in the anticlinal axis formed by the 
 elevation of the Weal den strata ; and in Compton 
 Bay a like elevation of these deposits in a similar 
 anticlinal system. 
 
 At Culver Cliff, and from High Down to Comp- 
 ton Bay, the chalk downs, consisting of highly 
 inclined strata, form the sea-boundary ; but in 
 the middle of the Island, this chain is flanked on 
 the south by a denuded district of the lower 
 strata, which expands several miles, and is 
 succeeded by another system of downs formed 
 of horizontal beds of chalk. This range extends 
 from St. Catharine's to Shanklin Down, a distance 
 of six miles, (see the Map and section, PI. XX.). 
 Thus in travelling from the northern part of 
 the Island to the southern shore — as for ex- 
 ample from Ryde to Sandown, or from Calbourne 
 to Brixton — vertical and highly-inclined strata of 
 the flinty chalk are first passed over, and then the 
 firestone, gait, and greensand deposits ; the latter 
 composing the sea-cliffs from Sandown to Ather- 
 field, except where the fallen masses of the upper 
 beds strewn along the Undcrcliff conceal them from 
 observation. But in crossing the central district
 
 178 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 the chalk range is first traversed, and on the 
 southern flank of the hills the firestone, gait, and 
 greensand appear, and the latter extend south- 
 ward several miles, and dip beneath another chain 
 of hills capped with white-chalk strata ; and on the 
 south of this second range, the firestone, gait, 
 and greensand again emerge and contribute to 
 form the picturesque region of the Undercliff. 
 
 The Upper and Lower Chalk. — In pur- 
 suing tlus inquiry, I propose, before conducting 
 the reader to the most interesting localities, to 
 explain more fully the inorganic and organic com- 
 position of the principal deposits of the chalk 
 formation ; and thus afford a general view of the 
 mineral characters and organic remains, of the 
 strata that will come under review, in our excur- 
 sions along the southern coast. 
 
 The superior group of the cretaceous system 
 consists of white limestone disposed in strata, 
 which vary in thickness from a few inches to 
 several feet. In the Upper Chalk there are nume- 
 rous parallel rows of siliceous nodules that occur 
 at irregular distances from each other; and in 
 some places there are sheets of flint (called 
 tabular flint) between the layers of chalk, which 
 extend over considerable areas. The cretaceous 
 strata arc also traversed by vertical and diagonal
 
 CHALK AND FLINT. 179 
 
 veins of the same substance. In the Lower Chalk 
 of England, flints are of very rare occurrence, 
 and in general are altogether absent. The greatest 
 total thickness of the white chalk strata is esti- 
 mated at 1000 feet. The only metallic substances 
 observable are oxide of manganese in the state 
 of dendriditieal or arborescent markings in the 
 chalk and flints, and sulphurets and oxides of iron. 
 The most common form is the sulphuret of iron, 
 or pyrites, in spherical nodules beset with crystals, 
 which radiate from the centre, and when broken 
 a shell or other foreign substance is very com- 
 monly found to be the nucleus. This substance 
 often forms the casts of echinites, terebratulse, 
 and other shells, the surface of the mineral retain- 
 ing sharp imprints of the original. The bones 
 and scales of fishes and other animals imbedded 
 in chalk, have invariably a ferruginous stain. 
 
 Chalk and flint. — The pure white chalk is 
 composed of lime and carbonic acid ; it dissolves 
 rapidly in hydrochloric acid, and leaves only a slight 
 residuum, consisting of silex and organic matter. 
 A microscopical analysis shows it to be a mere 
 aggregation of shells and corals, so minute that 
 upwards of a million are contained in a cubic inch 
 of chalk; the amorphous particles appear to be 
 the detritus of similar structures. These organisms,
 
 180 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 for the most part, are the calcareous shields 
 and chambered shells of the animalcules termed 
 foraminifera ; which swarm in inconceivable num- 
 bers in our present seas, and are daily and hourly 
 contributing to the amount of sediment now 
 forming in the bed of the ocean.* 
 
 The nodules and veins of flint that are so abun- 
 dant in the upper chalk, have probably been 
 produced by the agency of heated waters and 
 vapours. The perfect fluidity of the siliceous 
 matter before its consolidation, is proved not only 
 by the sharp moulds and impressions of shells, &c. 
 retained by the flints, but also by the presence 
 of numerous organic bodies in the substance of 
 the nodular masses, and the silicified condition of 
 the sponges and other zoophytes which swarm 
 in some of the cretaceous strata. 
 
 Although silex or the earth of flint is insoluble 
 in water of the ordinary temperature, its solution 
 readily takes place in vapour heated a little 
 above that of fused cast-iron, as has been 
 proved by direct experiment ;-j- and similar effects 
 are being produced at the present moment by na- 
 tural causes. The siliceous deposits formed by the 
 
 * See " Medals of Creation," Article " Fossil animalcules," p. 21"). 
 t An account of Mr. JeflVrcy's important experiments will be found in the 
 •' Reports of the British Association," for 1840.
 
 SILICIFIED FOSSILS OF THE CHALK. 181 
 
 intermittent boiling fountains, called the Geysers, 
 in Iceland, are well known ;* and in New Zealand 
 this phenomenon is exhibited on a still grander 
 scale. From the crater of the volcanic mountain 
 of Tongariro, which has an elevation of 6,200 
 feet above the level of the sea, jets of vapour and 
 streams of boiling water highly charged with silex 
 are continually issuing forth, and dashing down 
 the flanks of the volcano in cascades and torrents, 
 empty themselves into the lakes at its base. As 
 the temperature of the water diminishes, siliceous 
 sinter is deposited in vast sheets, and incrustations 
 of flint are thrown down on the extraneous sub- 
 stances lying in the course of these thermal 
 streams. Silex is also precipitated by the boiling 
 waters, in the state of stalagmitic concretions, and 
 in nodules resembling in colour and solidity the flints 
 of the English chalk.f The complete impregna- 
 tion, and silicification (i. e. transmutation into flint) 
 of organic bodies is referable to an agency of this 
 kind, as the eminent American mineralogist, Mr. 
 Dana, has clearly shown.;}; 
 
 SiLICIFIED FOSSILS OF THE CHALK. 111 many 
 
 instances the organic remains in chalk flints, are 
 
 * " Wonders of Geology," vol. i. p. 84. 
 
 t Dr. Dieffenbuch's " New Zealand." 
 
 t " American Journal of Science," for January 1845. See also, " Notes 
 of a Microscopical Examination of Chalk and Flint," by the Author. Annuls 
 Nat. Hi.it. 1845.
 
 182 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 simply incrusted by silex : such is the state of 
 numerous sponges which are as it were invested 
 by the flint, and have their pores and tubes filled 
 by the same material ; the original tissue appear- 
 ing as a brown earth. In other examples the 
 sponge has been envelo|)ed by a mass of liquid 
 silex and has subsequently perished ; in this man- 
 ner have been formed those hollow nodules, which 
 on being broken present a cavity containing only 
 a little white powder, or some fragments of sili- 
 cified sponge : while in other instances the cavity 
 is lined with quartz or chalcedony. It frequently 
 happens that part of the zoophyte only is per- 
 meated by silex, while the other portion is 
 a friable calcareous substance imbedded in the 
 chalk. Certain zoophytes (Ventriculites, see 
 *' Medals of Creation," vol. i. p. 274,) are often 
 found in this state ; hence the protean forms of 
 the flints that have been moulded on portions of 
 these organisms. 
 
 But there are innumerable flint nodules which 
 exhibit no traces of spongcous structure ; and 
 veins, dikes, and sheets of tabular flint that 
 may be regarded as pure, and free from organic 
 remains, excepting such as must inevitably have 
 become entangled and imbedded in a stream of 
 mineral matter flowing over a sea-bottom.
 
 FOSSIL ANIMALCULES. 183 
 
 A sponge or other organic body often forms 
 the nucleus of the flint nodules, and the original 
 substance of the fossil is generally transformed 
 into silex, and yet the most delicate structure 
 preserved. In other examples the organisms en- 
 closed in the flint have undergone no change, but 
 appear as if immersed and preserved in a semi- 
 transparent medium. Such is the state in which 
 the foraminiferous shells (rotalice, textilarice, 
 " Medals of Creation," p. 232), and minute corals, 
 often occur.* 
 
 Fossil animalcules. — For the most part the 
 microscopic shells in chalk and flint are filled with 
 amorphous mineral matter ; but recent observa- 
 tions have shown, that in numerous examples the 
 shell contains the body of the animal, in some 
 instances silicified, but in others in the state of a dried 
 animal substance, like the ink-bag of the cuttle- 
 fish in lias,j- the soft parts of cephalopoda in 
 clay,;}; and the capsule of the eye and the mem- 
 branes of the stomach of certain fishes, in chalk. § 
 
 * An exquisite example of this kind was discovered liy the Marquess of 
 Northampton in a chalk flint from Brighton In a polished slice of this 
 specimen, presented to me by his Lordship, there are branches of several deli- 
 cate corals (pustulopora, relepora, idmonea, "Medals," p. 284,) and forami- 
 nifera, as perfect, and unaltered in appearance, as if immersed in glass. 
 
 t Dr. Buckland, " Bridgwater Treatise." 
 
 % Professor Owen on the Belemnite. 
 
 § " Wonders of Geology."
 
 184 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 In Hint, such specimens are by no means rare, 
 and from the semi-transparency of that mineral 
 are easily detected. The annexed figure (lign. 12) 
 represents the body of a rotalia in its shell (highly 
 magnified) imbedded in an atom of flint, in which 
 there is another example, and some other organ- 
 isms. The shells of Rotaliee in the chalk also 
 
 >?- 'ih ;,-. 
 
 THE SHKll OF A ROTALIA; 
 
 Containing the fossilized remains of the body of the animal ; in 
 flint; highly magnified,'' 
 
 contain the body of the animal ; and by dissolving 
 the chalk and the shell in weak hydrochloric acid, 
 
 * Specimens of the Rotaliae, Xanthidia, and other minute fossil organisms 
 ef the chalk and flint may he obtained of Mr. Topping, the well-known 
 microscopic artist. No. I, York Place, Pentouville Hill, London. See "Medals 
 of Creation," vol. i. pp. 78, 244, lor instructions how to prepare fossils for the 
 microscope.
 
 THE FIRESTONE. 185 
 
 and immersing the residue in a transparent medium 
 (Canada balsam), the soft parts are as distinctly 
 seen, as in a recent dead specimen.* 
 
 So little attention has been paid to the white 
 chalk fossils of the Island, that a few of the 
 common species of terebratula, spondylus, and 
 echini ; teeth of sharks; ventriculites, choanites, and 
 other zoophytes, comprise almost all the specimens 
 I have observed in private collections ; but there 
 can be no doubt that were the quarries and 
 natural sections diligently examined, an interest- 
 ing series might be obtained.-j- 
 
 The Firestone. £ — The lower white chalk, in 
 some places, as at Dover, gradually passes down 
 into a bluish-grey chalk, and the latter into an 
 argillaceous limestone, well known by the name 
 of chalk-marl. In other localities the chalk 
 maintains its purity to its junction with the 
 marl. An intermixture of green sand charac- 
 terises the latter in many districts, and this 
 
 * A Memoir on this subject, by the author, will appear in the third Part 
 of the Philosophical Transactions for 1846. 
 
 t Figures and descriptions of British chalk fossils are given in my "Fossils 
 of the South Downs," "Wonders of Geology," and "Medals of Creation," 
 and "Geology of the South-Eastof England;" in Sowerby's "Mineral Con- 
 chology," Mr. Lyell's " Elements of Geology," and in Parkinson's " Organic 
 Remains of a Former World." 
 
 t The name Upper-green-sand, generally given to these arenaceous marl 
 beds of the chalk formation, has been productive of so much confusion, that 
 the provincial term, Firestone, however inapplicable as a descriptive term, 
 seems preferable.
 
 186 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 variety passes into a hard calcareous sandstone, 
 termed in Surrey Firestone. Deposits of green 
 sand, with layers and concretions of chert, and 
 seams and nodules of coarse chalcedony, charac- 
 terise this group in some districts, and are largely 
 developed in the Undercliff. The bands of sili- 
 ceous limestones and calcareous sandstones, with 
 veins and nodules of chert which appear in the 
 inland cliff of that district, belong to this division 
 of the cretaceous system. 
 
 NAUTILUS ELEGAXS. 
 
 From the Chalk-marl, near Ventnor. 
 
 The chalk-marl in most localities abounds in fossils ; 
 it contains numerous species of Ammonites, Nauti- 
 lus, Turrilites, and other cephalopoda, which are 
 cither of excessive rarity, or altogether absent in t lie 
 upper chalk strata. The Nautilus and Ammonites
 
 i II \I.K-MARL FOSSILS, 
 
 181 
 
 figured in the subjoined lignographs, 13, 14, 15, 
 are characteristic species of the chalk-marl. The 
 
 AMMONITES VARIANS. 
 
 From the Chalk-marl, near Bonchurch. 
 
 LIGH. I... AMMONITES M.VNTELLI. 
 
 From the Chalk-marl, near Bonchurch. 
 
 specimen of Nautilus elegans, UgnAS, is a young shell: 
 this species is often two feet in circumference.
 
 188 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Some localities of the Island are extremely 
 prolific in organic remains, and have yielded to 
 the researches of Capt. Ibbetson an interesting- 
 series.* J. M. Saxby, Esq. of Bellevue House, 
 has recently collected many species from Bon- 
 church and Ventnor. A list of the fossils obtained 
 by Dr. Fitton from these strata, chiefly from the 
 cliff at Western Lines, is given in Geol. Trans, 
 vol. iv. p. 202. 
 
 The galt. — This is a deposit of very dark 
 blue marl, having an average thickness of 100 
 feet ; the clay in many places has a large inter- 
 mixture of green sand, and is traversed by thin 
 layers of red marl. It presents no distinctive 
 mineral aspect, but is characterised by the abun- 
 dance, peculiarity, and state of preservation of its 
 fossils. Numerous species of Ammonites, Hamites, 
 and other cephalopoda, with their nacreous shells 
 entire, and bivalves and gasteropodous univalves 
 seldom, if ever, found in the strata above or below, 
 may be collected from most localities where the 
 Gait is exposed in natural or artificial sections of 
 any considerable extent. This deposit is seen on 
 each side of the anticlina.s on the southern coast, 
 and in some parts of the Undercliff, near Ventnor 
 
 * There is a pood suite of marl fossils belonging to this gentleman exhi- 
 bited in the Isle or Wight model-room of the Polytechnic Institution of 
 London.
 
 THE GREENSAND. 189 
 
 and Bonchurcli ; I believe only a few fossils have 
 been observed. 
 
 The greensand. — This division of the creta- 
 ceous s} r stem comprises numerous alternations of 
 argillaceous and arenaceous strata of great thick- 
 ness and extent, constituting an important group, 
 which is well defined by the fossil remains. 
 
 It consists of cherty and calcareous sandstones, 
 and sands of various colours, white, green, grey, 
 red, brown, fawn, yellow, and ferruginous : the 
 predominance of the green sands in some districts 
 having suggested the term now employed to de- 
 signate the group. It was called the iron-sand 
 where the ferruginous character predominated, as 
 in the Isle of Wight.* Thick beds of sandy and 
 ferruginous clay, are intercalated with the arena- 
 ceous strata. The Greensand is separable into 
 three divisions, as was first shown by Dr. Fitton, 
 whose indefatigable and successful labours have 
 so largely contributed to the elucidation of the 
 characters and relations of the deposits between 
 the chalk and oolite in England. 
 
 In the upper or Shanklin sand series, the strata 
 
 * The whole series is described by Mr. Webster, as the Iron-Sand, in his 
 various memoirs on the geology of the Isle of Wight; and the unfortunate 
 application of this term to the sands of the Wealden districts of Surrey, 
 Kent, and Sussex, retarded, for a long period, the true exposition of the 
 nature and relation of those deposits. 
 
 l2
 
 190 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 arc chiefly ferruginous sands with iron-stone and 
 concretions of chert, with dark clays in the lower 
 part. The middle group is marked by the preva- 
 lence of green and grey sand with beds of calca- 
 reous sandstones, and cherty limestone called 
 Bcvrgate-stone in Surrey, and Rag in Kent. In the 
 lowermost or Atherfield series, the argillaceous 
 character predominates. The beds of sand 
 abound in peculiar fossils, and the concre- 
 tionary limestones and sandstones contain charac- 
 teristic organic remains. This general notice will 
 suffice, as the details of the sections exposed along 
 the southern coast of the Island, have been worked 
 out by Mr. Webster, Dr. Fitton, Capt. Ibbetson, 
 Professor Forbes, and other eminent observers, and 
 are published in the Transactions and Journal of 
 the Geological Society. 
 
 The following species of shells from the Green- 
 sand of the Isle of Wight, are figured in Plates 
 IV. and V. 
 
 Corbis corrugata, PI. IV. fig. 1. This and the following 
 
 figure represent but one side of the bivalves, and therefore 
 do not convey an idea of the form of the entire shell ; but 
 the markings on the surface are distinctly given, as afford 
 ing the easiest comparison for the inexperienced collector. 
 
 Trigonia caudata, PI. IV. fig. 2. This shell is so remark- 
 aide lioth in its form and sculpture, as to be easily iden 
 tified. 
 
 OervUlia anceps, PI. IV. fig. 3. Entire beds "I' this shell
 
 GREENSAND FOSSILS. 191 
 
 occur in some of the sands at Atherfield. The species is 
 
 generally more elongated than in the individual figured. 
 
 Venus striato-costata, PL IV. fig. 4. A small and easily 
 
 recognised shell. 
 Venus parva, PL IV. fig. 7. In iron-stone nodules in Shank 
 lin cliff. 
 
 Area raulini, PL IV. fig. 5. 
 
 Perna mulleti, PI. IV. fig. 6. This large and remarkable 
 bivalve, occurs in great numbers in a thick layer imme- 
 diately above the junction of the greensand with the 
 wealden, at Atherfield and Sandown-bay. The prolonged 
 hinge-line is commonly broken off in extracting the shells 
 from their matrix, unless due care is taken. 
 
 Thetis minor, PL V. figs. 1, 2. These are only casts in 
 ironstone, the shell having perished. They are abundant 
 in the concretions from the ferruginous sand on the top of 
 the cliff at Dunnose Point, that have fallen on the shore. 
 
 Gryphea sinuata, PL V. fig. 3. This shell attains a large 
 size ; specimens are numerous along the shores at Shank- 
 lin, Ventnor, and in Compton-bay ; being washed out of 
 the cliffs of greensand. 
 
 Terebratula sella, PL V. fig. 5. This shell in a very perfect 
 state is found by hundreds in the greensand at Atherfield, 
 &c. It occurs in great numbers in the greensand-pits at 
 Faringdon in Berkshire. 
 
 Nucula scajrfia, PL V. fig. 6. This and the following small 
 shells abound in the Atherfield Crackers-rock. 
 
 Tornatella albensis, PL V. fig. 4. 
 
 Xalicarotundata, PL V. fig. 7. 
 
 Pterocera retusa, PL V. fig. 8. 
 
 Eostellaria robaldina, PL V. fig. 9. 
 
 Cerithium turriculatum, PL V. fig. 10. 
 
 Scaphites gigas, PL V. fig. 11. This shell attains a large 
 size ; specimens two feet long are sometimes found. The 
 collections of Capt. Ibbetson and Mr. Bowerbank contain 
 splendid examples. Imperfect specimens of the spiral 
 part have been described under different generic names.
 
 192 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Summary.— The character of the cretaceous 
 system, as shown by these investigations, is that of 
 an ocean-bed formed in a vast basin by successive 
 accumulations of sedimentary detritus, transported 
 by currents, and thrown down in the tranquil 
 depths of the sea ; arenaceous and argillaceous 
 deposits prevailing in the lower, and cretaceous in 
 the upper division of the series ; periodical intru- 
 sions of heated fluids charged with silex having 
 taken place at uncertain intervals. The fossils 
 prove that the ocean swarmed with innumerable 
 beings of the usual orders of vertebrate and inver- 
 tebrate marine organisms, belonging for the most 
 part to species and genera now unknown ; and in 
 the chalk are seen for the last time that numerous 
 tribe of cephalopoda, the Ammonites, of which 
 not a single species is known either in the tertiary 
 strata, or in any more recent deposits : so far as 
 our knowledge at present extends, with the chalk 
 the whole race of Ammonites disappeared. 
 
 With regard to the vegetable kingdom of the 
 cretaceous period, the presence of numerous fuci 
 attests the nature of the marine flora; and the 
 fragments of drifted coniferous wood, fir-cones, 
 stems and leaves, which are found in the flint and 
 chalk in some localities, prove that the dry land 
 was clothed with pine-forests, and cycadeous
 
 StTMMARY. 193 
 
 plants. The occasional discovery of bones and 
 teeth of reptiles, shows that the islands and conti- 
 nents were tenanted by oviparous quadrupeds.* 
 Of birds and mammalia not a vestige has been dis- 
 covered. 
 
 * It is worthy of remark, that fossils and fragments of other rocks are 
 very rarely found in the white chalk. Pebbles of quartz and sandstone are 
 the only extraneous minerals of frequent occurrence. A solitary instance of 
 fragments of green chlorite schist, in chalk marl, near Lewes, was discovered 
 by myself some twenty-five years ago. My friend, Henry Carr, Esq. C E., 
 has recently found some water-worn pieces of fossil wood imbedded in while 
 chalk, from the cutting of the railway he is constructing between Epsom and 
 Croydon. This wood, in its mineralogical character and organic structure, is 
 unquestionably identical with the well-known fossil wood of the Portland 
 oolite, and I have no doubt is a portion of a mass that was drifted into the 
 bed of the cretaceous ocean.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PROM YARMOUTH TO FRESHWATER-GATE SCRATCHELLS -BAY VER- 
 TICAL CHALK STRATA — SHATTERED FLINTS — THE CHALK DOWNS — 
 
 CAUSES OF THE PRESENT CONFIGURATION OF THE CHALK HILLS 
 
 FROM FRESHWATER-GATE To COMPTON-BAf — GEOLOGICAL SECTIONS 
 OF THE SOUTHERN COAST PEBBLES AND SHINGLE. 
 
 From Yarmouth to Freshwater-gate. — In 
 resuming our survey of the geological phenomena 
 of the Isle of Wight, we proceed from Yarmouth 
 to Freshwater-gate, on the south-western shore. 
 In a direct line, through the transverse valley of 
 the river Yar, which rises from the northern foot 
 of the downs, the distance hut little exceeds two 
 miles and a half ; but the road makes a consider- 
 able detour to the left, round the eastern border 
 of the estuary. Passing over a gently undulated 
 country of the fluvio-marine eocene strata, and 
 ascending a steep acclivity of tertiary sands, we 
 cross the narrow tract of highly inclined chalk 
 which unites Alton-Downs on the east with High
 
 y „ ;i "
 
 YARMOUTH TO FRESHWATER-GATE. 197 
 
 Down on the west, and. reach the southern coast by 
 an opening in the chalk cliffs that extend from 
 Compton Bay to The Needles. 
 
 Immediately on our left are some detached 
 pinnacles of chalk, jutting into the sea, and on the 
 right the fine section of highly inclined strata of 
 chalk and flint represented in PI. X. At the base 
 of this headland is the entrance to a considerable 
 excavation in the cliff, produced by the erosive 
 action of the waves on the lower beds of chalk ; 
 some perpendicular masses of the harder portions 
 of the rock worn into irregular columns support 
 this natural archway, which is known to tourists 
 as " The Cave." It extends 120 feet into the cliff, 
 and is between thirty and forty feet high ;* it is 
 well deserving the notice of the geologist, for the 
 displacement the strata have undergone is here 
 strikingly displayed. 
 
 From Freshwater-gate to the Needles, a dis- 
 tance of three miles, the cliffs present a succession 
 of mural precipices of chalk, from 400 to up- 
 wards of 600 feet in height. The face of these 
 cliffs when seen from the sea at a short distance 
 
 * The description and beautiful illustrations of the picturesque features of 
 the scenery along this part of the coast, in Sir H. Englefield's ' ' Isle of Wight," 
 render it unnecessary to dwell upon this inviting subject. Some of 
 Mr. Bartlett's views of these chalk cliffs, in Barber's " Illustrations," are 
 very accurate and effective.
 
 198 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 has a remarkable appearance, from the rows of 
 flints, which score the surface of the white rock 
 with fine dark parallel lines, running in an oblique 
 direction from the top to the bottom of the section. 
 In some places the lines are undulated, in others 
 arched, and near the summit of the cliff towards 
 Alum Bay, they are very fiexuous, and bent 
 down, as if a heavy mass above had pressed upon 
 the upper ends of the layers of flints, while the 
 chalk was in a plastic state. The general inclina- 
 tion of the beds of this part of the range is nearly 
 vertical on the north, with a gradually decreasing 
 angle towards the south. 
 
 Scratchell's Bay. — The most stupendous line 
 of chalk cliffs is that termed the Main-bench ; and 
 beyond is ScratcheWs Bay, which is bounded by the 
 Needles. The aspect of the scene in this bay is 
 romantic in the extreme ; in the face of the cliff, 
 from the destruction of the lower beds of the bent 
 strata, a magnificent arch «300 feet high has been 
 produced, and forms an alcove that overhangs 
 the beach 150 feet.* 
 
 The well-known pinnacles of chalk, called The 
 Needles, are isolated masses of the extreme western 
 
 * In calm weather Scratchell's Bay and the Needles may he safely visited 
 in the pleasure-boats to In- hired at Freshwater-gate; parties generally land 
 cm this strip of shingle to view the stupendous arch above. A splendid \ lev 
 baj li) Mr. Webster is given in PL 2. r >, of Sir H. Englefield's work.
 
 scratchell's-bay. 199 
 
 point of the middle range of Downs, which 
 have been produced by the decomposition and 
 wearing away of the rock in the direction of the 
 joints or fissures, with which the strata are tra- 
 versed. The angular or wedge-shaped form of 
 these rocks, has resulted from the highly inclined 
 northward dip of the beds of which they are 
 composed. 
 
 Vertical chalk strata. — To the late Sir 
 Henry Englefield belongs the merit of having 
 first observed and directed attention, to the highly 
 interesting phenomena, occasioned by the disrup- 
 tion and elevation of the eocene and cretaceous 
 formations, which are so remarkably displayed in 
 the Isle of Wight ; namely, the vertical position of 
 the strata, and the shattered condition of the flint 
 nodules, though still imbedded in the solid rock. 
 These appearances may be conveniently examined 
 in the cliffs before us. 
 
 The chalk forms parallel beds or strata vary- 
 ing from two to five feet in thickness, which 
 are commonly separated by layers of flint no- 
 dules imbedded at irregular distances from each 
 other; there are also a few nodules dispersed 
 indiscriminately in the mass. The dip of the 
 inclined strata as previously stated is in general 
 from 70° to 80° : but many beds throughout a con-
 
 200 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 siderable extent are quite vertical (see PI. XIII.). 
 The parallelism of the cretaceous strata, and the 
 absence of sand, gravel, and other coarse detritus, 
 denote that the deposition of these calcareous sedi- 
 ments took place in tranquil water, and remote 
 from sea-cliffs and shores. Where a large extent 
 of the cliff is exposed, the face of the chalk is seen 
 to be traversed by fissures or joints at right angles 
 to the planes of stratification ; some are vertical, 
 others diagonal, and crossing in various directions, 
 divide the entire mass into irregular portions ; 
 in some localities these partake of a rhomboidal 
 form.* These fissures have evidently been pro- 
 duced after the consolidation of the strata in which 
 they occur, for where they traverse the horizontal 
 layers of flint nodules, some of the latter are often 
 displaced ; and very commonly a fault, or inter- 
 ruption of the parallelism of the opposite sides of 
 the chasm, has taken place, either from the elevation 
 or the subsidence of one of the separated masses. 
 In many instances the fissures are filled up with 
 flint, which occupies the crevice wholly, or partially, 
 throughout its whole extent, forming large sheets 
 of pure silex, varying in thickness from that of 
 
 * Mr. Webster particularizes the large chalk-pit on the south side of Arre- 
 ton Down near the top, not far from Ryde. In this quarry the Btrata are 
 inclined at an angle of 80 deg. ; and both the tabular flints and the nodules 
 are completely shivered.
 
 VERTICAL CHALK-STRATA. 201 
 
 pasteboard, to two or three inches. These sili- 
 ceous veins often consist of two plates with 
 loose calcareous detritus between them, as if the 
 flint had flowed down or oozed from the sides 
 of the fissures ; and this detritus is frequently 
 composed of shells of microscopic foraminifera. 
 In other cases the cavities are filled with marly 
 and soft chalk ; and in many instances they are 
 empty, but their sides are lined with crystallized 
 carbonate of lime. These fissures are evidently 
 referable to a period long antecedent to the 
 elevatory movements which broke up the chalk 
 strata, and hurled them into their present posi- 
 tion, for they traverse the horizontal layers ; 
 and the subsequent introduction of flint, proves 
 that they were the effect of submarine movements, 
 which took place while the physical condition of 
 the bed of the cretaceous ocean remained un- 
 changed. This fact also corroborates the inference, 
 that the eruptions of steam or vapour charged with 
 silex into the chalk, occurred periodically, and 
 sometimes at long intervals. 
 
 But there are numerous chasms and fissures 
 in the strata which clearly belong to a very dif- 
 ferent epoch ; to a period geologically recent, 
 when the now upper surface of the chalk 
 was rent by earthquakes, and the mountain
 
 202 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 masses of the cretaceous system acquired their 
 present position and configuration. For these 
 fissures are invariably connected with the surface, 
 and are more or less filled with clay, sand, gravel, 
 and waterworn flints, from the alluvial debris that 
 forms the subsoil of the country. These appear- 
 ances may be observed in the chalk underlying 
 the bed of gravel and clay, on which the Albion 
 Hotel at Freshwater-gate is situated. 
 
 Shattered flints. — Upon carefully extracting 
 a flint nodule from this cliff, it retains its original 
 form ; but upon examination it will be found 
 " shattered in every direction and broken into 
 pieces, varying in size from three inches in 
 diameter down to the minutest fragment, and 
 even into an impalpable powder. The flints thus 
 shivered, as if by a blow of inconceivable force, 
 retain their form and position in the bed. The 
 chalk closely invests them on every side, and till 
 removed, nothing different from other flints can 
 be perceived, excepting fine lines indicating the 
 fracture, as in broken glass ; but when moved, 
 'In \ fall at once to pieces. The fragments are as 
 sharp as possible, and quite irregular, being cer- 
 tainly not the effect of any peculiar crystallization 
 or internal arrangement of the material, but solely 
 attributable to external violence." Such is the
 
 SHATTERED FLINTS. 203 
 
 description of this remarkable phenomenon given 
 by Sir H. Englefield thirty years since.* The tabu- 
 lar and plated flint in the fissures is also shattered 
 in a similar manner. The nodules in the regular 
 layers are invariably in this state, in every locality 
 of the vertical and highly inclined chalk ; but the 
 separate nodules in the middle of the strata are 
 entire ; and in the horizontal beds, as for ex- 
 ample, on St. Catherine's, Boniface, and Shanklin 
 Downs, all the flints are unbroken. This shattered 
 condition of the flints has doubtless arisen, as 
 Sir Henry Englefield suggested, from the con- 
 cussion caused by the upheaval and disruption 
 of the once horizontal cretaceous deposits. The 
 disturbing force, though in many instances pro- 
 ducing flexures in the strata, was clearly exerted 
 violently and suddenly, and in such manner as to 
 shatter the flints without dislodging them from the 
 chalk. From the insulated nodules being generally 
 entire, it would seem that the greatest violence 
 
 * Sir H. Englefield's "Isle of Wight," pp.20, 21. The following places are 
 enumerated as exhibiting this phenomenon very distinctly : — Alum Bay — Pit 
 south of Carisbrook Castle, and near Carisbrook town — Arreton-pit — Brading- 
 Down-pit — BradingShute — Culver Cliff. Shattered flints are occasionally met 
 with in some parts of the Sussex and Surrey chalk. My attention was first 
 directed to the subject in 1S20, by a paper of Sir H. Englefield in the 
 •' Linnean Transactions;" and a chalk-pit on the top of North-street, 
 Brighton, now filled up, and the area built over, presented a fine example, for 
 every flint, though retaining its form, was reduced to fragments. See the 
 " Fossils of the South Downs," p. 152. 
 
 M
 
 204 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 of the shock was exerted in the direction of the 
 lines of stratification. 
 
 Mr. Webster, in describing the shivered Hints in 
 the chalk at Handfast-point, on the Dorsetshire 
 coast, remarks that the nodules are not only much 
 shattered, bu1 appear as if they had been re- 
 duced to atoms while the rock was yet in a soft 
 state, for the fragments are in general separated 
 from each other, with chalk between them ; and 
 the broken pieces of flint are at such distances, 
 that it is impossible to conceive by what means 
 they could have been so far separated, had the 
 chalk been solid at the moment of their fracture. 
 The bent condition of the strata at Handfast-point, 
 which will be described in a future page, attests 
 the plastic state of the chalk at the period when 
 its upheaval took place. 
 
 The Chalk downs. — We now leave the sea- 
 shore to ascend the hill, and proceed along- the foot 
 of Alton Down to Compton Bay, which is about 
 a mile distant. The western part of the central 
 range of downs extends from the Needles Cliff to 
 Motteston Down, which is 700 feet high, and 
 is a narrow ridge nine miles in length, with 
 steep declivities on each side; that on the north 
 arises from the highly-inclined dip of the strata; 
 thai on ih. south is produced by the precipitous
 
 THE CHALK DOWNS. 205 
 
 escarpment formed by the sudden termination of 
 the cretaceous beds where they rise to the sur- 
 face. The summits of this range command views 
 of great extent and picturesque beauty, for both 
 the northern and southern shores are distinctly 
 visible.* From the Needles Down, may be seen 
 on the north Tollands, Colwell, and Yarmouth 
 Bays ; and on the south, Freshwater and Compton 
 Bays, and the di tant line of coast. The eastern 
 portion of this chalk range, from Arreton Down 
 to Culver Cliff, a distance of seven miles, is of 
 the same character, f 
 
 * A graphic description of the scenery from this range of hills is given by 
 Sir H. Englefield, chap. iii. The view from Buccomb Down, looking over 
 Carisbrook Castle and Newport in the vale beneath, is very splendid ; that 
 from Arreton Down is equally fine. 
 
 t The view from Ashey sea-mark, which is situated on this part of the 
 chalk-hills between Arreton and Brading Down, is thus described by the 
 Rev. Legh Richmond : — 
 
 "Southward the view is terminated by a long range of hills (Shanklin, 
 Wroxall, and Appuldurcom.be,) at about six miles distant. They meet to the 
 westward another chain of hills, of which the one whereon I sit forms a 
 link, and the whole together nearly encompass a rich and fruitful valley, 
 filled with corn-fields and pastures. Through this vale winds a small stream 
 for many miles ; here and there lesser eminences arise in the valley, some 
 covered with wood, others with corn or grass, and a few with heath or fern. 
 One of these hills is distinguished by a church (New church) at the top, 
 presenting a striking feature in the landscape. Villages, churches, country 
 seats, farm-houses, and cottages, are scattered over part of the southern 
 valley. In this direction also appears an ancient mansion (Knighton), 
 embellished with woods, groves, and gardens. South-eastward is a broad 
 expanse of ocean, bounded only by the horizon. More to the east, in con- 
 tinuation of the chain of hills on which I am sitting (Ashey) rise two downs 
 (Brading and Yaverland hills), one beyond the other; both are covered with 
 sheep, and the sea is just visible over the furthest hill, as a terminating 
 boundary. In this point are seen ships, some of which are sailing, and 
 
 M 2
 
 206 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Ascending Afton Down, the summit of which 
 is crowned Avith a group of tumuli, the views 
 along the southern coast are lovely in the extreme. 
 When almost half way up the acclivity, the land- 
 scape to the west displays a magnificent coup 
 d'ce'd of the romantic scenery of Freshwater and 
 Scratchell's Bays, and The Needles ; and that to 
 the east affords a view of Compton Bay, Brook 
 Bay, and the coast, till it is lost in the remote 
 distance. 
 
 Cause of the configuration of chalk downs. 
 — From what has been stated as to the compo- 
 sition of the white chalk, and the formation of the 
 strata, the cause of the external configuration of 
 the verdant downs we are now traversing appears 
 sufficiently obvious. If we examine the spots 
 where the turf has been removed by the flint- 
 diggers, we perceive immediately beneath the 
 
 others lying at anchor. On the north the sea appears like a noble river (the 
 Solent), varying from three to seven miles in breadth, between the banks of 
 the opposite coast and those of the island. Immediately underneath me is a 
 fine woody district, diversified by many pleasing objects. Distant towns 
 Portsmouth and Gosport) are visible on the opposite coast; and numbers of 
 ships occupy the sheltered station which this northern channel affords them. 
 Westward, the hills follow each other, forming several intermediate and 
 partial valleys, in undulations like the waves of the sea, and bending to the 
 south, complete the boundary of the larger valley I have described, to the 
 southward of the hill on which 1 sit. One hill alone (St. Catherine's), the 
 highest in elevation, and about ten miles to the south-westward, is enveloped 
 in a cloud, which just permits a dim and hazy sight of a signal-post, a light 
 ind an ancient chantry, on its summit." — Annals of the Poor, lnj tin- 
 tut* Rev. Legh Richmond.
 
 THE CHALK DOWNS. 207 
 
 vegetable mould a thick layer of loose nodules 
 but slightly abraded, and in no instance worn into 
 the state of boulders, pebbles, or gravel. The 
 surface of the chalk covered by the flints is fur- 
 rowed and waterworn, like that of the exposed 
 chalk along the coast. From the state of the 
 loose flints, it is evident, that although they must 
 have been washed out of pre-existing strata, 
 they have not been subjected to the action of 
 the waves for any considerable period, like the 
 materials of the existing sea-beach. For when 
 masses of the chalk cliffs fall within reach of the 
 billows, the exposed portions of the flints are com- 
 pletely rounded before the nodules are loosened 
 and detached from the parent rock ; and so soon 
 as the flints are liberated by the wearing away of 
 the surrounding chalk, they are quickly driven 
 against each other and broken, and the fragments 
 ground into pebbles, gravel, &c. ; in this man- 
 ner are formed the shingle and sands that accumu- 
 late along the sea-shore. 
 
 From the state of the down-flints, it is there- 
 fore obvious that the deposits whence they were 
 derived, must have been less consolidated than the 
 present chalk, and have admitted of the removal 
 of the calcareous materials, and the consequent 
 extrication of the siliceous nodules from the rock,
 
 208 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 in a comparatively short space of time ; and the 
 disengaged flints, after a very brief exposure to 
 attrition, must have been transported beyond the 
 reach of the waves. 
 
 From the organic composition of the chalk 
 {ante, p. 1 80), it is manifest that when first deposited 
 at the bottom of the ocean, it was a fine white 
 detritus or mud, resembling in its nature and ap- 
 pearance the chalk now in progress of formation, 
 along the coasts of the Bermuda Islands ;* some 
 layers of which are as rich in microscopic shells 
 as any of the cretaceous strata. The veins and 
 beds of flint, as we have previously explained, 
 probably originated from the periodical introduc- 
 tion of thermal waters highly charged with silica, 
 into the calcareous sediment. The subsequent 
 conversion of the incoherent detritus into compact 
 limestone, may have resulted in part from pressure, 
 but principally from the slow infiltration of crys- 
 talline carbonate of lime ; a process which has so 
 rapidly converted the mud of the Bermudas into 
 a rock fit for building, that the imbedded shells 
 in many instances retain their natural colour and 
 polish. 
 
 It may therefore with great probability be as- 
 sumed, that at the period when the cretaceous 
 ■ Wonders of Geology, vol, i. p. (>9.
 
 THE CHALK DOWNS. 209 
 
 strata were subjected to those elevatory move- 
 ments which ultimately raised enormous moun- 
 tain-masses of chalk, together with the wealden 
 deposits on which they rest, above the level of the 
 sea, the last formed, uppermost, and of course 
 least coherent beds, would be the first exposed to 
 the action of the waves ; and if the elevation were 
 gradual,* successive layers would be subjected to 
 the same agency, until the fragments of the ancient 
 ocean-bed, now the Downs, were lifted above the 
 reach of further destruction. The drainings of 
 the elevated portions of the soft calcareous rock 
 would then commence, and give rise to streams 
 and rills, by which the surface would be worn 
 into furrows and channels. Funnel-like cavities, 
 and deep and narrow cylindrical and tubular 
 hollows, would be formed by the gyratory action 
 of eddies or whirlpools, induced by opposing 
 currents ; such effects may be observed on the 
 muddy dunes of an estuary during the reces- 
 sion of the tide. The beds of loose and but 
 slightly water-worn flints — the undulated and 
 unbroken contour of the gently swelling hills — 
 and the smooth basin-shaped coombes, and valleys 
 of chalk districts — characters which are strikingly 
 
 * See Mr. Lyell on the elevation and denudation of the wealden districts ; 
 " Elements of Geology," vol. ii.
 
 210 GEOLOGY OF TUE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 exemplified in the hills before us, would be the 
 natural result of such operations. 
 
 From Freshwater-Gate to Compton Bay. 
 — The road to Compton Bay sweeps round the 
 southern slope of Afton Down ; the pedestrian 
 should take the path along the edge of the cliff to 
 Compton Chine, where a narrow track leads to 
 the sea-shore. As we approach this spot a fine 
 view is obtained of the line of coast from the bay 
 to beyond Brook Point, as is shown in the slight 
 sketch, PL XI. The foreground is part of the 
 southern slope of Afton Down, consisting of 
 flinty chalk ; and the foot-track to the Chine is 
 seen crossing it on the right. The cliffs in this 
 view are composed of the clays, shales, and sands of 
 the Wealden, which continue to near Atherfield 
 Point. The nearest headland is Brook Point, the 
 western boundary of Brook Bay ; and the one im- 
 mediately beyond is the eastern limit of the same. 
 The ledges of rock extending from the foot of 
 Brook Point into the sea, are chiefly composed of 
 petrified trees. The most distant cape is part of 
 the greensand cliffs, near Blackgang Chine; and 
 the lofty range on the horizon is St. Catherines 
 
 mu. 
 
 Compton Chine is a deep chasm worn in the 
 ferruginous sands by a stream that falls from
 
 COMPTON BAY. 213 
 
 the summit of the cliff; it is situated to the 
 west of the Blockade-station. 
 
 The footpath to the shore slopes along the face 
 of the crumbling cliffs of greensand strata, which 
 rise from beneath the upper divisions of the creta- 
 ceous system, as is shown in lign. 16. The succes- 
 sion of the beds from Freshwater to Compton Bay, 
 i. e. from west to east, is as follows : — 
 
 1 . Upper or flinty chalk. 
 
 2. Lower chalk. 
 
 3. Firestone, comprising the chalk marl. 
 
 4. Gait. 
 
 5. Greensand, consisting of beds of ferruginous saDds, clays, 
 
 sandstones, and layers of very compact ironstone grit. 
 
 6. AVealden clays, sands, shales, and limestones. 
 
 Geological sections of the southern 
 coast. — The strata incline to the west, as is 
 shown in lign. 16, to beyond Brook Chine, 
 where the eastern side of the anticlinal axis 
 begins, and the dip is to the east, as represented 
 in the continuation of the coast, in lign. 17. 
 
 This line of cliffs is, in fact, the counterpart of 
 that of Sandown Bay {ante, p. 134, lign. 9) ; but 
 the wealden deposits are here more developed, 
 and extend between six and seven miles along 
 the shore. As these cliffs consist of clays, 
 sandy marls, shales, and other materials that offer
 
 214 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 but feeble resistance to the action of the waves, 
 the destruction effected by the sea during the 
 winter and early spring, when the highest tides 
 prevail, is very great; and the wealden fossils 
 washed out of the cliffs and strewn along these 
 shores are so numerous, that the strand between 
 Compton Bay and Atherfield has yielded a greater 
 number of fossil bones of colossal reptiles than 
 any other part of the Island. In short, these 
 strata and their organic remains impart to this 
 portion of the southern shore so much interest, 
 that it is desirable to postpone a particular account 
 of the wealden deposits for a special excursion to 
 Brook Bay. We will therefore continue our sur- 
 vey of the greensand by proceeding from Compton 
 to Atherfield, and along the Undercliff to San- 
 down Bay, where our investigation of the south 
 coast commenced.* 
 
 The chalk, firestone, and gait of Compton 
 Bay, are not very prolific in fossil remains ; 
 but the greensand yields ammonites, trigoniw, 
 pemce, &c. ; and numerous specimens of the 
 large oyster-like gryphea sinuata, (PL V. fig. 3,) 
 are generally scattered on the sands and shingle at 
 the foot of the cliffs. At the point where the 
 
 " The visitor who would find it more convenient to continue liis observa 
 tions along the cliff to Brook Chine, should refer to chapter ix.
 
 K5CJ 
 
 l-B 
 
 cqai 

 
 216 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 lowermost bed of the greensand is in contact with 
 the wealden clays, the distinctive characters of the 
 marine and freshwater deposits may sometimes be 
 observed in a mass of the stratum but a few inches 
 thick ; marine shells appearing imbedded in the 
 upper layers, and freshwater shells in the lower 
 portion. 
 
 Pebbles and shingle. — Before we ascend the 
 cliff to pursue our excursion towards Atherfield, 
 I would offer a few remarks on the sea-beach. 
 
 The beds of shingle along this coast, consist in 
 a great measure of chalk flints that have been 
 broken and rounded by attrition into boulders, 
 pebbles, and gravel. This is evident from the 
 peculiar aspect and fracture of the stones, and the 
 nature of their organic remains, of which some 
 traces are generally manifest. The clear transparent 
 pebbles, with bands and veins of quartz and chal- 
 cedony, which in some specimens are as clear as 
 crystal, and in others of a bright yellow, amber, 
 dark brown, and bluish-black colour, have a 
 similar origin. The moss-agates,* as they are 
 called by the lapidaries, are silicified chalk 
 sponges ; and the beautiful fossils {Choanites)-\ 
 commonly known as " petrified sea-anemones,' 1 '' are 
 
 • Not the German moss-agates exhibited in the shops as the genuine pro- 
 ductions of the Island. Sec note In page 18. 
 I " Thoughts on a Pebble," pi. 1 and 2.
 
 PEBBLES AND SHINGLE. 217 
 
 characteristic zoophytes of the white chalk. Small 
 pebbles of pure transparent quartz or rock-crystal, 
 are often found in the shingle in Compton and 
 Sandown ; these have probably been washed out 
 of the wealden strata, for pebbles identical in 
 mineral ogical character occur in the grits of 
 Tilgate Forest and Tunbridge Wells. 
 
 But the shingle contains other siliceous pebbles 
 which essentially differ from those of the chalk- 
 flints. Some of these are composed of a dark 
 brown mottled jasper, and when cut and polished 
 resemble the well-known Egyptian pebbles ; others 
 are of an opaque white jasper, veined with black 
 dendritical or arborescent figures, or marked 
 with zones of rich brown tints. Some have a 
 concentric arrangement of bands of silex of 
 various shades of colour, and resemble agates ; 
 others assume the character of botroidal and 
 mammillated chalcedony. 
 
 The differences observable in the materials com- 
 posing the shingle, did not escape the notice of 
 Mr. Webster, who describes some of the principal 
 varieties of the pebbles, and suggests that those 
 which are not waterworn chalk-flints, may have 
 been derived from veins or nodular masses of 
 silex, in tertiary strata now destroyed. A polished 
 slice of silicified wood found in the shincde of
 
 218 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Sandown Bay, was presented to me by Mr. Fowl- 
 stone, of Ryde. I believe specimens of this kind 
 are very rare in the Island ; but on the western 
 coast of Sussex, waterworn fragments of silicified 
 monocotyledonous wood are occasionally met with. 
 Boulders and pebbles of petrified bone and 
 wood, and of shelly limestone, are common on 
 the beach in Compton and Sandown Bays ; they 
 are from the wealden beds, and will be more par- 
 ticularly noticed in a subsequent chapter.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 FROM COHPTON BAY TO ATHERFIELD POINT — ATHERFIELD CLIFFS — 
 GREENSAND SERIES — NEOCOMIAN OR ATHERFIELD STRATA GREEN- 
 SAND FOSSILS — CLIFFS AT BLACKGANG CHINE — THE UNDERCLIFF 
 
 — GI-OLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE UNDERCLIFF FOSSILS OF THE 
 
 FIRESTONE — SOUTHERN RANGE OF CHALK DOWNS COAST OF THE 
 
 UNDERCLIFF — FROM VENTNOR TO SANDOWN BAT. 
 
 From Compton Bay to Atherfield Point. — 
 The road from Compton Chine to the coast-guard 
 station at Atherfield Point, runs along the southern 
 flank of Shalcomb and Mottestone Downs. As 
 we pass Brook Manor-house the ferruginous beds 
 of greensand may be traced in the banks on the 
 road-side ; and Brook church is seen standing 
 high up the hill on a terrace of those deposits. 
 The relative positions of the strata in this district 
 are displayed in the cuttings on the sides of the 
 road from Shalcomb Down through the village of 
 Brook to the sea-shore ; as shown in lign. 18. 
 If we proceed from the coast at Brook Chine 
 through the village, and ascend the road by the 
 church, and over Shalcomb Down, we pass in suc- 
 cession, 1, the Wealden ; 2, the Greensand ; 3, the 
 
 N
 
 220 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Gait ; 4, the Firestone ; and then cross the ridge 
 formed by the highly inclined strata of the White- 
 chalk. 
 
 Shalcomb Down. 
 
 Brook Puint 
 
 H. Fossil Trees. wealden. -6, 
 
 LIGN. 18. — SECTION FROM BROOK-POINT TO SH ALCOMB-DOWN ; 1$ MILE. 
 
 The turnpike-road leads through the villages of 
 Mottestone* and Brixton, to Shorwell, where it 
 divides, and sends off a branch to Newport on the 
 north-east, and another on the south-east, through 
 Kingston and Chale to Blaekgang Chine. About 
 midway between Brixton and Shorwell a tenantry 
 road turns off to the right, and admits a carriage 
 to within a few hundred yards of the cliff, near 
 the Atherfield Coast-guard Station. This is the 
 most convenient place to alight, and reach the 
 sea-shore near the junction of the Greensand and 
 Wealden formations. The path down the preci- 
 pitous face of the cliff lies a little to the east of the 
 
 * On an eminence overlooking the village of Mottestone is a rude pillar of 
 ferruginous sandstone called the "Long-Stone," and which was probably 
 erected ..* a landmark or boundary stone, at a very remote period. It is 
 twelve feet high ami of an irregular quadrangular form.
 
 ATHERFIELD CLIFF8. 221 
 
 Station ; it is a mere foot-track worn in the rock 
 by the sailors and fishermen.* At a moderate 
 distance westward of the spot where the path 
 reaches the shore, is the headland called Ather- 
 field Point, on which stands the Station-house ; 
 and at its foot, a ledge of rocks extends into 
 the sea. Near this place after recent slips of 
 the cliff, and the removal of the fallen debris by 
 the waves, the uppermost of the Wealden deposits, 
 and the lowermost of the Greensand may be seen 
 in juxta-position; in other words, the line of de- 
 marcation between the accumulated sediments of 
 a mighty river — some primeval Nile or Ganges, 
 teeming with the spoils of the land and the ex- 
 uviae of extinct terrestrial and fluviatile animals 
 and plants — and the bed of a vast ocean, loaded 
 with the debris of marine organisms, of genera and 
 species unknown in the present seas. 
 
 Atherfield Cliffs. — These cliffs are about 150 
 feet high, and, with the exception of a few feet of 
 Wealden clay forming the base of the headland 
 above mentioned, entirely consist of the green- 
 sand strata, which extend eastward as far as the 
 
 * This path is too precipitous and inconvenient to be attempted without 
 risk by ladies or invalids. I have always visited the spot by this route, and 
 am not aware of there being a more easy descent to the beach, except at a 
 long distance from the most interesting part of the cliffs. 
 
 N 2
 
 222 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 eye can reach. The total thickness of the series 
 is upwards of 800 feet ; but the section exposed, 
 though vertical, is in an oblique direction to the 
 planes of stratification, and from the slight angle 
 at which the strata dip to the north-east, the 
 cliffs as far as Blackgang Chine are composed of 
 the greensand deposits. To the eastward these 
 strata are concealed by the upper cretaceous 
 group along the Undercliff, reappear at Bon- 
 church Cove, and continue to Sandown, extend- 
 ing as far as the anticlinal axis of the Wealden in 
 the bay. 
 
 The lowermost bed which rests on the Wealden 
 at the base of Atherfield Point, is but a few feet 
 above the beach ; the uppermost strata first ap- 
 pear on the shore to the east of Rocken-end ; 
 between these two points the cliffs are made up of 
 sands and argillaceous deposits of various colours, 
 composition, and thickness, containing particular 
 collocations of organic remains. The importance 
 of the Atherfield section as elucidating the nature 
 and relations of the lower group of the cretaceous 
 system, was but little regarded till the appearance 
 of Dr. Fitton's memoir " On the Strata between the 
 < '/"(Hi and Oolite" * Since that time this locality 
 lias acquired additional interest from its affording 
 
 Geol. Trans, vol, iv. L8S6.
 
 GREENSAND OF ATHERFIELD CLIFFS. 223 
 
 a solution of the geological problem, to which we 
 shall hereafter briefly advert. The subsequent me- 
 moirs by the same author,* Captain Ibbetson, Pro- 
 fessor Edward Forbes,-j~ and Mr. Simms,J contain 
 an elaborate account of these deposits, and of the 
 nature and distribution of the fossils they contain. 
 The limits necessarily assigned to the present 
 volume, will only admit of a concise notice of the 
 facts detailed in those publications, and a general 
 view of the geological phenomena presented to 
 observation in a stroll along the shore, from Ather- 
 field Point to Blackgang Chine. 
 
 Greensand series. — There are 63 distinct beds 
 between the Wealden at Atherfield Point, and the 
 upper stratum of Greensand which is in contact 
 with the Gait near Blackgang Chine ; the total 
 thickness being 843 feet.§ These deposits have 
 been variously grouped and named by different 
 observers; but the most practically useful ar- 
 rangement to the investigator on the spot, is 
 that which especially relates to the organic 
 remains. 1 1 We will now briefly notice the prin- 
 cipal subdivisions in an ascending order; that 
 is, from the Wealden at Atherfield Point, 
 
 * Geol. Journal, vol. i. p. 179. t Ibid. p. 190. 
 
 I Ibid. p. 76. § Captain Ibbetson. 
 
 || A list of the strata, and a table of the distribution of the fossils, are 
 given in " Geol. Journal," vol. i. p. 195.
 
 224 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 to the junction of the greensand with the gait 
 {lign. 17.). 
 
 The Wealden clay, as previously stated, first 
 appears in a bed five or six feet thick, at the foot 
 of Atherfield Point ; the upper layers are shaly, 
 and contain freshwater shells (cyclas, paludina, 
 potamides,* PL VI.) similar to those we observed at 
 Sandown Bay.f The Wealden clay in the upper 
 part is intermixed with grey and green sand ; and 
 two or three inches above there is a stratum of 
 sandy clay containing marine shells. The distance 
 between the layers of fluviatile and marine shells is 
 therefore but a few inches ; so that, as Dr. Fitton 
 remarks, portable masses containing characteristic 
 .shells of both formations may be extracted. I 
 have not been so fortunate as to visit Atherfield 
 Point when the line of junction at the base of the 
 cliff, and to the westward, was exposed to any 
 considerable extent. But sometimes, from a con- 
 junction of favourable circumstances, the strata are 
 laid bare for several hundred yards. This happens 
 
 * Potamides are spiral fresh-water shells, -which much resemble in form 
 those belonging to a marine genus termed Cerithium; the Cerilhia men- 
 tion il by Dr. Fitton as occurring in the Weald clay at Atherfield, may pos- 
 sibly be Potamides. 1 have never observed any vestiges of Cerithia in the 
 Wealden deposits. 
 
 t A few small thin-shelled oysters were observed by Dr. Fitton in this bed. 
 "These fossils occur within a very few inches from the junction with the 
 bovi thi Wealden. " — Proceedings, Geol. Soc.
 
 GREENSAND OF ATHERFIELD CLIFFS. 225 
 
 after heavy gales and high tides, which sweep 
 away both the fallen masses of rock and the sea- 
 beach, and expose a large surface of the ad- 
 jacent strata washed clean, and visible at low 
 
 water.* 
 
 1. Lowest Greensand clay.f — A bed of brown clay with 
 marine shells : 3 feet thick. In the lowermost layers, 
 near the Wealden shale and clay, are seams of minute fish- 
 bones. 
 
 2. Perna Mulleti band. — A stratum two feet thick, of a very 
 firm sand-rock, characterised by numerous shells, and 
 especially by a layer of the Perna Mulleti (PL IV. fig. 
 6) ; which also occurs in the same relative stratigraphical 
 position in Compton and Sandown Bays. 
 
 3. Lower Lobster clay-bed. — Clay strata, with numerous fos- 
 sils in the lower, and but few in the middle beds. The 
 upper layers are remarkable for the abundance of a small 
 species of lobster (Astacus), which occurs in a beautiful 
 state of perfection, imbedded in blue saponaceous clay ap- 
 proaching to fuller's earth. The specimen figured in the 
 Vignette of the title-page of this work, is from this stratum. 
 Total thickness 100 feet. 
 
 4. The Cracker's rock.% — Sandy clay with two bands of 
 nodular or concretionary masses of very hard calciferous 
 sandstone : 18 feet. These beds are highly interesting for 
 the abundance and variety of their organic remains. The 
 nodules consist of very compact rock, and contain innu" 
 merable shells in a perfect state, of which many species 
 
 * Such was the state of the cliff when visited by Dr. Fitton in 1843. 
 Proc. Genl. Sue. vol. iv. part 1. 
 
 t The names adopted are those employed by Captain Ibbetson and Pro- 
 fessor E. Forbes. Gcol. Journal, vol. i. p. J90. 
 
 I This local name is said to be derived from the noise made by the breakers 
 when dashing over the rocks and ledges of this concretionary sand-rock.
 
 226 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 do not occur in any other strata. The Gervillia anceps 
 (PL IV. fig. 3) is crowded together in groups of hun- 
 dreds, and the shells are as perfect as if lying in their 
 native bed. Several small shells from the Cracker's rock 
 are figured in PI. V. (figs 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). These 
 fossils occur in such numbers and variety, that almost 
 every considerable fragment of the rock will be found to 
 contain several species. 
 
 5. Upper Lobster clay.— A deposit of saponaceous clay, 
 similar to No. 3 ; and abounding in the same kind of fos- 
 sil lobsters as that bed. It also contains ammonites and 
 other shells : total thickness 20 feet. 
 
 6. Zone of Terebratulce. — Clays full of fossils, 20 feet : 
 above which is a bed of dark sand, 22 feet in thickness, 
 enclosing immense numbers of Terebratulm (PI. V. 
 fig. 5), and Serpulai. 
 
 7. Zones of Gryphem and Scaphites. — A series of sands and 
 clays, including layers of QrypJiecR (the large bivalve figured 
 in PI. V. fig. 3), imbedded in dark sand, and alternating 
 with bands of nodules which contain gigantic Scaphites 
 (PI. V. fig. 1\), ammonites, and numerous other fossils : 
 total thickness 155 feet. 
 
 S. Upper zone of Terebratodce. — A bed of sand 30 feet 
 thick, full of layers of Tercbratulae (chiefly of Terebratula 
 biplicata) : above which is a stratum of dark sand, 24 
 feet thick, with a band of Grypheae as in No. 7, but with- 
 out the Scaphite nodules. 
 
 9. Ferruginous sands. — Sands highly ferruginous, with layers 
 of dark blue clay, and bands of ironstone nodules full of 
 casts of shells (PI. IV. fig. 7, PI. V. fig. 1), of the genera 
 Venus, Thetis, Trigonia, &c. Seams of lignite are dis- 
 seminated through the lower beds in undulated laminae ; 
 and thin layers of ironstone grit without fossils, occur in 
 the upper part of the series. The beds in contact with 
 the Gait are generally of this character.
 
 NEOCOMIAN OR ATHERFIELD STRATA. 227 
 
 In the upper 250 feet of the greensancl but few 
 organic remains are met with, and the strata are 
 more or less highly charged with peroxide of iron. 
 " Every thing," says Professor E. Forbes, " in this 
 stage, appears to indicate a shallow and barren sea, 
 probably from an elevation of the sea-bottom, pre- 
 vious to a new state of things, when a fresh series 
 of clays, forming the Gait, being deposited, the 
 majority of the animal forms which characterise 
 the clays of the greensand disappear, and are 
 replaced by distinct species, representative in 
 time." * 
 
 Neocomian or Atherfield strata. — The in- 
 ferior portion of greensand at Atherfield, from 
 the lowest bed to the Crackers inclusive, abounds 
 in fossils which are either very rare, or altogether 
 absent in the upper part of the series. A group 
 of subcretaceous deposits near Neufchatel, in 
 Switzerland, having lately been found to con- 
 tain many species of shells not previously known 
 in other parts of the cretaceous system, has, 
 in consequence, been described by some emi- 
 nent French geologists as a distinct formation, 
 belonging to a period antecedent to the de- 
 position of the Greensand, and synchronic with 
 the Wealden ; and they have designated the 
 
 * Geol. Journal, 1845.
 
 228 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 group " Terrain Neocomien." But Dr. Fitton 
 has shown, by a careful comparison of a large 
 number of the French fossils with those from 
 Atherfield, that so close an agreement exists in 
 the organic remains, as to leave no reasonable 
 doubt that the so-called Neocomian strata are but 
 the equivalents of the lower series of the English 
 greensand system.* 
 
 In a Report read before the British Association 
 of Science, at Southampton,!" Dr. Fitton gave a 
 table of 150 species of shells, the stratigraphical 
 position of which has been accurately deter- 
 mined. From this it appears that 130 species 
 occur in the lowermost 150 feet of strata; and 
 that in the upper beds, comprising a thickness 
 of nearly 700 feet, but twenty additional species 
 are met with ; the absolute number of fossils 
 also rapidly diminishes, but few, if any, organic 
 remains appearing in the uppermost layers. But 
 throughout this period of consecutive deposition, 
 one series of fossils only is indicated, bounded by 
 the Wealden below and the Gait above. It is 
 the lowermost part of the Atherfield section which 
 is regarded as the equivalent of the remarkable 
 
 * The name Neocomian is introduced in the section, liy/i. 17, p. 215, to 
 
 ate these remarks, 
 t In September, !MG.
 
 GREENSAND FOSSILS. 229 
 
 fossiliferous group of Neufchatel. The principal 
 difference between the continental and English 
 greensand fauna, is stated by Professor E. Forbes 
 to consist in the abundance of gasteropoda and 
 cephalopoda in the former, and of acephalous bi- 
 valves in the latter. 
 
 Greensand fossils.* — The organic remains of 
 the greensand to be met with along this coast are 
 almost exclusively shells ; but few traces of the 
 higher orders of animals, or of plants, have hitherto 
 been observed. It should, however, be borne in 
 mind, that remains of land reptiles, and trees, and 
 plants, have been found in strata of this forma- 
 tion in Kent ; similar relics may therefore occur 
 in the same deposits in the Isle of Wight.-f- 
 
 Of the vegetable kingdom but few vestiges have 
 been discovered. The laminae of lignite in the 
 upper ferruginous beds, and obscure traces of fuci 
 in some of the lower sandstones, are the only in- 
 dications of the flora of this geological epoch that 
 have come under my notice. But remains of the 
 
 * The finest collection of the organic remains of the greensand of the Isle 
 of Wight is, I believe, that made by Captain Ibbetson, and now exhibited in 
 the Polytechnic Institution of London. The Geological Society has the most 
 complete series of the shells, principally contributed by Dr. Fitton, and 
 named by Professor Forbes. Figures of most of the species will be found in 
 " Mineral Conchology," Dr. Fitton's "Memoir," and in the "Geological 
 Journal," vol. i. 
 
 t See " Wonders of Geology," vol. i. p. 394.
 
 230 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 foliage of a fern that abounds in the Wealden 
 {Lonchopteris Mantelli, lign. til), were discovered by 
 Mr. Morris in many of the strata at Atherfield ; 
 and the Messrs. Gladstone have since found 
 several leaflets of the same species associated with 
 trigonise, &c. in ironstone nodules at the foot of 
 Shanklin Cliff. This interesting fact we shall 
 have occasion to notice in a subsequent chapter. 
 Of the poriferae and corals but few species occur. 
 Traces of bulbiform Siphonia, (apparently S. pyri- 
 formis, Dr. Fittoris Memoir, PL XV.), are some- 
 times displayed on the waterworn surface of fallen 
 blocks of sandstone. A small elegant coral, a 
 species of Astrea, is not uncommon in the Cracker's 
 Rock at Atherfield. 
 
 The lowermost beds at Atherfield Point being 
 very fossiliferous, the collector will have but little 
 trouble in obtaining good specimens of the shells 
 distributed in those strata : the perna mulleti 
 {PL IV. fig. 6) may generally be extracted toler- 
 ably perfect.* From the nodular masses of the 
 Crackers with which the shore at low water is 
 often thickly strewn, an abundance and variety 
 of shells may be procured ; and that part of the 
 
 • It is necessary that the geologist should so arrange the time of his visit 
 to this coast, as to arrive at Atherfield at the beginning of the ebh of the tide, 
 that be ma) be able to examine the cliffs and collect specimens at leisure.
 
 GREENSAND FOSSILS. 281 
 
 cliff, where the two parallel layers of these con- 
 cretionary masses are within reach, (almost half a 
 mile to the east of Atherfield Point), will afford 
 specimens at all times. The large gryphea sinuata 
 (PL V. fig. 3), may be found everywhere along the 
 shore ; the shell being sufficiently strong to resist 
 for a time the action of the waves, clean and 
 perfect examples often occur imbedded in the 
 sand. Beneath Walpen High-cliff, and at Whale's 
 Chine, the gryphea bed may be examined in situ ; 
 the terebratula sella (PLY. fig. 5), maybe obtained 
 from the loose green sand (No. 6, p. 226), in great 
 perfection and variety. 
 
 The magnificent cephalopodous shell, the Sca- 
 phites grandis, * (8. gigas of our Pl.V. fig. 11), is 
 most likely to be met with near the base of the 
 same part of the cliffs. Some fine specimens have 
 been found along the shore near Ladder Chine; 
 and very large ammonites and nautili occur in the 
 same locality. On the shore, not far from the 
 base of Blackgang Chine, nodules with scaphites 
 
 * This shell has been described under different names, as Crioceras Bower- 
 banksii, Scaphites gigas, &c; the latter name is given in the description of 
 PI. V., but Professor E. Forbes has adopted that originally affixed to this 
 gigantic cephalopod by Mr. Sowerby. Scaphites are distinguished from 
 Ammonites by the disunion of the whorls, and from Hamites, by the spiral 
 arrangement of the posterior volutions. A very small species of Scaphite 
 (not exceeding an inch in length) is frequent in the chalk marl. See " Medals 
 of Creation," vol. ii. for an account of fossil Cephalopoda.
 
 232 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 may be observed above a bed of sand full of 
 terebratulae. 
 
 The fossil lobsters, the most beautiful of the 
 Atherfield fossils, may generally be met with after 
 recent slips of the cliff involving masses of the 
 strata (Nos. 3 and 5, pp. 225, 226,) in which they 
 occur. The vignette of this volume {engraved by 
 Mr. Lee from a drawing by Mr. J. Dinkel) repre- 
 sents an exquisite specimen from a fallen block 
 lying near the pathway at the foot of Atherfield 
 Cliff. 
 
 Minute bones of fishes in the lowermost clay, 
 and a few teeth of the Shark family, are the only 
 remains of vertebrate animals I have observed ; 
 but Capt. Ibbetson has obtained from these cliffs 
 a specimen of extraordinary interest. It is a 
 considerable portion of the skull, with the bones of 
 the face and the jaws and teeth attached, of a 
 species of Hybodus; a genus of fishes of the shark 
 tribe, having teeth of a transversely elongated 
 form, with a series of compressed conical cusps, of 
 which the middle one is the longest.* 
 
 In this remarkable fossil the mouth is open, and 
 forms a semilunar aperture six inches wide. The 
 upper jaw has twenty-four teeth, and the lower 
 nineteen, in their natural position ; two rows of 
 
 * Medals of Creation, vol. ii. p. 622.
 
 CLIFFS AT BLACKGANG CHINE. 233 
 
 successional teeth are traceable behind the ante- 
 rior series. These teeth, as shown in Ugn. 19, have 
 a central cusp rather hooked, and two lesser points 
 on each side. 
 
 LIGN. 19. — FIVE TEETH ATTACHED TO A PORTION OF THE JAW OF A 
 FISH OF THE SHAUK FAMILY; FROM ATHERF1ELD. 
 
 (Hybodus bassanus, of Sir P. Egerton. Geol. Journal, vol. i. pi. iv.) 
 
 The Hybodonts, like other fishes of this family, 
 were armed with strong dorsal spines, which are 
 often found in the lias, oolite, and wealden strata ; 
 and rarely, in the chalk.* 
 
 The Cliffs at Blackgang Chine. — Proceed- 
 ing from Atherfield Cliffs eastward, the first inter- 
 esting point is Blackgang Chine ; a spot well 
 known to every tourist who visits the Undercliff. 
 Viewed from the sea-shore at low water, especially 
 when the springs which feed the waterfall have 
 been swollen by heavy rains, the effect is highly 
 
 * Capt. Ibbetson's specimen is in the Polytechnic Institution on a pedestal 
 at the entrance of the Isle of Wight model-room. It is figured and described 
 by Sir Philip Egerton in " Geol. Journal," vol. i. p. 197. Unfortunately, the 
 drawing was made before the bones of the face and jaws were cleared of the 
 adherent stone, and it therefore represents only the margin of the jaws with 
 the teeth, surrounded by a shapeless mass.
 
 234 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE Oh WIGHT. 
 
 picturesque. The cascade falls in a perpendi- 
 cular column from a ledge 70 feet high, down 
 the midst of a deep chasm formed in dark ferrugi- 
 nous clays and sands, and surmounted by broken 
 cliffs 400 feet high ; and towering above all is the 
 majestic escarpment of Saint Catherine's-hill, 
 rising to an altitude of between eight and nine 
 hundred feet. The sketch in PL XII. shows the 
 section exhibited in the face of the cliffs. The 
 bands of greenish-grey sand and sandstone which 
 alternate with ferruginous clays in this division of 
 the greensand system, appear very prominent, 
 owing to the wearing away of the soft and friable 
 intermediate beds. 
 
 As the face of the sandstone, after long exposure 
 to the atmosphere, separates into square blocks, 
 the appearance of the projecting bands of stone, 
 which are from ten to fifteen feet thick, is very 
 singular, and is not unaptly compared by Sir H. 
 Englefield to courses of masonry built up at dif- 
 ferent heights to sustain the mouldering cliffs. 
 The thin layer of ironstone grit which, as we have 
 previously remarked, is very constantly found in 
 this division of the greensand, constituting as it 
 were a line of demarcation between the upper 
 arenaceous deposits and the lower more argilla- 
 ceous group, intercepts the water that percolates
 
 THE UNDERCLIFF. 237 
 
 through the upper porous strata, and projecting 
 in a ledge forms the bed of the stream that falls in 
 a cascade over the face of the cliff. 
 
 In reference to the springs along this coast 
 it may here be remarked, that no less than ten 
 copious streams issue from the strata on the south 
 side of the range of hills facing the Undercliff, 
 and run directly into the sea ; most of those 
 which flow from the greensand are chalybeate. At 
 Sandrock, near Blackgang, is a celebrated alumi- 
 nous chalybeate spring, of which an analysis was 
 published by Dr. Marcet in Geol. Trans, vol. i. 
 This water is highly charged with sulphate of iron 
 and alumina ; it rises from a bed of sand within 
 fifty feet of the gait. 
 
 The Undercliff. — We have now arrived at 
 the western extremity of that interesting and pic- 
 turesque region known as the Undercliff of the Isle 
 of Wight ; and which may be described geologi- 
 cally, as a miscellaneous accumulation of debris, 
 principally composed of fallen masses of the upper 
 cretaceous strata, occasioned by the encroachments 
 of the sea on the lower argillaceous and sandy de- 
 posits that form the base of this line of coast. The 
 Undercliff consists of an irregular terrace, sloping 
 towards the south, from a quarter to half a mile 
 in breadth, and six miles in length ; its elevation 
 o2
 
 238 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 above the sea is from 100 to 400 feet. It is pro- 
 tected on the north by the escarpment of the 
 southern chain of hills, which forms a line 
 of vertical cliffs, from 200 to 400 feet high, 
 and extends from St. Catherine's to Shanklin 
 Down. 
 
 There is perhaps no tract of such limited ex- 
 tent, that affords so remarkable an instance of 
 the modification of climate induced by geologi- 
 cal structure and physical configuration, as the 
 Undercliff. Completely sheltered on the north by 
 the range of chalk cliffs — elevated above the in- 
 fluence of the mists and fogs of the sea-shore — 
 possessing a soil composed of the detritus of chalk 
 and sandstone, which rapidly absorbs and carries 
 off superfluous moisture, yet supports a luxuriant 
 vegetation — with an undulated and varied surface 
 enjoying throughout its whole extent a southern 
 aspect — and fanned only by breezes which invigo- 
 rate but do not chill — this fairy region well merits 
 the high encomium of the medical philosopher. It 
 is indeed, what Sir James Clark, in his invaluable 
 work on Climate, has described it to be — " a lofty 
 natural terrace backed by a mountainous wall on 
 the north, and open on the south to the full in- 
 fluence of the sun from his rising to his going 
 down, during that season when his influence is
 
 THE UNDERCLIFF. 239 
 
 most wanted in a northern country. The climate 
 is remarkably equable as well as mild and dry, 
 and there are not many days during the winter on 
 which the invalid cannot take some exercise in the 
 open air. The mildness and dryness of the climate 
 during the winter months, may be in some degree 
 estimated by the circumstance of myrtles, gera- 
 niums, and various tender greenhouse plants 
 usually withstanding the winter in the open flower 
 borders. The absorption of heat by the almost 
 perpendicular cliffs of the Undercliff, exposed as 
 they are to the rays of the sun during the whole 
 day, must be considerable, even in winter ; and 
 the radiation of this heat during the night no 
 doubt tends to equalize the temperature. To the 
 invalid who has a taste for natural history, this 
 sheltered district and neighbourhood possesses an 
 additional advantage. It is rich in varied and 
 interesting plants ; indeed the specimens of natural 
 history with which it abounds offer abundant in- 
 ducements to exercise, and healthful mental oc- 
 cupation, to the cultivators of this delightful 
 science."'* How great will be my reward, should 
 these humble pages open a new source of intel- 
 lectual enjoyment, to any of those who may repair 
 
 * The Sanative Influence of Climate ; by Sir James Clark, Bart. m.d. iic. 
 Fourth edition. London, 1846.
 
 240 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 to this favoured spot, for the restoration of health, 
 or the alleviation of mental affliction. 
 
 Geological structure of the Undercliff. — 
 The structure of this district will be readily un- 
 derstood by an examination of the western extre- 
 mity of the Undercliff. The diagram, Ugn. 17, 
 (p. 215), illustrates the position of the several groups 
 of the cretaceous beds at St. Catherine's Down, 
 which is 830 feet in height ; the strata are nearly 
 horizontal. The greensand series reaches to the 
 top of the cliff at Blackgang, upwards of 400 feet 
 high ; the gait lies above it, and forms a bed more 
 than 100 feet thick. The marls, sands, and cal- 
 careous sandstones, comprised under the name 
 of Jirestone, in thickness about 100 feet, next 
 appear, and rise into a vertical inland cliff, half a 
 mile from the shore. Strata of white chalk form 
 the summit of St. Catherine's Down, the total 
 thickness amounting, in some places, to 250 feet ; 
 but on the south-western brow of the hill these 
 beds thin out, and form a mere capping over the 
 firestone.* 
 
 The Gait is seen at the top of the ravine west of 
 Blackgang hotel, resting upon the greensand which 
 
 " -Mr. Lowry, the eminent engraver, informs me that the firestone reaches 
 id within 133 feel of the beacon on St. Catherine's Down, as he ascertained 
 by barometrical observation in 1837.
 
 STRUCTURE OF THE UNDERCLIFF. 241 
 
 extends in a terrace beyond it : some of the fossils 
 peculiar to this deposit (Inoceramus sulcatus, and 
 /. concentrlcus) have been obtained from this place. 
 This bed also appears beneath the firestone on the 
 face of the cliff east of the Sandrock spring, above 
 the road leading to Ventnor. 
 
 The Firestone in the southern face of St. Cathe- 
 rine's hill, above the road from Niton, presents the 
 usual characters of this group as they appear in a 
 succession of terraces along the Undercliff.* The 
 chalk-marl forms the upper part of the series, and 
 passes downwards into greenish grey sands and 
 calcareous strata, in which are layers of bluish 
 marl rock. Strata of cherty sandstone, alternating 
 with layers of sandy marl, occur in the lower part ; 
 and from the disintegration and removal of the 
 intermediate earthy beds, the chert appears in 
 projecting ledges along the face of the southern 
 escarpment of the downs, through a considerable 
 extent of the Undercliff. This circumstance im- 
 parts a peculiar feature to the landscape, and, 
 under certain combinations of rock and vegetation, 
 
 * The firestone strata in the Isle of Wight arc more numerous and 
 diversified than in Kent and the south-east of Sussex, and resemble the equi- 
 valent deposits in the western district of Sussex and Hampshire, so ably 
 elucidated by Sir Roderick Murchison, in his first contribution to that 
 department of natural philosophy, the boundaries of which his genius and 
 important researches have since so largely contributed to extend. (See Geol. 
 Trans, vol. li. Second series. 1826.)
 
 242 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 contributes greatly to the picturesque character of 
 the local scenery.* 
 
 The layers and concretionary masses of chert are 
 principally distributed in the upper part of the 
 series ; and beneath them are sands, and a bed of 
 sandstone from two to four feet thick, which, 
 though soft when first extracted, hardens by expo- 
 sure to the air, and becomes an excellent building 
 material. The ancient churches on the south 
 side of the Island have been constructed of this 
 stone, and it is being largely quarried for the 
 edifices now in progress of erection. 
 
 Fossils of the Firestone strata. — The fossils 
 of the arenaceous and cherty strata of the firestone 
 group, comprise many species which also occur in 
 the uppermost deposit, the chalk marl; and like- 
 wise several that have either not been observed, or 
 are very rare in the other strata. They consist of 
 several kinds of Ammonites, Nautili, Hamites, 
 Scaphites, and other cephalopoda; numerous bi- 
 valves, especially pectens, terebratulae, trigoniw, 
 
 * Captain Ibbetson, whose beautiful and accurate models of the Undercliff 
 are exhibited in the Polytechnic nstitution, subdivides the firestone group 
 into the following : — 1. Upper greensand ; 2. Chloriticmarl ; ','>. Second bed of 
 
 eenBand; 1. Fossiliferous war!, in which large scaphites occur; 5. Two 
 alternations of malm and rag: the term malm is applied to a firm argillaceous 
 rock, and raff, to the cherty sandstone that alternates with the former. A 
 very large collection, comprising numerous species of shells, zoophytes, &c, 
 i Obtained from these strata, and especially from the fossiliferous 
 marl.
 
 FOSSILS OF THE FIRESTONE. 243 
 
 &c, and of a few genera of simple univalves, as 
 Cirrus, Trochus, Awllana, &c. The bare enumer- 
 ation of the species would occupy a considerable 
 space, and be unintelligible, except to the scientific 
 reader, without the aid of figures. 
 
 There is, however, one fossil which it is neces- 
 sary to describe, from the abundance of its remains 
 which meet the eye in almost every block of fire- 
 stone. It is a species of Siphonia (S.'Websteri), a 
 zoophyte resembling the sponge in its porous 
 structure, but possessing numerous tubular channels 
 that permeate the general mass, and communicate 
 by openings into a central cavity.* This species 
 is in the form of an oblong bulb with a shallow 
 opening, supported upon a long slender stem, 
 
 * Mr.Webster on some new varieties of fossil Alcyonia, Geol. Trans, vol. ii. 
 First series, p. 37C. Mr. Webster mentions that the first specimens showing 
 the connexion of the stems and bulbous part, were observed on some 
 " stupendous and difficultly-accessible masses of rock lying under the ro- 
 mantic cliffs of Western-lines." The branches vary in size from half an inch 
 to three inches in diameter, and from six to eighteen inches in length ; they 
 terminate above in a bulb or head, somewhat resembling in form a closed 
 tulip, and from one to six inches long; the other extremity branches into 
 root-like fibres, by which these bodies, when living, were attached to rocks 
 or stones. If the stems and bulbs are broken transversely, they are found to 
 consist of bundles of longitudinal tubes ; and this internal structure is 
 generally silicified, so that polished sections are very interesting. I need 
 scarcely remind the reader that these bodies have no relation to the Alcyonia, 
 which are polypiferous zoophytes; whereas these fossils are simply a con- 
 geries of tubes and pores, like certain sponges. The fossil that is figured in 
 my "Medals of Creation" (vol. i. p. 259), as Siphonia Websteri, is not that 
 species, but S. piriformis of Goldfuss, which generally occurs in the green 
 sand, but is occasionally met with in the firestone, and in the grey chalk, 
 associated with another common fossil sponge, the Scyphia meandrina.
 
 244 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 having a root-like base by which the original was 
 attached to the rock. This fossil was first figured 
 and described by Mr. Webster, under the name of 
 tulip alcyonium. The bulbs and steins are often 
 disposed in relief on blocks that have been wea- 
 thered, or washed by the sea ; for the fossils, 
 being harder than the surrounding stone, more 
 effectually resist abrasion, and large surfaces of 
 firestone are therefore covered with their remains, 
 which, being whiter than the rock, are very con- 
 spicuous. 
 
 Fossil Cycadeous plant. — But the fossiliferous 
 marl (as Captain Ibbetson designates the bed most 
 prolific in organic remains) has lately been found to 
 contain relics of a higher order than any previously 
 known to occur in the cretaceous strata of the Isle 
 of Wight. In the collection deposited in the Poly- 
 technic Institution, there is a specimen from the 
 marl near Ventnor, that several years ago attracted 
 my attention, but which I was unable to obtain an 
 opportunity of examining till a few weeks since, 
 when Captain Ibbetson, with great liberality, per- 
 mitted me to inspect and figure it for this work. 
 It proved to be, as I had conjectured, the summit 
 of a stem, surrounded by the petioles, or leaf 
 stalks, the leaves themselves having either been 
 shed or decayed, of the Clathraria Lyettii, a
 
 FOSSIL REPTILE. 245 
 
 cycadeous plant, hitherto only known in the 
 Wealden formation. A figure {Ugn. 23) and de- 
 scription of this most interesting relic, will be 
 given in the account of the organic remains of 
 the Wealden in Chap. X. 
 
 Fossil femur of a reptile. (?) — Another discovery, 
 not less important, has recently been made in 
 the easternmost quarry, above Bonchurch, and 
 was communicated to me by S. M. Saxby, Esq. 
 of Bellevue House, Ventnor; a gentleman to 
 whom I am indebted for many interesting local 
 details relating to the strata and fossils of the 
 Undercliff. The specimen referred to is either 
 the humerus (arm -bone) or femur (thigh-bone) 
 of a terrestrial animal, probably of a gigantic 
 lizard. It is broken transversely, and some 
 two or three inches of the middle portion of 
 the shaft are missing, but the articulating ex- 
 tremities are in excellent preservation. So far as 
 a hasty inspection would enable me to form a 
 conjecture of the affinity of this bone to recent 
 types, it appears to approach nearest to the femur 
 of the Monitor or Iguana ; most certainly it bears 
 no resemblance to the corresponding bone of any 
 of the Wealden reptiles that have come under my 
 notice. The lower portion is 9 inches in length, 
 and terminates at its distal extremity in two large
 
 246 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 laterally compressed condyles, having a very wide 
 popliteal space between them ; the anterior or 
 patellar aspect is smooth, and but little depressed. 
 The transverse diameter of the bone at the con- 
 dyles is 6h inches; the upper and fractured end of 
 the shaft is o\ inches in diameter in the same 
 direction. The proximal extremity, or head of 
 the bone, is somewhat compressed, and its cha- 
 racters are concealed by adherent firestone; it is 
 7 inches wide in the transverse and longest dia- 
 meter. This portion of the bone is one foot in 
 length ; the transverse diameter of the inferior and 
 fractured end is 4 inches ; and as the correspond- 
 ing part of the shaft of the distal portion is 
 3j inches, it is obvious that the lost intervening 
 piece of bone must have gradually diminished 
 in circumference 2\ inches, from above down- 
 wards. The shaft in the transverse diameter 
 measures 4 inches; in the antero-posterior, only 
 o inches. But the most remarkable character of 
 this bone is the relatively enormous size of the 
 medullary cavity, which is 3 inches by 2; the 
 walls of the bony cylinder at the fractured part 
 being only half an inch thick. I have not been 
 able to procure a fragment for microscopical exa- 
 mination, by which its reptilian or mammalian 
 affinitymight be determined : but for the courtesy
 
 FOSSIL FUCI. 247 
 
 of Mr. Saxby, even these brief details could not 
 have been obtained.* 
 
 Fossil ftjci. — White ramose and meandering- 
 lines are not uncommon on the surface of the 
 sandstone : these are probably vestiges of fuci or 
 other marine plants. A well-known delicate species, 
 the Fucoicles Targionii,-\ that abounds in the malm- 
 rock of Bignor, in Sussex, occurs sparingly at 
 Ventnor. Some very curious trifid impressions are 
 sometimes observable on the surface of waterworn 
 blocks of sand-rock, and are possibly referable 
 either to this tribe of plants, or to some kind of 
 siphonia. Some of these imprints so closely re- 
 semble, both in form and in their arrangement on 
 the surface of the slabs, the supposed Ornithicnites, 
 or footsteps of birds, that occur in such perplexing 
 abundance and variety in certain ancient secondary 
 rocks of the United States^ that Mr. Saxby, 
 who first observed these fossils, was at infinite 
 pains to ascertain their nature. The examples 
 hitherto obtained, though very specious in appear- 
 ance, cannot, I conceive, be regarded as the im- 
 prints of the feet of any animal : unequivocal 
 
 * Mr. Saxby has kindly informed me, that the quarry at Bonchurch is pre- 
 cisely at the commencement of the land-slip by the turnpike road, and the 
 layer in which the bone was found is three or four feet above the firestone. 
 
 + Medals of Creation, vol. i. p. 105. 
 
 I Ibid. vol. ii. p. S10.
 
 248 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 evidence as to the origin of these problematical 
 objects is still desirable. 
 
 Molluskite. — The soft bodies of the testaceous 
 mollusca often occur in a fossil state, changed into 
 a brown carbonaceous substance, which I have 
 proposed to distinguish by the term molluskite.* 
 When empty shells are found enclosed in rocks, 
 the mineral matter generally fills up the cavity and 
 forms a cast of the interior; but if the animal 
 occupied the shell at the time it was imbedded, 
 the soft parts appear to have become changed 
 into a brown or black substance, which in some 
 instances retains the form of the original, but 
 in general occurs as an amorphous mass, con- 
 taining a large proportion of animal carbon. In 
 the greyish green sands of the firestone of Kent 
 and Sussex this substance often occurs, and it is 
 equally abundant in some of the sandstones of 
 the Uridercliff. The brown spots dispersed through 
 the stone forming the mouldings and mullions of the 
 new church at Ventnor, are composed of molluskite. 
 In recently extracted stone at Ventnor, I have ob- 
 served shells of trigoniae, rostellaria?, and cucullea, 
 filled with this carbonaceous matter. The shelly 
 limestones of the Wealden, called Sussex and Pur- 
 beci marbles, are mottled with black molluskite, 
 
 * Medals of Creation, vol. i. p. 431.
 
 MOLT.USK1TE. 249 
 
 consisting of the carbonized remains of the river 
 snails of which the limestones are composed. 
 
 Southern range of Chalk Downs. — From 
 this digression on the zoological characters of the 
 middle system of the chalk formation, we resume 
 our geological survey of the southern coast. Before 
 we climb St. Catherine's-hill, let the observer 
 for a moment take another glance at the view 
 commanded by the terrace in front of the Black- 
 gang hotel, which affords a coup oVoeil of the south- 
 western shores. Looking down the ravine im- 
 mediately at our feet, the aspect of the scene is 
 singularly wild and dreary, from the sombre 
 colours and fantastic masses of the broken walls of 
 the chine, and the gloomy shade thrown athwart 
 the chasm by the projecting cliffs. On the coast, 
 the greensand strata are seen stretching on to 
 Atherfield Point ; and beyond may be distinguished 
 Brook Point, which from this elevated spot appears 
 as a low promontory; and farther west are the 
 chalk cliffs, gradually vanishing away towards The 
 Needles. 
 
 Ascending St. Catherine's-hill, a magnificent 
 panoramic view bursts upon the sight. From 
 the summit, a height of between eight and nine 
 hundred feet, when the atmosphere is clear, the 
 eye commands at one glance the grand features of
 
 250 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 the physical geography of the Island, and the 
 range and extent of the principal groups of strata. 
 We are now on the western extremity of the 
 southern range of chalk downs which, as previously 
 explained {ante, p. 177), is separated by a con- 
 siderable district of greensand from the central 
 chain of hills.* This system of chalk downs 
 varies in breadth from half a mile to three miles, 
 and extends six miles in a direction E.N.E. and 
 W.S.W. from St. Catherine's-hill to Dunnose, its 
 eastern termination, which is nearly 800 feet high. 
 The intermediate parts of the range maintain an 
 elevation of from 650 to 800 feet, with the excep- 
 tion of a deep valley on the east of St. Catherine's, 
 through which the road to Niton passes ; and 
 another at Steephill called the Shute or Shoot, 
 above Ventnor, traversed by the road to Appul- 
 durcombe and Newport. A marl bank on the side 
 of the Shute abounds in fossils.-f- 
 
 The strata of these hills are nearly horizontal, 
 having only a slight inclination to the south-east. 
 From Ventnor to St. Boniface Down, above Bon- 
 church,^ a distance of three quarters of a mile, the 
 
 Refer to tin' diagram. /'/. vu. and the map, /'/. XX. 
 t Mr. S,i\hy informs me that In.' lias obtained from this locality turrUitet 
 
 U , nautili, belemnites, and many other marl fossils. 
 t High up on the slope of tin- hill bursts forth a spring called SI. Boniface's 
 I snds have attached much veneration.
 
 COAST OF THE UNDERCLIFF. 251 
 
 usual smooth verdant character of the chalk is 
 resumed, and the hills rise to the height of 800 
 feet, sending oft' to the northward the lofty range 
 of Shanklin Down, and terminating in Dunnose 
 Point.* The siliceous nodules in the&e strata are 
 always found entire ; presenting in this respect a 
 striking contrast to the shattered flints in the ver- 
 tical strata that form the opposite range at Brading 
 Down (see PL XIII.). 
 
 Coast of the Undercliff. — The district of 
 the Undercliff, from the western extremity of St. 
 Catherine 's-hill to Bonchurch, is about six miles ; 
 and the road from the west passes along an irre- 
 
 * Deviation of the plumb-line at Shanklin Doivn. — During the progress of 
 the Ordnance survey, a deviation of the plumb-line from its mean direction 
 was observed in the neighbourhood of Shanklin Down, by Col. Colby, the 
 Director of the Trigonometrical Survey; a considerable attraction of the 
 plumb-line to the south of the Dunnose station having been unequivocally 
 determined, and which is supposed to depend on the intensity of the attrac- 
 tion of the hill. In alluding to this remarkable phenomenon Sir Roderick 
 Murchison (in his address at the meeting of the British Association of 
 Science at Southampton, September 184C) observed, " that it is a matter of 
 surprise that this, comparatively, low chalk range in the Isle of Wight should 
 attract, in one parallel at least, with more than half the intensity of the high 
 and crystalline mountain of Schehallien in the Highlands of Scotland. a 
 Can this be explained by the peculiar structure and distribution of the ridge 
 of upheaved strata which runs as a back-bone from east to west through the 
 Island? or is it to be referred to the effect of dense masses of plutonic rock 
 ranging beneath the surface along the line of displacement of the deposits ?" 
 
 a In the year 1774, from astronomical observations made on the mountain of 
 Schehallien by Dr. Maskelyne, it was proved that a sensible disturbance was 
 produced in the direction of the plumh-line by the attraction of the dense 
 masses of granular quartz and limestone, and mica and hornblend slate, of 
 which that mountain is composed. 
 
 P
 
 252 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 gular terrace composed of fallen masses of chalk, 
 marl, and firestone, which in the lapse of cen- 
 turies have accumulated in a talus on the southern 
 escarpment of the Downs. Although subsidences 
 are occasionally taking place, and within the last 
 hundred years, from eighty to ninety acres of the 
 upper cliff sunk down at one time, the greater part 
 of this singularly picturesque and lovely region 
 has undergone no material change since the Con- 
 quest. This is evident from the ancient churches of 
 St. Lawrence, and St. Boniface, which are referred 
 by antiquaries to the eleventh or twelfth cen- 
 tury.* In travelling from Blackgang to Ventnor, 
 the firestone cliffs are the most important geolo- 
 gical feature. Here and there on the road side 
 are seen accumulations of debris, and projecting 
 crags of chert and sandstone, which from their 
 superior hardness have for years resisted the dis- 
 integrating effect of the elements. From the in- 
 termixture of calcareous and argillaceous earth 
 resulting from the decomposition of the strata, a 
 soil has been produced which supports a luxuriant 
 vegetation. Even the refractory siliceous rocks are 
 more or less clothed with foliage, for the ivy has 
 insinuated itself into every cranny, and hangs in 
 festoons of verdant tapestry over the cherty peaks. 
 
 * Sir Henry Englefield ; Isle of Wight.
 
 COAST OF THE UNDERCLIFF. 255 
 
 In many places the fallen blocks of sandstone 
 are covered in relief with stems and bulbs of the 
 Siphonia Webster i (ante, p. 243), and contain nume- 
 rous shells. At Ventnor there are (or were) some 
 bold vertical sections of the firestone ; and an 
 enormous mass of rock overhangs the road east of 
 the Marine hotel. The calcareous sandstone here 
 abounds in shells and molluskite. The terrace 
 and sea-cliffs that form the southern boundary of 
 this rapidly increasing town, are entirely composed 
 of fallen masses of the upper groups of the creta- 
 ceous strata. In many instances huge fragments of 
 white chalk appear imbedded in the green sand of 
 the firestone ; and I observed (in 1844) a series of 
 chalk strata forty feet in thickness, surmounted 
 by many feet of marl and firestone, forming a low 
 headland on the sea-shore ; the entire mass having 
 been retroverted in its fall from the heights above. 
 The diagram in lign. 20, p. 256, will serve to 
 elucidate the above remarks. 
 
 The vicinity of Ventnor is rich in the shells and 
 zoophytes of the cretaceous system. The follow- 
 ing localities have been pointed out to me by 
 Mr. Saxby :— 
 
 The bank on the roadside at the Shute above Ventnor, 
 abounds in Chalk-marl fossils. 
 
 Horse-shoe Bay, in black malm rock ; many shell;-;. Under 
 the cliiT to the cast, called Highrport, at low water, nodules
 
 256 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 of pyrites, generally having a tercbratula or other shell 
 as the nucleus. 
 
 East of ( 'olin's Point and Mill Bay ; the gait is visible and 
 contains shells. In a highly inclined fallen mass of sand- 
 stone, sharks' teeth, coprolites, molluskite, and many 
 shells. Firestone with fossils occurs on the shore, east- 
 ward of the Parsonage. 
 
 In the gravel-pits on "Little-town Down," above Ventnor, 
 the Hints abound in sponges. They sometimes contain a 
 sharp conical body fixed by its base and projecting into 
 an elongated fusiform cavity. This appearance has been 
 produced by a belemnite, of which the large cavity is the 
 impression, and the conical body the cast of the phrag- 
 mocone, or chambered shell of this curious cephalopod.* 
 
 LIGN. 20. — SECTION or THE UNDERCLIFF. NEAR VENTNOR. 
 
 In the chalk marl above Bonchurch nume- 
 rous fossils, comprising turrilites, scaphites, am- 
 monites, incocerami, &c. have been found. The 
 bone of a reptile (p. 245), and the stem of Cla- 
 thraria, previously described {ante, p. 244), were 
 obtained from this locality. 
 
 * Sec Medals of Creation, vol. ii. p I S 9
 
 ventnor to sandown bay. 257 
 
 The coast from Ventnor to Sandown Bay. 
 — From Rocken-end, east of Blackgang Chine, to 
 Bonchurch, the sea-cliffs, in consequence of the 
 displacements which have produced the Undercliff, 
 present no continuous sections of the strata, of 
 sufficient importance to require especial notice. 
 It may be briefly stated, that after passing along 
 that ruinous district, and arriving at the eastern 
 termination of the promontory formed by the 
 southern chalk downs, a repetition of the section 
 observable at St. Catherine's-hill on the western 
 extremity, is presented to view on the east of 
 Bonchurch Cove, at Dunnose Point and Shanklin 
 Down. This section of the nearly horizontal 
 strata of chalk, firestone, gait, and greensand, is 
 shown in the diagram, lign. 9, p. 134. The white 
 chalk forms the upper series of deposits ; of the fire- 
 stone, which varies in total thickness from 70 to 
 100 feet, a good section is seen above the ravine at 
 Luccomb, between Bonchurch and Shanklin. The 
 gait underlies the firestone as at Sandrock, near 
 Blackgang ; and beneath are the ferruginous sands 
 and dark clays of the greensand • the layer of 
 ironstone nodules full of casts of shells (see ante, 
 p. 226) extends through the upper part of the cliff 
 at Dunnose ; but the pema mulleti bed has not 
 been observed along this part of the coast.
 
 258 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT". 
 
 Luccomb Chine, which lies between Chine-head 
 and Dunnose Point, is an extensive gnlly like that 
 of Blackgang, formed by springs derived from the 
 high land on the north-west, and which falling 
 over a perpendicular cliff of sand and clay, have 
 worn a deep ravine that is slowly receding from 
 the shore. The celebrated chine of Shanklin is of 
 the same character ; the cliff here is 230 feet high, 
 and the chasm extends 150 yards from the shore, 
 being 300 feet wide at the top, and narrowing 
 down to the bed of the torrent. The steep sides 
 of the ravine are clothed with verdure, and over- 
 shadowed by underwood, except where bare masses 
 of rock protrude, and contribute to the picturesque 
 effect of this romantic glen. 
 
 The character of the scenery around Shanklin 
 so entirely depends on the geological structure of 
 the country, that I am led to transcribe the follow- 
 ing vivid description of this part of the Island by 
 Sir II. Englefield: — "As we approach the village 
 of Shanklin, its appearance is equally singular and 
 interesting. It is seated in a small vale hanging 
 towards the sea, at a great height above that level; 
 the houses are detached from each other, and 
 almost buried in groves of elms ; and every cottager, 
 however humble, being in the habit of letting 
 Lodgings in the summer season, surrounds bis
 
 I3HANKLIN CHINE. '2~)9 
 
 dwelling with a garden full of flowering shrubs. 
 The whole spot has a most cheerful and uncommon 
 character. The little church, which is of a pretty 
 form, stands on a broken knoll open to a beautiful 
 pasture, with groups of elms carelessly disposed 
 about it; and it is backed by the high hill of 
 Dunnose, whose lower part is covered with 
 thickets and groves hanging down its steep sides. 
 From among these in one part a range of rocks 
 starts out; the northern face of the same great 
 stratum to which the Undercliff owes its exist- 
 ence and its beauty. The route from Shanklin 
 church, by the road which winds through the 
 open groves up the flank of Dunnose is eminently 
 beautiful, affording, as we ascend, the most lovely 
 views. The village with its groves forms a charm- 
 ing first distance — the bay of Sandown with the 
 Culver Cliffs present a noble winding shore — and 
 beyond the low land of Sandown, in the direction 
 of Brading Haven, a part of the anchorage of 
 Portsmouth with its shipping is visible. From 
 the top of the ascent, the elevation of the ground 
 is so much greater than the chalk hills of Yaver- 
 land, that the sea is visible over them ; and the 
 distant blue heights of Hampshire and Sussex 
 form an uninterrupted line, till to the eastward 
 they are blended with the horizon of the sea ;
 
 260 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 emerging out of whose waters the white cliffs 
 from Brighthelmston quite to Beachy-head, are 
 distinctly visible, though from forty to sixty miles 
 distant." * 
 
 The western cliff of Shanklin Chine consists of 
 an alternating series of clays and sands. The upper 
 part is greenish-white sand, resting on a bed of 
 dark-blue clay ; beneath this is another stratum 
 of sand, and a second bed of clay lying on a 
 deposit of greenish-grey sand, with bands of sand- 
 stone. ' The lower part consists of ferruginous 
 sands, with concretionary layers of green sand full 
 of terebratulse. The argillaceous partings have 
 given rise to narrow ledges, which are verdant 
 from a covering of rank grass ; but slips are con- 
 tinually taking place from the wasting away of 
 the sand, by the oozing of the water arrested 
 in its descent from the porous strata above, by 
 these beds of clay. 
 
 Along this shore numerous specimens of the 
 gryphea sinuata are generally to be met with 
 loose in the sea-sand, as at Atherfield; and iron- 
 stone concretions full of shells, that have fallen 
 from the cliffs: in these nodules, leaflets of the 
 Wealden fern (Ugn. 21) are sometimes found asso- 
 ciated with trigonise, terebratula?, &c. 
 
 * Sir H. Engelfield's Isle of Wight, p. 70.
 
 VENTNOR TO SANDOWN BAY. 261 
 
 At the foot of the cliff near Shanklin Chine, 
 the lower series of greensand strata emerge, and 
 gradually rising to the surface, form the western 
 coast of Sandown Bay. The view of the bay from 
 Shanklin is extremely interesting, for the white 
 chalk strata of Culver form the eastern promon- 
 tory, and the gait, firestone, and greensands of 
 Redcliff, succeeded by the low Wealden cliffs, may 
 be distinctly traced. 
 
 Beyond the cliffs at Sandown is the vale of 
 Newchurch, a low alluvial plain, protected from 
 the inroads of the sea only by a thick bed of 
 shingle ; beneath which, at low water, the Wealden 
 clay may be seen extending under the green- 
 sand strata on the east and west. The little Inn on 
 the shore, and the Fort, now appear, and we reach 
 the spot where our examination of the eastern side 
 of Sandown Bay terminated. 
 
 Our excursions have now extended round the 
 Island, and embraced the whole series of coast 
 sections, with the exception of the Wealden cliffs 
 that intervene between Compton Bay and Ather- 
 field Point. A visit to Brook Bay will enable us 
 to complete our survey, by an investigation of those 
 highly interesting natural records, of one of the 
 most remarkable epochs in the physical history of 
 our globe.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE WEALDEN FORMATION NATURE OF RIVER DEPOSITS WEALDEN 
 
 STRATA OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT EXCURSION TO BROOK BAY — CLIFFS 
 
 FROM COMPTON CHINE TO BROOK POINT BROOK POINT — PETRIFIED 
 
 TREES — STRUCTURE OF THE FOSSIL WOOD. 
 
 The Wealden formation. — The lacustrine and 
 fiuviatile origin of the strata spread over the 
 northern part of the Island, was clearly denoted 
 by the prevalence of land and freshwater shells, 
 and the remains of aquatic and terrestrial plants; 
 and by the presence of bones of mammalia re- 
 lated to the Tapir, Peccari, &c, but referable 
 to extinct species and genera ; while the marine 
 and estuary shells, and other exuviae, in the de- 
 posits on which the freshwater beds were super- 
 imposed, afforded conclusive evidence that these 
 strata were formed in the basin of a comparatively 
 shallow sea. 
 
 The cretaceous system, which so long engaged 
 our attention, displayed, on the contrary, an as- 
 semblage of sedimentary deposits that had been 
 accumulated in the profound depths of the ocean,
 
 THE WEAEDEN FORMATION. 263 
 
 in a period of unfathomable antiquity and of long- 
 duration. The innumerable relics of marine or- 
 ganisms showed that then, as now, the sea was 
 teeming with life ; while a few vestiges of ter- 
 restrial plants and animals attested the existence 
 of dry land, inhabited by oviparous quadrupeds 
 and clothed with vegetation, during the formation 
 of this series of oceanic deposits. 
 
 The natural records of an antecedent epoch are 
 now before us, and we proceed to examine an 
 assemblage of strata, not of marine, but of fresh- 
 water origin, that was deposited ere the formation 
 of the cretaceous rocks commenced ; for these 
 fluviatile sediments constituted the sea-bottom, 
 over which was spread the first layer of the green- 
 sand (see p. 221). From the extension of these 
 deposits over the wealds of the south-east of 
 England, and from their fluviatile characters having 
 in the first instance been determined by observa- 
 tions on the strata and organic remains discovered 
 in those districts, the formation has received the 
 name of The Wealden. 
 
 Before entering upon the examination of the 
 cliffs in Brook Bay, which will form the principal 
 object of the present excursion, a few general ob- 
 servations on river deposits, and on the information 
 to be derived from their investigation, as to the
 
 264 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 nature of the laud, and its fauna and flora, may be 
 necessary to enable the unscientific reader justly 
 to appreciate the geological interest of the pheno- 
 mena that will demand his notice — phenomena 
 which, if rightly interpreted, will reveal a former 
 condition of the earth's surface, more marvellous 
 than any which even the wildest imagination has 
 ventured to portray. 
 
 Nature of river deposits. — The torrents that 
 rush down the mountains' sides, and the streams 
 and rivulets that meander through the plains, are 
 more or less charged with earthy particles, worn 
 from the rocks and strata over which the waters 
 flow ; and the united streams, in their progress to- 
 wards the rivers, become more and more loaded with 
 adventitious matter, and a great quantity of de- 
 tritus is mechanically suspended in the water, and 
 carried towards the sea. If the current is feeble, 
 and the inclination of the ground but slight, a 
 large proportion of the mud, pebbles, and gravel, 
 subsides in the bed of the river ; but the greater 
 part is transported to the mouth of the stream, 
 and accumulating in the bays and creeks, and 
 around the embouchure of the river, gives rise 
 to those deposits of alluvial debris termed 
 deltas and estuaries. But the finest particles of 
 the detritus are carried far out to sea, by the
 
 NATURE OF RIVER DEPOSITS. 265 
 
 currents, and finally sink down, and form 
 layers of mud in the profound depths of the 
 ocean. Rivers, however, convey not only the in- 
 organic materials of the countries through which 
 they flow, but also the leaves, branches, and trunks 
 of trees, and other vegetable remains, and the car- 
 cases of land animals that fall into the streams, 
 and terrestrial, lacustrine, and fluviatile shells. 
 The remains of man and works of art are also 
 occasionally transported to the delta, and en- 
 gulphed in the mud, silt, and sand ; and relics 
 of this kind are sometimes drifted out to sea, and 
 deposited in the bed of the ocean. 
 
 In the rivers of India and of America these 
 operations are in daily progress on an immense 
 scale. In the Mississippi rafts formed of prostrate 
 forests are transported to the delta of that mighty 
 stream, and become buried in the freshwater 
 deposits which are there rapidly accumulating. 
 In these sediments the remains of the animals 
 as well as plants of the new world, are en- 
 gulphed. 
 
 It is evident that should deposits of this nature 
 become dry land, the naturalist, by an examination 
 of the imbedded organic remains, may with cer- 
 tainty determine the characters of the fauna and 
 flora of the country whence these fluviatile sediments
 
 2G6 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 were derived. Thus in the delta of the Thames he 
 would find the bones and antlers of the deer, horse, 
 dog, and other domesticated animals, with the 
 leaves and branches of the elm, oak, ash and other 
 trees and plants of our Island, with human bones, 
 fragments of pottery and other works of art; 
 while in that of the Ganges or the Nile, the 
 remains of the animals and plants of India, or of 
 Egypt would be discovered.* 
 
 To apply these data to the elucidation of the 
 present argument. Let us suppose that the river 
 has disappeared, that the sea also has left its place, 
 and that the delta has become dry land; that 
 towns and villages have been built upon the con- 
 solidated mud and sand, and that the surface of the 
 country is either covered with woods and forests, 
 or under cultivation. If in natural or artificial 
 sections of these deposits, the bones of men and 
 animals, with works of art, and the remains of 
 plants and river shells, should be found in the clays 
 or sands, such appearances would excite in us no 
 surprise, because we are acquainted with the pro- 
 cesses by which the strata were accumulated ; and 
 should an inhabitant of the new country express 
 his astonishment how fragile shells, and delicate 
 
 Por .n more extended view of this subject sec Wonders of Geolopy. 
 vol. i. p. 12.
 
 NATURE OF RIVER DEPOSITS. 267 
 
 leaves, and bones of animals, became enclosed in 
 the solid rock, and refusing assent to our interpre- 
 tation, attribute their presence to the effect 
 of a deluge which softened the crust of the 
 earth, and imbedded in the sediments of its 
 waters the remains of animated nature — our 
 reply would be that such a catastrophe must 
 inevitably have intermingled the relics of the 
 animals and plants of the land, the rivers, and the 
 ocean, and that the regular stratification of the 
 materials, and the exclusively fluviatile and ter- 
 restrial character of the fossil remains, are fatal to 
 such a hypothesis, and confirmatory of our ex- 
 planation of the phenomena. It was by such a 
 train of reasoning that the fluviatile origin of the 
 Wealden deposits was established. 
 
 The strata composing the Wealden formation of 
 the south-east of England, admit of the subdivisions 
 given in the tabular arrangement, p. 63. Alter- 
 nating layers of clays, sands, and limestones 
 almost wholly composed of freshwater univalves, 
 and of small bivalves with minute crustaceans, 
 form the upper series. Sand and sandstones, with 
 bands of arenaceous limestones or calciferous grits, 
 wdth shells and lignite, prevail in the middle 
 group ; while in the lowermost, sands, clays and 
 argillaceous shelly limestones again appear; and 
 Q
 
 268 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 buried beneath the whole is a petrified forest of 
 pine-trees with cycadeous plants, still erect in the 
 soil in which they grew ; and in all these deposits 
 bones of colossal terrestrial reptiles are more or 
 less abundant. The upper clays and limestones oc- 
 cupy the valleys of the Wealden districts that skirt 
 the inner escarpments of the chalk downs in Surrey, 
 Kent, and Sussex ; the middle group of sands and 
 sandstones constitutes the Forest-ridge of those 
 counties ; and the lower series appears in the deep 
 valleys in the east of Sussex, around Battel, Bright- 
 ling, Burwash, and Ashburnham. The Purbeck 
 strata, which are characterised by thick beds of 
 shelly limestone principally formed of a small 
 species of paludina, appear on the coast of Dor- 
 setshire, in the Island, or more properly the Penin- 
 sula, whence the name is derived. The Wealden 
 presents the most perfect example of an ancient 
 delta hitherto discovered ; in the numerous for- 
 mations comprised in the systems of Geology, 
 there is no other instance of so well defined and 
 extensive a group of fluviatile deposits.* 
 
 * Scarcely twenty-five years ago, though the Wealden districts were 
 traversed daily by hundreds of intelligent persons in their journeyings to and 
 from London and Brighton, their freshwater origin was unsuspected; the 
 whole group being considered by Geologists as identical with the sands, 
 clays, &c. of the chalk formation. For though the shells forming the Sussex 
 marble of the weald clay, were supposed, so long since as Woodward's 
 time, to be fluviatile species, yet this point was controverted by some able 
 eonchologista ; and but lew if any other organic remains bad been obtained
 
 THE WEALDEN STRATA. 269 
 
 The total thickness of the Wealden (inclusive 
 of the Purbeck beds) is estimated at upwards of 
 1,500 feet, being equal to three times that of the 
 delta of the Mississippi."* 
 
 Wealden strata of the Isle of Wight. — 
 In the Isle of Wight but a small portion of the 
 upper series of clays, sands, and sandstones is ex- 
 posed to view. These deposits constitute the line 
 of coast already noticed, in San down Bay, and 
 the range of cliffs from near Atherfield Point to 
 Compton Bay. The section exposed in the cliff's 
 on the south-western coast, is shown in lign. 16, 
 
 from the strata of the Weald. Having for several years diligently collected 
 the fossils of the south-east of Sussex, and separately arranged the specimens 
 from different localities, I was struck with the want of accordance between 
 the organic remains from the chalk, gall, hrestone, &c. and those which I had 
 obtained from the quarries and wells, opened or sunk in the Wealden district , 
 and by degrees, the freshwater character of the area between the green sands 
 of Sussex, Kent, and Surrey, became manifest. The absence of ammonites, 
 echinites,terebratulas, corals, and otiier common and characteristic fossiis of the 
 chalk, in my wealden collection, was a circumstance that could not fail to arrest 
 attention; and the discovery of the bones of large reptiles, witli the leaves 
 and stems of ferns, cycadeous plants, &c. in the strata of 'lilgate Forest, of 
 which there were not the slightest traces in the cretaceous deposits, corro- 
 borated the inferences suggested by my previous observations. In 1S22 the 
 Tilgate strata were first described, and their freshwater origin pointed out in 
 " The Fossils of the South Downs." In June 1822, I communicated to the 
 Geological Society of London an account of the extension of these strata over 
 Sussex, being the result of my own and Mr. Lyell's observations. In 1827, 
 "The Fossils of Tilgate Forest," containing nearly 200 figures of wealden 
 fossils, was published. See Dr. Fitton's charming little work ; "A Geological 
 Sketch of the vicinity of Hastings." London, 1832. p. 13. 
 
 * The delta of the Mississippi is computed by Mr. Lyell to be 528 feet, or 
 about the tenth of a mile in depth; the area it covers 13, COO square statute 
 miles ; the solid matter annually added 3 billions 700 millions cubic feet ; and 
 the period required for its formation, many thousand years. 
 
 q2
 
 270 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 (p. 215), from Dr. Fitton's Memoir; to which 
 reference must be made for details, which though 
 of great value in a scientific point of view, possess 
 but little interest for the general observer.* 
 The Wealden strata forming this line of coast, 
 consist of laminated clays, shales, and loosely 
 coherent sands, full of freshwater shells and crus- 
 taceans, with lignite, and in some strata abundance 
 of pyrites ; layers, a few inches in thickness, of 
 tough bluish argillaceous shelly limestones, some 
 being composed chiefly of bivalves, and others of 
 univalves ; sands, with concretionary nodules of 
 calcareous compact grit and sand-rock ; and varie- 
 gated clays, mottled with different shades of red, 
 yellow, blue, green, and grey; waterworn bones 
 of reptiles occur throughout. But the subdi- 
 visions of the Wealden are in a great measure 
 arbitrary, for the same fossils, and the same litho- 
 logical characters, pervade the entire series. 
 Beds of sands, clays, and argillaceous limestones, 
 and calciferous grits, almost identical in mineral 
 composition, and containing similar organic re- 
 mains, are found alike in the upper and lower 
 part of the series; indicating a similar condition 
 of the land and water throughout the Wealden 
 epoch. In that part of Sussex over which my 
 
 <•> "I. Trans, vol. iv. second series, p. 197 — 220.
 
 EXCURSION TO BROOK RAY. 271 
 
 earliest researches extended, the univalve lime- 
 stones {Sussex marble) and shales, predominate 
 in the upper series ; sands and calciferous grits 
 alternating with clays in the middle ; and bivalve 
 limestones and clays in the lower division. But 
 in the Isle of Wight, the clays and limestones with 
 bivalves, are as abundant as those with univalves ; 
 and slabs from San down and Compton Bays, could 
 not be distinguished from the shelly limestones 
 of Ashburnham and Battel in Sussex.* 
 
 Excursion to Brook Bay. — The Wealden 
 strata extend between six and seven miles along 
 the coast ; we have ah'eady noticed their emer- 
 gence from beneath the greensand at Ather- 
 neld Point (ante, p. 224), and at Compton Bay 
 (p. 216). From Compton Chine to Brook Chine, a 
 distance of but little more than two miles and a half, 
 the most interesting phenomena may be examined 
 in a stroll along the beach, which should be 
 undertaken at the ebb of the tide, to allow of suf- 
 ficient time for the collection of specimens. If a 
 brief visit only be contemplated, the tourist should 
 drive to Brook, and within a short distance of the 
 
 * It may be worth inquiry whether the Wealden strata of the Isle of Wight 
 really belong to the upper division — whether they may not be referable to 
 a lower group, and the superior beds have been destroyed by the incursions 
 of the sea, before the delta subsided and the greensand was deposited upon 
 the now uppermost bed of clay ?
 
 272 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 chine,* and he may alight within a few hundred 
 yards of the most interesting spot — the fossil forest 
 at Brook Point. The most favourable season for 
 a geological examination of this part of the coast 
 is the early spring — the latter end of March or 
 the beginning of April — for at low water a great 
 extent of sand is laid bare, and reefs of Wealden 
 sand-rock are seen stretching far out to sea ; and 
 the high tides often sweep away the shingle from 
 the base of the cliffs, and the lowermost visible 
 strata are exposed. The chance of obtaining fossil 
 bones is also greater at this period of the year than 
 at any other, owing to the inroads of the sea on 
 the clay cliffs, and the consequent dislodgment of 
 any bones they may contain ; and as these relics are 
 very heavy from an impregnation of pyrites, they 
 fall on the shingle, and are left by the retiring waves. 
 
 We shall commence our ramble at the foot of 
 Compton Chine, near which place fossils of the 
 Greensand and of the Wealden alike abound. 
 
 Cliffs from Compton Chine to Brook Point. 
 — The description of the coast as seen from 
 the foot of Afton Down, given on our previous 
 visit to Compton Bay (p. 210, PL XL), and a 
 reference to the sections in lign. 16 and 17, 
 
 * There is no Inn near the spot, hut accommodation for horses may be 
 obtained at a neighbouring farm-house or cottage.
 
 COMPTON CHINE TO BROOK POINT. 273 
 
 p. 215, and to the map (PL XX.), will afford 
 the necessary information as to the geological 
 relations of the strata we are about to examine. 
 As we descend to the sea-shore near Compton 
 Chine, the top of the cliff, to the depth of ten 
 or twelve feet, is seen to be composed of drifted 
 gravel, clay, and loam ; and this alluvial covering- 
 continues for several miles along the coast, forming, 
 as shown in the annexed sketch (PL XIV. p. 274), 
 a horizontal bed upon the edges of the inclined 
 strata of which the lower part of the cliff consists. 
 In this accumulation of drifted materials are 
 numerous trunks of trees and quantities of hazel- 
 nuts, in the usual condition of peat or bog-wood. 
 The trunks are several feet in length, and a foot or 
 more in diameter ; the ligneous substance is very 
 black and soft when first extracted, but hardens 
 after exposure to the air, and some of the wood is 
 so firm in texture as to be employed for various 
 domestic purposes. I could not learn that any 
 bones had been found in this subterranean forest, 
 but I picked up, on a bank hard by, teeth of the 
 horse and deer, which were deeply stained with 
 phosphate of iron, and probably belonged to this 
 alluvial deposit. 
 
 The Wealden strata to the east of their junction 
 with the greensand, principally consist of clays,
 
 274 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 with seams of shale and sand, and layers of shelly 
 limestone ; the appearance of the face of the cliff 
 formed hy these strata is shown in PI. XIV. In 
 this view the nearest headland is Bullface Ledge ; 
 that beyond, which extends far out to sea, is 
 Brook Point, the western extremity of the Bay ; 
 that in the far distance is the eastern boundary 
 of the same. The view of Brook Point from 
 Afton Down (PL XL p. 210), shows the conti- 
 nuance of the cliffs from beyond Bullface Ledge 
 and Brook Bay to Blackgang Chine. 
 
 Masses of the Wealden clay with freshwater 
 shells, in connexion with the greensand containing 
 marine shells, should be the first objects of re- 
 search. Mr. Morris was so fortunate as to obtain 
 from this spot, a mass in which specimens of a very 
 characteristic univalve (Potamides carbonarius, PL 
 VI. fig. 5) were imbedded. Waterworn blocks 
 of the shelly limestones (PL VI. figs. 2, S, 4), and 
 rolled fragments of bones washed out of the cliffs, 
 will be found in abundance in the shingle. Slabs 
 of the freshwater limestones may be observed 
 in the cliffs at an accessible height ; and specimens 
 of the shale covered with cyprides and shells, ma\ 
 be obtained from the fallen masses on the shore. 
 
 The laminated clays and shales are succeeded, 
 as we advance eastward, by mottled plastic clayi ,
 
 BROOK FOINT. 277 
 
 containing bands of reddish and yellow sand, and 
 hard grit or sand-rock ; and the strata gradually 
 decline till we reach Brook Bay, where they are 
 nearly horizontal. 
 
 From Bullface Ledge we perceive the low pro- 
 montory of Brook Point that forms the eastern 
 boundary of Compton Bay, and at its base a 
 reef of rocks extending seaward to a considerable 
 distance. If the tide is very low, a succession of 
 ledges of this kind are visible along the shore, 
 stretching out to the distance of half a mile or 
 more from the land, and indicating the former 
 extent of the southern coast of the Island, at a 
 comparatively very modern period. These reefs 
 and rocks consist of the harder masses of the 
 Wealden sandstone, which have resisted the de- 
 structive effects of the waves, after the clays, 
 sands, and softer materials, have been swept 
 away. 
 
 Brook Point. — As we approach Brook Point, 
 the variegated sands and grit which lie beneath 
 the clays, become more developed ; and large 
 waterworn blocks of sandstone appear here and 
 there on the shore. The ledge at the base of 
 the cliff, which formed so prominent a feature 
 of this part of the coast when seen from a dis- 
 tance, consists of indurated sandstone inclosing
 
 278 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 trunks and branches of large trees completely 
 petrified, many of which are strewn along the 
 strand, and half buried in the sand and shingle. 
 The projecting masses at the foot of the cliff are 
 the broken edges of the strata, and the trunks of 
 fossil trees ; the upper and less coherent deposits 
 having been washed away. 
 
 The cliff is between thirty and forty feet high, 
 and is capped by the bed of loam and gravel pre- 
 viously noticed at Compton Chine. Beneath this 
 alluvial covering are laminated clays and shales, 
 and sand and friable sandstone, abounding in 
 masses and layers of lignite; and minute particles 
 of the same substance are disseminated through- 
 out the strata. Pyrites occurs abundantly in 
 small nodules and spheroidal masses ; and this 
 mineral generally pervades the lignite and wood. 
 Towards the base of the cliff, are the beds of 
 sand and sandstone with hard concretionary grit, 
 containing the fossil trees ; and beneath these 
 are seen, at low water, compact variegated 
 sands, which are the lowermost deposits in the 
 Island. East of the Point is Brook Chine, a 
 deep fissure or chasm that has been worn in 
 the softer strata by the long continued erosion of 
 a stream, which gushes out from beneath the sand 
 beds inland, and (lowing through the alluvial
 
 PETRIFIED TREES. 279 
 
 gravel to the top of the cliff, falls in a cascade to 
 the sea-shore. 
 
 Petrified Trees. — The prostrate fossil trees 
 at Brook Point were first noticed by Mr. Webster 
 thirty years ago.* After describing the clays and 
 sandstones of the cliff, Mr. Webster states that he 
 " observed many masses of a coaly blackness, bear- 
 ing the exact form and resemblance of trunks of 
 trees that had been charred, lying on the beach, 
 and imbedded in the clay-cliffs, and also in the 
 rock. In some parts the ligneous fibre was still 
 evident ; in others the wood had been converted 
 into a substance much resembling jet, its black- 
 ness being intense, its cross fracture conchoidal, 
 and its lustre very great. Other parts of the trees 
 were entirely penetrated by pyrites, and groups 
 of crystals of this substance were frequently 
 attached to the outside. On lifting up some of 
 the sea-weed, that grew upon the shore between 
 high and low water-mark, I was astonished to find 
 almost all the rocks below them composed of pe- 
 trified trees which still retained their original 
 forms. The knotty bark and ligneous fibre were 
 very distinct ; and trunks and branches were fre- 
 quently imbedded in masses of clay now indurated 
 and in the state of argillaceous rock." 
 
 * Sir H. Englefield's Isle of Wight, p. 153.
 
 280 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Upon first reading the above description, my curi- 
 osity was strongly excited, and when in the course 
 of my researches in the strata of the wealds of 
 Sussex, the nuviatile origin of those deposits be- 
 came evident, I felt an irresistible desire to visit 
 Brook Point, in the expectation of beholding a 
 petrified forest of the country that had been in- 
 habited by the colossal reptiles, of which so many 
 remains had been discovered in Tilgate Forest. Nor 
 was my expectation disappointed ; I have visited 
 this coast many times, and always with increased 
 interest — an interest which I hope to excite in 
 some of my intelligent readers, and induce them 
 to repair to the spot, and investigate the phenomena, 
 of which these pages can present but a feeble 
 outline.* The trees are all lying prostrate and 
 
 » In June 1823, my friend Mr. Lyell visited Compton Bay for the purpose 
 of ascertaining more clearly the relations between the ironsand of Mr. 
 Webster, and the strata of Tilgate Forest, of which an account had appeared 
 in my "Fossils of the South Downs." In a letter detailing the result of 
 his investigation, Mr. Lyell remarks : — " At Compton Chine I found in 
 Webster's blue marl, several small Inocerami (I. sulcalus) and some other 
 characteristic shel.s, so that I believe the identity of this bed with the 
 Folkestone gait might be made out by further research. The section from 
 Compton Chine to Brook is superb; we see there at one view the whole 
 Geology of your district, from the Chalk with Hints down to the Battel beds, 
 and all within an hour's walk. — This is so beautiful a key, that 1 am at a 
 loss to conceive how so much confusion has arisen. — The softness of the 
 weald clay has caused a ruinous state of the cliff just where the Sussex 
 marble ought to be. Soon after this, layers of limestone with bivalves 
 appear; then some mottled beds; then pyritous coal (lignite) like that at 
 
 Bexhill 1 presume. In Sandown Bay I picked up a block of Petworth 
 
 marble two feet in diameter, of which and the other rocks I will send you 
 • ii.-.."
 
 PETRIFIED TREES. 281 
 
 confusedly intermingled. There are no erect 
 trunks, nor any other indications that the forest 
 was submerged with its native soil, like that of the 
 Isle of Portland.* On the contrary, this accu- 
 mulation of fossil trees resembles the rafts, as 
 they are termed, that are annually brought down 
 from the interior of the country by the tributary 
 streams of the great rivers of North America, and 
 which, hurried along by those vast floods, entangle 
 in their course the remains of animals and plants 
 that may happen to lie in the beds of the rivers, 
 or be floating in the waters. These rafts are at 
 length drifted out of the course of the currents, 
 and becoming loaded with mud, sand, and other 
 extraneous matter, sink down, and are engulphed 
 in the bed of the delta.-j- 
 
 The fossil trees at Brook Point appear to have 
 been submerged when arrived at maturity, and 
 while fresh and vigorous ; for the trunks before 
 removed from the sandstone, are invariably covered 
 by the bark in the state of lignite. This cortical 
 investment quickly disappears when the stems 
 are exposed to the action of the waves ; but the 
 ligneous structure, which is converted into a very 
 hard calcareous stone, for a long while resists 
 
 * Wonders of Geology, vol. i. p. 362. 
 t Ibid. vol. ii. p. 667.
 
 282 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 destruction. Trunks and branches, from a few 
 inches to three feet in diameter, and many feet in 
 length, are in general to be seen lying on the shore 
 between high and low water mark ; and in these 
 specimens the texture of the wood, and the annular 
 lines of growth on the waterworn transverse frac- 
 tures, are strongly defined. On a late visit there 
 were two stems which could be traced to a length 
 of twenty feet ; and they were of such a mag- 
 nitude as to indicate the height of the trees when 
 living at from forty to fifty feet. Many stems 
 are concealed and protected by the fuci, corallines, 
 and zoophytes, which here thrive luxuriantly, and 
 occupy the place of the lichens and other para- 
 sitical plants, with which the now petrified trees 
 were doubtless invested when flourishing in their 
 native forests, and affording shelter to the Iguan- 
 odon and other gigantic reptiles. 
 
 Structure of the Fossil wood. — These fossil 
 trees are calcareous, not siliceous like those of 
 Portland. The wood is more or less traversed by 
 veins and filaments of pyrites, which impart 
 a beautiful appearance to polished specimens 
 of the steins. Slices rendered transparent by 
 Canada balsam, exhibit under the microscope, in 
 the transverse sections, the cellular tissue as a 
 reticulation of polygonal meshes; and in the radial,
 
 FOSSIL WOOD. 283 
 
 the ducts or glands characteristic of the Coniferae, 
 and arranged in alternate rows as in the Araucaria 
 or Norfolk Island Pine.* The annular lines of 
 growth are often very distinct ; I have traced from 
 thirty to forty on some of the stems. These 
 circles are of unequal thickness, and therefore in- 
 dicate a variation from year to year in the climate 
 of the country in which they grew. They are, too, 
 as small as in the slow growing pines and firs of 
 England. Many of the stems exhibit an obli- 
 quity in the annular lines, proving that they grew 
 in situations which exposed the trees to prevailing 
 currents of wind from a particular quarter, and 
 caused them to incline in the opposite direction. 
 I have discovered no vestiges either of the foliage 
 or fruit. It is remarkable that coniferous wood 
 occurs but sparingly, if at all, in the Wealden 
 deposits of the south-east of England ; but drifted 
 stems and branches of pines of the araucarian 
 type, are common in some of the upper beds of 
 the greensand, and are occasionally met with in 
 chalk flints.j- 
 
 Such is a brief description of the accumu- 
 lation of fossil trees at Brook Point, which evi- 
 dently originated in a raft composed of a prostrate 
 
 * See Medals of Creation, vol. i. p. 71. 
 t Medals, vol. i. p. 168.
 
 284 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 pine-forest, transported from a distance by the river 
 which flowed through the country whence the 
 Wealden deposits were derived, and became sub- 
 merged in the sand and mud of the delta, burying 
 with it the bones of reptiles, mussel-shells, and 
 other extraneous bodies it had gathered in its 
 course. 
 
 In the strata that overlie the fossil forest, thin 
 interrupted seams of lignite,* and masses of the 
 same substance invested with crystals of brilliant 
 pyrites, are every where abundant ; and beautiful 
 and instructive specimens may be obtained. f 
 In the clays for several hundred yards both to 
 the east and west of Brook Point, bones of the 
 Wealden reptiles are numerous ; with these are 
 associated large mussel-shells {PL VI. fig. 1), and 
 lignite. To the east of Brook Bay is Brixton 
 Bay; and along this line of coast, as far as Ather- 
 field, similar organic remains art' continually met 
 with after the high tides of the early spring. 
 I have not examined the cliffs further to the 
 eastward, and must refer to Dr. Fitton's Memoir 
 for a particular enumeration of every important 
 
 * Lignite, &c— for an account of the changes by which vegetable sub- 
 stances are converted into lignite, coal, &c, see Medals of Creation, vol. i 
 chap .">. 
 
 t Unfortunately these specimens generally fall to pieces after a few 
 months, in consequence of the decomposition of the pyrites with which they 
 are permi
 
 WEALDEN STRATA. 285 
 
 stratum, along the southern coast of the Isle of 
 Wight. My attention has always been so much 
 engrossed by the interesting phenomena observ- 
 able in Brook Bay, which is at all times easy of 
 access, that I have had neither leisure nor incli- 
 nation to extend my researches to the east of the 
 point above mentioned. Dr. Fitton states that in 
 the cliff at " Tiepit and thence to Shepherd's Chine, 
 and within that chine and Cowlease Chine, the 
 Wealden clay and its passage to the sands beneath, 
 are better displayed than in any other localities."* 
 
 * Geol. Trans, vol. iv. p. 19S
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ORGANIC REMAINS OF THE WEALDEN FOSSIL VEGETABLES ENDO- 
 
 GENITES EROSA CYCAHEOUS PLANTS CLATHRARIA LYELLII FOSSIL 
 
 SHELLS — TTNIO VALDENSIS FOSSIL CYPRIDES — FOSSIL FISHES. 
 
 Fossils of the Wealden. — The Wealclen strata 
 of the Isle of Wight have afforded examples of the 
 most characteristic organic remains that have been 
 discovered in this formation in other parts of Eng- 
 land. They have yielded five or more genera of 
 terrestrial plants ; of which one belongs to the 
 Pines, several to the Cycadeas, and two or three 
 to the Ferns : several species of river-shells, of the 
 genera Unio, Paludina, Potamides, Cyclas, &c. ; 
 and of the small crustaceans, the C[iprides. Fishes 
 allied to the Bony-pike and the Sharks occur, 
 and bones of seven or eight species of terrestrial 
 saurian reptiles, and of two or three genera of 
 Chelonians, 
 
 Fossil vegetables. — Our description of the 
 fossil forest of Brook Point entered so fully into 
 the character of the coniferous trees of the 
 Wealden, that it is unnecessary to enlarge upon
 
 FOSSIL FEEiNS. 
 
 287 
 
 that subject. A great proportion of the lignite 
 in the laminated sands and clays forming those 
 cliffs, is undoubtedly the bark of the mature trees, 
 and the wood of the young plants, in a carbonized 
 state. 
 
 But the coaly particles disseminated through 
 the strata have probably, in a great measure, 
 
 lign. 21. — a fossil fern (Loncliopteris Mantelli) from the weald 
 
 CLAY ; BROOK POINT. 
 
 Fig. 1. — Portion of three leaflets, magnified, to show the reticulations of the 
 veins. 
 2. — Part of a stem, with leaves. 
 
 originated from the foliage of two elegant extinct 
 species of ferns, that abound in some parts of the 
 Wealden of Sussex, and of which a few recog-
 
 288 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 nisable specimens have been discovered in the 
 Isle of Wight. 
 
 Fossil Ferns. — Entire layers of the sandstone, 
 grit, and shale, in Tilgate Forest, are so full of 
 carbonaceous matter as to acquire a dark mottled 
 colour, and this detritus is composed of minute 
 particles of the leaves and steins of ferns, that have 
 been ground to pieces by agitation in water loaded 
 with sand and mud. One of these plants (Sphe- 
 nopteris Mantelli, "Wonders of Geology," p. 370) 
 is characterised by its slender wedge-shaped leaf- 
 lets. The other fern (Lonchopteris Mantelli, lign. 21 ) 
 is the species already mentioned as occurring in 
 the greensand of Atherfield and Shanklin. It is 
 distinguished by its long and many-times pinnated 
 leaves, and the reticulated disposition of the 
 secondary veins that spring from the mid-rib of 
 the leaflets. 
 
 Endogenites erosa. — In the strata of Tilgate 
 Forest, and in the sands at Hastings, numerous frag- 
 ments of the stems of a remarkable monocotyledon- 
 ous (?) plant occur, and are mentioned in my Fos- 
 sils of the South Downs, and figured in the Fossils 
 of Tilgate Forest, &c. These steins are of various 
 forms; some are cylindrical, and tapering at both 
 ends; and others are flattened, and of a clavated 
 shape, like some of the Cacti and Euphorbia ; the
 
 ENDOGENITES EROSA. 289 
 
 specimens are from a few inches to seven or eight 
 feet long, and the largest from twenty to thirty 
 inches in circumference. When imbedded in the 
 strata, a thick coat of lignite surrounds the stem ; 
 but this soon becomes friable, and falls off after 
 exposure to the air. The constituent substance 
 of the stems is a grey, compact, subcrystalline sand- 
 stone, and the external surface is traversed by fine 
 semicircular grooves and deep tubular furrows, 
 lined with minute quartz crystals ; a transverse 
 section exhibits the surface covered by small 
 pores, and a few large openings, the sections of 
 the tubes. From the eroded appearance of the 
 surface of the specimens, when deprived of their 
 carbonaceous investment, the name Endogenites 
 erosa was given to this fossil plant by Messrs. 
 Stokes and Webb, who described it from my 
 specimens, in the Geological Transactions, vol. i. 
 second series. Dr. Fitton * subsequently described 
 and figured a series of interesting specimens ob- 
 served by him in the strata at Hastings. In trans- 
 verse slices of these fossils, obscure indications of 
 circular bundles of vascular tissue were detected, 
 but (as in all my specimens from Tilgate Forest) 
 very few vestiges of organic structure were appa- 
 rent; the cavities exposed in the sections being 
 
 * Geol. Twins, vol.iv. p. 172.
 
 290 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 not the vessels themselves, but the hollows left by 
 their decay.* The occurrence of this fossil plant 
 in the Wealden of the Isle of Wight has only 
 recently been discovered. Among the waterworn 
 fossils which I collected from the shingle, on my 
 last visit to Brook Point, was a rounded, sub- 
 cylindrical block of sandstone, very smooth, and 
 marked externally with small crescent -shaped 
 spots, which are the terminations of bundles of 
 vascular tissue. 
 
 A transverse section of this fossil proved it to be 
 a portion of the stem of the Endogenites erosa, in a 
 better state of preservation than any example pre- 
 viously obtained. The openings, instead of being 
 empty, are for the most part occupied by the vessels ; 
 and an external band, or zone, of vascular tissue, 
 disposed somewhat in festoons, is tolerably well 
 preserved. Very thin slices, immersed in Canada 
 balsam, to render them as transparent as the dull 
 siliceous substance of which they are composed 
 will admit of, examined under the microscope, 
 indicate, in the opinion of Dr. Robert Brown, a 
 nearer approach to the Cycadeae than to the Endo- 
 genous tribes. 
 
 Fossil cycadeous plants. — Among the coni- 
 ferae, or cone-bearing plants, the Cycadecc and 
 
 " Dr. FittOI) has given magnified figures of the sections in Ills pi, xx.
 
 FOSSIL CYCADEOUS PLANTS. 291 
 
 Zamite are remarkably distinguished by the pecu- 
 liarity of their fructification, their seeds being 
 exposed; hence the name of the order in which 
 these plants are arranged — gymnospermous, i. e. 
 naked seeds : the organization of their stems is 
 also different from that of the other coniferae.* 
 As several species of Zamia and Cycas are cul- 
 tivated in our greenhouses, their general aspect, 
 which approaches that of the palms, must be 
 familiar to the reader. Most of the Zamiae are 
 short plants, with stout cylindrical stems, beset 
 with thick scales, which are the petioles, or leaf 
 stalks, left after the leaves have fallen off. On the 
 summit of the stem is a crown of elegant pinnated 
 leaves, with simple veins. The fruit bears some 
 resemblance to the cones of the pines, but the 
 seeds are not enclosed in receptacles. The Cycadece 
 resemble the Zamice, but the trunk is in general 
 longer ; one species, Cycas circinnalis, attains a 
 height of thirty feet. The stem is in most species 
 simple, but in some it is dichotomous, dividing into 
 two or more branches ; the leaves are tough, and in 
 the young state coiled up like a crosier, as in the 
 ferns. These plants are inhabitants of hot and 
 humid climates, and abound in the West Indies, 
 Molucca Isles, &c. A few plants of this order 
 
 * See Dr. Buekland's Bridgwater Essay, p. 490.
 
 292 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 have been detected in the carboniferous strata ; 
 and in the Lias and Oolite they appear in immense 
 numbers; several species have been found in 
 the Wealden, and cretaceous formations. The 
 discovery of cones of a species of Zamia (Z. crassa, 
 "Medals of Creation," p. 160), associated with 
 bones of the iguanodon, in the Wealden strata in 
 Sandown Bay, has already been mentioned (p. 138). 
 
 Clathraria Lyellii. — But the most interest- 
 ing fossil plant belonging to this tribe of coniferae, 
 of which any remains have been found in the 
 Wealden, is that discovered by me in Sussex, and 
 described in 1822; and subsequently in "The 
 Fossils of Tilgate Forest," under the name of 
 Clathraria Lyellii. * 
 
 This plant was formerly classed with the Lilia- 
 cew, by that eminent botanist M. Adolphe Brong- 
 niart ; but the discovery of more illustrative 
 specimens than those first obtained, indicate its 
 affinity to theCycadeae, with which M. Brongniart 
 has some years since arranged it. The stem of the 
 Clathrariaf is composed of an axis having the sur- 
 face covered with reticulated fibres, and of a false 
 bark produced by the union of the consolidated 
 
 * Fossils of Tilgate Forest, Plates I. M. III., and doin-y of tin- South 
 East of England, PI. I. 
 
 I Clathraria, or latticed stem ; so named from the scorings left on the stem 
 by the • thi petioles.
 
 CLAT1IRARIA LYELLII. 
 
 293 
 
 bases of the petioles, the insertions of which are 
 rhomboidal and transverse. The external surface 
 of the stem is in consequence covered with lozenge- 
 shaped elevated scars, separated by lateral depres- 
 sions, which are surrounded by a parallel band of a 
 fibrous appearance (see lign. 2 C £). This outer portion 
 is sometimes consolidated into a compact cylinder 
 of stone, which will separate from the central axis 
 
 LIGN. 22. WATERWOllN STEM OF THE CLATHRARIA LYELLII. 
 
 From the shingle in Brook Bay. 
 [One-third linear, nat. size.) 
 
 (Foss. Tilg. Forest, PI. II.) : the latter is solid, 
 and strongly marked externally with reticulated 
 interrupted ridges. This surface has generally 
 patches of vascular tissue adhering to it, but these 
 are in so friable a condition, that microscopical
 
 294 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 examination has thrown no light upon their struc- 
 ture.* On some parts of the internal axis there 
 are deep pits, indicating the lacunae in which a 
 resinous secretion w r as contained. 
 
 The waterworn portion of a stem, figured in 
 lign. 22, which I picked up on the sea-beach in 
 Brook Bay, is the only specimen of the Clathraria 
 1 have seen from the Wealden of the Isle of 
 Wight. This fragment is highly interesting, 
 for the calcareo-siliceous earth of which the 
 stem now consists, is of a finer texture than 
 in any of the Tilgate Forest specimens, and trans- 
 verse sections display under the microscope more 
 satisfactory indications of the organization of the 
 original. Without many figures, and more length- 
 ened descriptions than our space will admit of, 
 the peculiarities of structure exhibited in these 
 slices, could not be demonstrated ; it must there- 
 fore suffice to state, that the organization, so far 
 as it can be determined, shows a near approach to 
 that of the Cycadeae. 
 
 But additional and most important informa- 
 tion as to the external form of the Clathraria, 
 has been afforded by the splendid specimen from 
 
 • For other details I must refer to the " Medals of Creation," vol. i. p. 182. 
 All the specimens (inured in my previous works are in the Hritish Museum, 
 in the room appropriated to fossil vegetables.
 
 CLATHRARIA LYELLII. 295 
 
 the chalk marl cf the Undercliff, mentioned in a 
 previous chapter (Chap. VIII. p. 244), as having 
 been discovered by Captain Ibbetson, and now 
 exhibited in his collection of Isle of Wight fossils, 
 in the Polytechnic Institution. This invaluable 
 relic is admirably represented by Mr. Dinkel,* 
 and engraved by Mr. Lee, in lign. 23, p. 297. 
 
 This specimen consists of the summit of the 
 stem, and is fifteen inches in length ; the appear- 
 ance of the lower end shows that some portion 
 has been broken off and lost. The stem is com- 
 pressed into an elliptical form ; the figure exhibits 
 the longest diameter, and the side on which the 
 characters of the plant are best preserved. On 
 the upper 10| inches, this trunk is covered by the 
 petioles or leaf-stalks ; and these appendages re- 
 main on one side almost to the lower extremity. 
 The surface of the inferior portion, to the extent 
 of four inches, is marked with transverse lozenge- 
 shaped scars, produced by the separation of the 
 petioles ; the internal axis appears at the fractured 
 end: see lign. 23, a. The leaf-stalks are from 
 
 * This eminent artist now permanently resides in London ; being engaged 
 at the British Museum by Dr. Falconer, on the illustrations for the impor- 
 tant work on the Sub-Himalayan Fossils, which is now in progress of pub- 
 lication. For subjects requiring talent, accuracy, and knowledge of animal 
 and vegetable organization, for their successful delineation, the pencil of Mr. 
 Dinkel will be found invaluable.
 
 296 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 one to two inches wide, rounded above, and con- 
 tracted below, as shown in the detached petiole 
 figured in lign. ~1< ; they are traversed by fine 
 and nearly parallel longitudinal veins. The sum- 
 
 LIGN. 24. A PETIOLE OF CLATHRAR1A LYELLII, SEPARATED FROM 
 
 THE STEM. 
 
 a, the external aspect ; 
 
 b, the internal surface ; 
 
 c, the vascular markings left on the summit of the petiole 
 
 by the separation of the leaf. 
 
 mits of those petioles from which the leaves 
 appear to have been shed, not broken off, arc 
 marked by vascular pits disposed with great 
 regularity, as shown at c, lign. 24 ; a structure 
 which M. Adolphe Brongniart informs me partakes 
 more of the character of the Ferns, than of the 
 Cycadeae. The substance of this fossil is a sandy 
 marl, and probably does not retain any traces of 
 the internal structure of the original ; still it is 
 desirable that sections of the petioles, and of 
 the stem, should be microscopically examined. 
 M. Adolplic Brongniartj to whom 1 transmitted
 
 CLATHRARIA LYELLII. 
 
 297 
 
 GN. IS. CLATHRARIA LYELLII; 
 
 From the Chalk-marl at Bench urch, Isle of Wight; discovered by 
 Captain Ibeetson. 
 
 This fossil is the summit of a stem garnished with petioles or leaf- 
 stalks on the upper part : from the lower portion the petioles have been 
 removed. The internal axis is seen at a. The original is fifteen inches 
 in length; and eleven and a half in the widest transverse diameter.
 
 298 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 a sketch of this specimen of the natural size, 
 immediately favoured me with his remarks on 
 this interesting fossil. He considers the speci- 
 men to be the upper termination of a stem of the 
 Clathraria, garnished with persistent leaf-stalks ; 
 and that some of the uppermost petioles were 
 broken off accidentally while the leaves were alive ; 
 but that in the lower ones which possess vascular 
 markings on their summits, the leaves were 
 detached naturally, and these petioles remained, 
 probably for some years, as is the case in the 
 existing Cycadeae. The petioles having fallen 
 from the exposed part of the stem, the surface is 
 left bare, and is marked by lozenge-shaped cica- 
 trices or scars, which are the points of attachment 
 of the bases of the leaf-stalks. 
 
 On the other side of the specimen there appeared 
 to me indications of the foliage, but M. Brong- 
 niart suggests it as more probable, that they are 
 only elongated and flattened petioles. 
 
 The occurrence of this very characteristic plant 
 of the Wealden high up in the chalk formation, 
 is in accordance with the discovery of the bones 
 of the Iguanodon in the greensand of Kent.'* In 
 the strata of Tilgate Forest the remains of the 
 C'lathrariae are invariably associated with water- 
 
 * Wonders of Geology, vol. i. p. 394.
 
 FOSSIL SHELLS OF THE WEALDEN. 299 
 
 worn bones of reptiles, and pebbles, gravel, and 
 other drift, and are often imbedded in the fluviatile 
 conglomerate which occurs in some parts of the 
 Wealden.* They appear to have floated down 
 the river with the carcases and limbs of the rep- 
 tiles, and at length to have sunk to the bottom 
 and become imbedded in the mud and sand of the 
 delta. 
 
 Fossil shells. — The shells of the Wealden 
 of the Isle of Wight belong to the same genera 
 and species of fluviatile mollusca, as those in the 
 contemporaneous deposits of the south-east of 
 England : and though spread over areas of con- 
 siderable extent, and through deposits of great 
 thickness, they comprise but a few species — a 
 characteristic feature of the fauna of all rivers. 
 The substance of the shells in the limestones is 
 for the most part changed into carbonate of lime ; 
 but the shells in the argillaceous strata are often but 
 little altered, and sometimes occur in as perfect 
 a state as in very recent deposits ; the epider- 
 mis and even the horny ligament being preserved. 
 In the coarse limestones the shells have generally 
 perished, and casts only remain. 
 
 Sussex and Petworth marble. — The most 
 
 * See remarks on the " Discovery of the Hylaeosaurus," in Wonders of 
 Geology, vol. i. p. 401. 
 
 S
 
 300 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 abundant univalve shells are four or five kinds of 
 Paludina ; a common river snail, of which there 
 are species in the tertiary freshwater strata of 
 Headon Hill and Calbourne (see PL I. fig. 6). 
 Numerous beds of marble, coarse limestone, clays 
 and shales, abound in, or are wholly made up of 
 paludinae, and minute crustaceans. The compact 
 Sussex limestone, which from its taking a good 
 polish, is called marble, principally consists of the 
 shells of one large species, the Paludina flwiorum 
 {PL VI. fig. 3), held together by an infiltration of 
 crystallized carbonate of lime ; the cavities of the 
 shells, and the interstices between them, being 
 often filled with white calc-spar. Upon examin- 
 ing thin slices of this marble under the microscope, 
 the shells are found to contain myriads of the 
 cases of Cj/prides (Jign. 25). The Purbeck marble 
 differs from the above in being composed of a 
 much smaller species — the Paludina elongata 
 {PL VI. fig. 2). 
 
 These marbles were in great repute with the 
 architects of the middle ages, and there are but few 
 of our cathedrals and ancient churches which do 
 not still contain examples of both varieties, either 
 in their columns, sepulchral monuments, or pave- 
 ments. The polished cl nster-eolunuis of the Tei 1 1 ] > 1 1 • 
 Church in London, and ninny of the monuments
 
 SUSSEX AND PETWORTH MARBLE. 301 
 
 in Westminster Abbey, are of Purbeck marble ; 
 in other words, they are composed of the petrified 
 shells of snails, that lived and died in the rivers 
 which flowed through the country inhabited by the 
 extinct colossal reptiles. The dark masses and veins 
 so common in these marbles, are the remains of 
 the bodies of the mollusca, changed into the car- 
 bonaceous substance termed molluskite (see ante, 
 p. 248). The shells which were empty at the 
 period of their becoming imbedded, had their 
 cavities filled with the mud, silt, &c. which are 
 now clay, marl, and limestone ; but in the shells 
 containing the animals, the gelatinous parts were 
 converted into molluskite. In polished sections 
 of the marbles this substance appears either 
 within the shells, or in black or dark brown 
 masses, and veins : the most beautiful slabs of 
 Sussex marble owe their variegated markings to 
 the contrast produced by the black molluskite with 
 the white calcareous spar. 
 
 Potamides. — Some species of the elongated, 
 spiral, freshwater univalves, termed Potamides, of 
 which several occur in profusion in the strata at 
 Headon Hill (see PL II. figs. 2, 8, 9), are found 
 in the Wealden. A very characteristic shell, the 
 Potamides carbonarius, is figured in PL VI. fig. 5 : 
 this species was first discovered in the weald clay 
 s 2
 
 302 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 at Pounceford in Sussex.* It also occurs in 
 Hanover, in the clays intercalated with beds of 
 coal, belonging to the Wealden formation. 
 
 Fossil freshwater bivalves. — Many of the 
 bluish grey argillaceous limestones, as we have 
 before remarked, are chiefly composed of five or 
 six species of bivalves of the genera Gyclas and 
 Cyrena ; a small slab with several shells in relief, 
 is represented PL VI. fig. 4. Large blocks covered 
 with shells of this kind, are commonly to be found 
 along the base of the cliffs, at Brook, Compton, 
 and Sandown bays ; and in the clays, there are 
 numerous seams of crushed shells of these genera. 
 The hard grits often abound in casts of Cyclades, 
 associated with a small species of river-mussel 
 ( Unio) ; and some layers of Sussex marble contain 
 an intermixture of these shells with the paludinae. 
 
 Unio Valdensis. PL VI. fig. 1. — The only 
 other bivalves which occur in any considerable 
 number in the Wealden, are the mussels termed 
 Unio?iidce ; a family of testaceous mollusca contain- 
 ing several genera, and comprising many species 
 of considerable magnitude. These animals have a 
 solid pearly shell, with two principal and two 
 Lateral teeth on the hinge. Tn number, variety, 
 and internal lustre, the Uniones of the large 
 
 • Wonik-rs of Geology, j>. 350 ; it is there named Melanopsii.
 
 UNIO VALDENSIS. 30.3 
 
 rivers of North America, present a striking con- 
 trast with the few and homely British species. In 
 a fossil state Uniones are rare ; a few occur 
 in the carboniferous strata, and these with eight 
 or nine small species from the Wealden, figured by 
 Dr. Fitton and myself, comprise all that are known 
 in our secondary strata. 
 
 Many of the slabs of limestone procured from 
 Sandown Bay, and used in the pavements at 
 Brading, Ryde, &c. display sections of a species 
 of Unio, which is common in some of the Pet- 
 worth and Purbeck beds. On a visit to Brook 
 Point in 1843, I discovered a remarkably fine and 
 large species of Unio in the cliff above the petri- 
 fied trees, and have since collected many specimens 
 of this interesting fossil, which I have proposed to 
 distinguish by the name of Unio Valdensis, or 
 Wealden river-mussel. A small and young example 
 is figured in PL VI. fig. 1 ; the hinge, and the an- 
 terior muscular imprints, are shown in the upper 
 figure. The specimens obtained from the cliffs 
 are in an excellent state of preservation ; the sur- 
 face of the shell, which is but little worn, is of a 
 tawny-red colour, like some of the recent Ohio 
 species. Even the horny ligament with its trans- 
 verse rugae remains ; and in some instances the 
 shell is occupied by the body of the animal in the
 
 304 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 state of molluskite. The constituent substance of 
 the shell is occasionally changed into calcareous spar, 
 and admits of a fine polish ; nodules of crystallized 
 sulphate of barytes of a pink colour, are not un- 
 common within the shells. Some examples which 
 I extracted from the bed containing the fossil trees, 
 are partially invested with lignite. One pair of 
 valves has been separated, and the hard grit with 
 which they were filled cleared away, so as to deve- 
 lop the characters of the hinge, &c. 
 
 The shell is of an ovate form, from four to six inches long 
 three inches in altitude, and two inches in thickness or dia- 
 meter; the weight of a pair of valves cleared from extraneous 
 matter is eleven ounces. The shell is equivalved, sub-equilateral, 
 the posterior half one-fifth longer than the anterior, and com- 
 pressed along the margin of the anterior slope. It is very 
 thick and strong, and marked externally with longitudinal 
 stria'. The summit is rounded, antero-dorsal, and slightly 
 inclined forward ; the umhoncs are decorticated, as in most 
 of the shells of the Unionidaj. The ligament is external, 
 post-apicial, and marked with transverse rugae. The base or 
 circumference of the shell is entire ; the margin or internal 
 lip is thick and flat. The inner surface is smooth, with the 
 exception of a few irregular projections of nacreous deposit. The 
 hinge is dorsal, the hinge-plate very thick with a deep fosse 
 beneath the lamellar portion. The cardinal teeth of the right 
 valve are two; the anterior one is the largest, and bifurcated ; 
 the lamellar tooth-plate is broad. The anterior muscular im- 
 print is in front of the large cardinal tooth, and immediately 
 d this impression is the indentation left by the attachment 
 of the retractor muscles of the foot. The posterior muscular 
 imprint i- placed ;it the extremity of the lamellar topth-platc.
 
 FOSSIL CYPRIDES. 305 
 
 The palleal impression extends from one muscular imprint to 
 the other, running parallel with the margin of the base. There 
 is a considerable difference observable in the width of the pos- 
 terior part of the shell in a series of specimens, which appears 
 to be sexual ; for a similar variation occurs in the male and 
 female shells of the recent species from the Ohio. 
 
 The collocation of these large mussels with 
 drifted trees and bones of land reptiles, in clays 
 and sands so manifestly of fluviatile origin, com- 
 pletes the analogy between the rafts imbedded in 
 the delta of the Wealden, and those which float 
 down, and become engulfed in the mud and silt 
 of the Mississippi. 
 
 Fossil Cyprides. — The minute crustaceous ani- 
 mals termed Cyprides, of which the shells or cases 
 of several species are so abundant in the Wealden 
 strata, were brought under the notice of the reader 
 in our examination of the tertiary strata at White- 
 cliff Bay and Headon Hill ; and in the clays and 
 shales of Sandown Bay (p. 136). These animals 
 have the body enclosed in a horny case, consist- 
 ing of two pieces united by a hinge line. They 
 have one compound eye, and four feet, and two 
 straight simple antennae with a tuft of cilia at the 
 extremities. They swim with rapidity, and may 
 be seen actively pursuing the minuter animals on 
 which they prey. Like other crustaceans, they 
 frequently shed their cases, and the surface of the
 
 o06 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 mud spread over the bottom of still lakes is covered 
 with their exuviae. The largest living Cypris, 
 does not exceed one-sixth of an inch in length. 
 In a fossil state these cases appear like minute, 
 white, elliptical, or reniform scales, on the surfaces 
 of the recently separated laminae of clay, shale, 
 and limestone. After exposure to the weather the 
 cases decompose, and leave the surface of the stone 
 covered with their casts, which appear as minute 
 polished tubercles ; some layers of the compact 
 ironstone have a granulated appearance from the 
 abundance of these remains. Three species of the 
 Wealden Cyprides are represented in lign. 25. 
 
 The immense accumulation of the remains of 
 these crustaceans in the Sussex marble is quite 
 surprising; some slabs which I have examined 
 under the microscope, have the shells and their 
 interstices literally crammed with whole and broken 
 cases. As the recent species inhabit either still 
 lakes or gently flowing streams, and not the tur- 
 bulent waters of estuaries, it follows that sediments 
 largely charged with the exuviae of cyprides must 
 have been deposited in lakes, or bays, or in tran- 
 quil streams, communicating with the flood of 
 waters which transported to their present situation 
 the bones of terrestrial animals and plants. These 
 beds of fluviatile shells and cyprides, with scarcely
 
 FOSSIL FISHES. 
 
 307 
 
 any intermixture of other organic remains, which 
 are spread over such wide areas of the Wealden 
 formation, afford, therefore, decisive proofs of 
 tranquil subsidence in freshwater. 
 
 .-,;' % 
 
 ' •'?- 
 
 LIGN. 2o. 
 
 FOSSIL CYPRIDES; FROM BROOK BAY. 
 
 Fig. 1. Cypris spinigera ; the small figure shows the natural size. 
 
 2. Cypris granulosa. 
 
 3. — Valdensis. 
 
 4. Clay, with numerous cases of the species represented fig. I, of the 
 
 natural size. 
 
 Fossil fishes. — But few remains of fishes have 
 been found in the Wealden of the Island ; those 
 which have come under my notice are some 
 small teeth, and a fin-bone, of a species of Hy~ 
 bodus (see p. 233) ; and several teeth and scales 
 of the Lepidotus, a genus of extinct freshwater 
 fishes, with very thick, enamelled, rhomboidal 
 scales, and obtuse hemispherical teeth ; the latter
 
 308 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 arc called fishes' eyes by the peasants who collect 
 fossils from these shores.* Detached scales and 
 teeth of two species of Lepidotus occur in most 
 localities of the Wealden deposits. -j- I found a 
 portion of an intermaxillary bone with several 
 teeth, and a group of ten scales of the Lepidotus 
 Fittoni, in the cliff to the east of Brook Chine. 
 
 * Figures of the scales and teeth of one species of Lepidotus of the 
 Wealden are given in Medals of Creation, p. 438, PI. VI. fig. 10. 
 
 t It is rare to meet with any considerable number of scales in contact; 
 but a few specimens were discovered in Tilgate Forest, exhibiting part of 
 the cranium, the opercula of the gills, the pectoral and dorsal fins, and large 
 masses of scales. These are now in the British Museum, in the room appro- 
 priated to Fossil Fishes.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 FOSSIL BONES OF REPTILES — THE IGUANODON — HYL.EOSAURUS — MBGA- 
 
 LOSAURUS CETIOSAURUS STREPTOSPONDYLUS — PLESIOSAURUS — 
 
 TURTLES — IMPRINTS ON SANDSTONE — RIPPLE-MARKS — SUMMARY — 
 THE COUNTRY OF THE IGUANODON — VOYAGE ROUND THE ISLE OF 
 WIGHT. 
 
 Fossil bones of reptiles. — The occurrence of 
 bones and teeth of gigantic terrestrial reptiles in 
 the beds beneath the chalk of the south-east of 
 England, was first announced in the " Fossils of 
 the South Downs," in which many remains of 
 oviparous quadrupeds from the strata of Tilgate 
 Forest are described. Relics of this kind have 
 subsequently been discovered in numerous loca- 
 lities of the Wealden, and nowhere more abun- 
 dantly than in the Isle of Wight ; although search 
 for these highly interesting remains has not hitherto 
 been very actively or judiciously pursued. 
 
 The bones are washed out of the cliffs by the 
 inroads of the sea, and strewn on the shore, where 
 they become exposed to the action of the waves, 
 and are soon abraded and deprived of any pro- 
 cesses, or other anatomical characters, they may
 
 310 GEOLOGY OK THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 have retained after their original exposure to 
 attrition, in the river by which they were trans- 
 ported and imbedded in the strata. Thus those 
 parts which would afford the most valuable infor- 
 mation to the anatomist become entirely defaced, 
 and the specimens are for the most part water- 
 worn masses of bone, indicating only the enormous 
 magnitude of the animals to which they belonged. 
 The bones even when imbedded in the sandstone 
 and sand, are in general abraded, from having 
 been transported by water from a considerable 
 distance ; those in the clays are commonly less 
 injured, from the plastic material with which they 
 were enveloped having, apparently, afforded some 
 protection. The bones are coloured and strongly 
 impregnated with iron ; especially those in Brook 
 Bay, which are permeated throughout with py- 
 rites; groups of brilliant crystals of this mineral 
 often invest the outer surface. The medullary 
 cavities are occasionally found lined with white 
 calcareous spar, and the cancellated structure of 
 the bone is often filled with this substance.* 
 
 The quantity of bones collected from the sea- 
 shore in Sandown, Brixton, Brook, and Compton 
 
 • Some of these osseous boulders and pebbles afford interesting sections 
 for the microscope. Slices from specimens presented to me by the Rev. 
 Charles Pritchard, of Clapham Common, beautifully display the canci Uab d 
 structure ol thi bone, with the rolls lined with pyrites and calcareous •-par.
 
 FOSSIL BONES OF REPTILES. 311 
 
 Bays, during the last few years, is very consi- 
 derable ; the examples which I have seen at various 
 times, and in the possession of different persons, 
 must have belonged to between 150 and 200 indi- 
 viduals. And though from their abraded and 
 mutilated condition, but few of the specimens were 
 instructive, yet so large a number proves that the 
 country from which the Wealden deposits were 
 derived, must have teemed with colossal oviparous 
 quadrupeds. Some of the rolled bones indicate 
 more gigantic animals than even the largest 
 from Tilgate Forest, and now in the British 
 Museum. 
 
 The Rev. Gerard Smith, in 1825, obtained seve- 
 ral fragments of bones of reptiles from Sandown 
 Bay; and in 1829 a considerable number was found 
 by Mr. James Vine, near Bull-face Ledge ; the 
 latter are now in the collection of the Geological 
 Society of London. In 1884 Mr. John Smith, of 
 Yaverland Farm, collected several large vertebrae 
 of the Iguanodon, portions of two thigh bones, 
 and many fragments of smaller bones : these relics 
 were presented to the Oxford Museum.* 
 
 It must be borne in mind that these fossils have, 
 for the most part, been picked up by persons 
 
 * See a Memoir, by the Rev. Dr. Bucldand, on " Bones of the Iguanodon 
 from the Isle of Wight," Geol. Trans, vol.iii. New Series.
 
 312 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 wholly uninstructed as to the characters which 
 alone render such specimens interesting. What the 
 waves cast up on the strand, the fishermen gather 
 together, the casual visitor selects such as please 
 his fancy, and the remainder are thrown away, or 
 employed to pave the footpath, or surround the 
 flower-border, of the cottager's dwelling.* 
 
 The remains hitherto found, are separate bones 
 belonging to the well-known Wealden reptiles, 
 viz. the Iguanodon, Hylceosaurus, Megalosaurns, 
 and Streptospondylus ; and the Cetiosaurus, Plesio- 
 saurus,-f and two or more kinds of turtles. I have 
 seen but two teeth ; a fragment of one belonging 
 to the Megalosaurus, and the specimen figured 
 in lign. 27. 
 
 The Iguanodon. — Of this most gigantic of 
 terrestrial reptiles, which, when living, must have 
 more nearly resembled in its magnitude and huge 
 proportions, the largest of our living pachvder- 
 mata, than any of the saurian order to which it 
 belongs, many vertebra?, portions of ribs, and 
 bones of the extremities, have been discovered in 
 
 * The largest toe-hone of the Iguanodon now in ray possession was obtained 
 from a row of stones placed round the flower-plot of a cottage near Brixton. 
 I much regret that my professional engagements have rendered it impossible 
 for me to attempt to remedy the evil mentioned in the text. 
 
 t Having given a concise exposition of the OSteological characters of these 
 extraordinary beings in the " Medals of Creation" (vol. ii. p. 684, ch. xvii. and 
 xviii.), with full instructions for the collection of their remains; to that Work 
 refer the reader desirous of pursuing these inquiries.
 
 THE IGUANODON. 313 
 
 the Wealden at Sandown Bay, and at Brook and 
 Brixton. The vertebrae are invariably deprived 
 of their processes ; even the neural arch is in 
 general destroyed, and the waterworn body, or cen- 
 trum of the bone, alone remains.* The specimens 
 are commonly permeated with pyrites, and, in 
 consequence, are of great weight. The long 
 bones of the limbs are for the most part mutilated, 
 and but seldom have an articulating extremity so 
 perfect as to indicate the individual bone. Some 
 of the fragments, however, retain characters suffi- 
 ciently recognizable, and have unquestionably be- 
 longed to reptiles of enormous size. I obtained 
 from Sandown Bay the lower half of a tibia (large 
 bone of the leg), having the extremity that articu- 
 lates with the foot perfect ; the circumference of 
 this bone is four times that of a perfect tibia of a 
 young Iguanodon, which is one foot long : when 
 entire, its length must therefore have been nearly 
 four feet. The corresponding thigh-bone, estimated 
 from the relative proportions of a femur and tibia 
 in juxtaposition, would be a foot longer: the 
 entire length of the leg and thigh to which the 
 Sandown fossil belonged, must consequently have 
 been upwards of nine feet. 
 
 * As shown in lign.ISS, fig. 8, p. 697, "Medals of Creation," vol. ii. The 
 perfect form of a caudal vertebra of the Iguanodon is represented in fig. 3 of 
 the same lignogiaph.
 
 314 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 The most perfect femur, or thigh-bone, collected 
 in the Isle of Wight, was dug out piecemeal from 
 a fallen mass of the cliff in Brook Bay : it evi- 
 dently belonged to an aged individual, and though 
 squeezed and somewhat distorted by pressure 
 while softened by long immersion in the clay in 
 which it was imbedded, well displays the pecu- 
 liar characters of this part of the skeleton of 
 the Iguanodon. It is 3 feet 4 inches in length. 
 The figure in lign. 26 is a representation of this 
 specimen, as it would appear if uncompressed. 
 The femur of the Iguanodon is so remarkable, 
 that even fragments may readily be distinguished ; 
 and as portions of this bone are not unfrequently 
 to be met with in the clay cliffs or on the shore, I 
 subjoin the following description. 
 
 The head is hemispherical, and projects in- 
 wards ; a laterally flattened process, or trochanter 
 {lign. 26, a), forms the external boundary of the 
 neck of the bone, from which it is separated by 
 a deep and very narrow vertical fissure. The 
 shaft is sub-quadrangular ; a slightly elevated 
 ridge, produced by the union of two broad, flat, 
 longitudinal surfaces, extends down the middle of 
 the anterior face, and diverging towards the inner 
 condyle, gradually disappears. The shaft termi- 
 nates below in two large rounded, and laterally
 
 THE IGUANODON. 
 
 315 
 
 compressed condyles (c,d), 
 which are sejDarated in 
 front and behind by a 
 deep groove (e). Near the 
 middle of the shaft, the 
 mesial, or inner edge, 
 forms a compressed ridge, 
 which extends into an 
 angular projection, or 
 inner trochanter (b). Thus 
 the upper part of the 
 femur may be known by 
 the presence of the upper 
 trochanter (a) ; and if that 
 process is broken away, 
 the fractured surface in- 
 dicating its position will 
 be detected. If a frag- 
 ment of the middle part of 
 the shaft only is found, the 
 flattened angular spaces, 
 and the submedian tro- 
 chanter (b), or the mark 
 libs.jb.-iot FE»m or an- f i ts attachment, will 
 
 iguanodon. From Brook Hay. 
 
 (The original, 40 inches in length.) identify it. The loW T er 
 a, Upper trochanter. 
 
 6. Middle trochanter. extremity of the femur 
 
 c, Inner, rf, outer condyle. . , . . . 
 
 Groove between the condyles. may be distinguished bv
 
 316 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 the deep groove (e) between the condyles, both 
 in front and behind. The long bones of the 
 Iguanodon have a large medullary cavity.* 
 
 Several bones of the feet and toes have been 
 found in this locality. Dr. Buckland obtained a 
 toe-bone of enormous size from Sandown Bay ; 
 it is six inches long and fifteen inches in circum- 
 ference, at the largest extremity. f The metatarsal 
 and phalangeal bones of the Iguanodon are short 
 and thick, and so much resemble those of the 
 Hippopotamus, that Baron Cuvier at first supposed 
 the specimens from Tilgate Forest belonged to that 
 animal. 
 
 Tooth of the Iguanodon. — With the thigh-bone 
 above described were found several dorsal and 
 caudal vertebrae, many fragments of ribs, and the 
 only tooth of the Iguanodon I have obtained from 
 the Island. It evidently, like the femur, belonged 
 to an adult, and very probably to the same indi- 
 vidual. The crown is worn down almost to the 
 neck of the tooth, and shows the remarkable cha- 
 racter imparted to the teeth of this herbivorous 
 reptile, by the trituration of its food, — a character 
 in which they differ from the teeth of any other 
 known reptile, either living or extinct ; for all 
 
 * Medals of Creation, vol. ii. p. 7 18. 
 1 Geol. Trans, vol. iii. pi. II.
 
 TOOTH OF THE IGUANODON. 317 
 
 other herbivorous reptiles chip off and swallow 
 their food whole, the construction of their jaws 
 not admitting of a grinding motion.* From this 
 condition of the crown, as shown in the tooth 
 figured below, it is obvious that the Iguanodon 
 fed on vegetables, and masticated its food like the 
 
 is**'' 
 
 LIGN. 2(. TOOTH OF AN IGUANODOK. 
 
 From the Weaklen, Brook Bay. 
 
 horse and other herbivorous mammalia : while 
 the base shows the imprint of the successional 
 tooth, which, by its pressure, occasioned the 
 absorption of the fang of the old one. In the 
 perfect tooth, the crown is of a prismatic form, 
 
 * For an account of the development of the teeth of the Iguanodon, see 
 " Fossils of Tilgate Forest," p. "2; and " Wonders of Geology," p. 390. 
 
 T 2
 
 318 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 with, three or four longitudinal ridges down the 
 front, and a broad denticulated margin on each 
 side.* The resemblance between the unworn teeth 
 of the Iguanodon and those of the Iguana, a 
 herbivorous lizard of the West Indies, suggested 
 the name of this colossal extinct reptile ; but the 
 teeth of the Iguana are very small, not exceeding 
 in size those of the mouse. 
 
 Sections of the teeth are beautiful objects under 
 the microscope, and show that the structure of 
 the dentine, or tooth-ivory, is coarser than in 
 other reptiles, and resembles that which charac- 
 terises the teeth of the Sloth tribe. The crown 
 of the tooth is incrusted with an external coating 
 of enamel, which is thick in front, and thin on the 
 inner surface. In consequence of this disposition, 
 and of the dentine being hardest in the anterior 
 part, the grinding surface of the tooth is always 
 worn away obliquely, and a sharp cutting front 
 edge of enamel maintained in every stage. if 
 
 Sacrum of the Iguanodon. — A very remarkable 
 peculiarity in the anatomical structure of the 
 Iguanodon, and of the Hyheosaurus and Megalo- 
 saurus, consists in the sacrum being composed of five 
 vertebrae an chylosed, or fixed together, into a solid 
 
 * Medals of Creation, \>. 741. 
 
 t Wonders of Geology, veil. i. p. 390.
 
 SACRUM OF THE IGUANODON. 319 
 
 column ; whereas in all living saurians the sacrum 
 consists of but two vertebrae. The neural arches 
 of the vertebrae are shifted to the interspaces be- 
 tween the bodies of those bones, by which more 
 solidity is given to the pelvic arch. Professor 
 Owen (who first pointed out these modifications of 
 structure) states, that the sacrum of the Ostrich 
 presents the same characters, and in the young 
 bird the individual vertebrae, and the remarkable 
 change in the relative position of the vertebral 
 elements, may be clearly traced. 
 
 Though these details are of the greatest interest 
 to the comparative anatomist, I should not have 
 dwelt upon them in the present work, were it not 
 probable that specimens of this part of the ske- 
 leton will come under the notice of the visitor, and 
 would, perhaps, from their unsightliness, be re- 
 jected. I have obtained from Brook Bay several 
 waterworn portions of the sacrum, consisting of 
 two or three anchylosed vertebrae; the finest ex- 
 ample of the entire series belonging to a large 
 individual, was found on this coast.* 
 
 Form of the Iguanodon. — From the numerous 
 detached bones that have been collected from 
 
 * This fossil is in the interesting museum of W. D. Saull, Esq., of 15, 
 Aldersgate Street, City, to which visitors are, with great liberality, admitted 
 every Thursday at 12. Mr. Saull's collection of organic remains contains 
 many specimens from the Isle of Wight.
 
 320 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 various localities of the Wealden, and with the aid 
 of the few specimens in which several are collo- 
 cated in the same block of stone, the size and 
 proportions of the body and limbs of the Iguanodon 
 may be determined ; yet but a vague idea of the 
 form and appearance of the original animal can be 
 derived from the relics hitherto discovered. For 
 the great discrepancy between the known parts of 
 the skeleton, and the corresponding bones in the 
 largest existing saurians, renders it vain to attempt 
 the restoration of the form of this colossal reptile, 
 till the skull, jaws, &c. are known. In all proba- 
 bility the entire or a considerable portion of the 
 skeleton of a young Iguanodon, will sooner or later 
 be brought to light, and yield the information 
 necessary to enable the palaeontologist to recon- 
 struct the skeleton, and delineate the form of the 
 living original. 
 
 In the present state of our knowledge we may, 
 however, safely conclude, that the body of the 
 Iguanodon was equal in magnitude to that of the 
 elephant, and as massive in its proportions ; for be- 
 ing a vegetable feeder, a large development of the 
 abdominal region may be inferred. Its limbs must 
 have been of a proportionate size to sustain so 
 enormous a bulk; one of the thigh-bones (in the 
 British Museum) if covered with muscles and 

 
 THE IGUANODON. 321 
 
 integuments of suitable proportions, would form a 
 limb seven feet in circumference. The hinder 
 extremities, in all probability, presented the un- 
 wieldy contour of those of the hippopotamus or 
 rhinoceros, and were supported by a very strong 
 short foot, the toes of which were armed with 
 claws Like those of certain turtles.* The forelegs 
 appear to have been less bulky, and furnished with 
 hooked claws resembling the ungueal phalanges of 
 the Iguana. The teeth demonstrate the nature 
 of the food required for the support of this her- 
 bivorous reptile, and the power of mastication it 
 enjoyed. The palms, ferns, cycadeous plants, and 
 coniferous trees, with which its remains are asso- 
 ciated, indicate the flora adapted for its suste- 
 nance. But the physiognomy of this creature, 
 from the form of the skull and jaws, constructed 
 as the latter must have been to give support to 
 the powerful muscles necessary for the tritura- 
 tion of tough vegetable substances, must have 
 remarkably differed from that of all known 
 saurians. 
 
 The length of the Iguanodon has been variously 
 estimated, the difference in the computation de- 
 pending chiefly on the length assigned to the tail, 
 which in the Iguana and many other lizards is 
 
 * Wonders of Geology, PI. III.
 
 322 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 much longer than the body. If the tail of the 
 fossil reptile was slender, and of the same relative 
 proportions as in the Iguana, the largest individual 
 would be fifty or sixty feet long ; but it is more 
 probable, and in fact almost certain from the short- 
 ness of the bodies of the caudal vertebrae, that 
 the tail was short, and flattened in a vertical direc- 
 tion, as in certain living reptiles — for example, the 
 Doryphorus ; the length, therefore, would be re- 
 duced to little more than thirty feet.* 
 
 From what has been advanced we may conclude, 
 that the Iguanodon was a gigantic but inoffensive 
 herbivorous reptile, which lived on the ferns, 
 cycadeae, palms, and coniferae that constituted the 
 flora of the country of which it appears to have 
 been the principal inhabitant. 
 
 Hylzeosaurus, or Wealden Lizard. — This is 
 another reptile of the Wealden, possessing the 
 same remarkable conformation of the sacrum as 
 the Iguanodon. It is distinguished by a peculiar 
 modification of the bones composing the sternal 
 arch, and by its osseous dermal appendages : like 
 the bones of the former reptile, its remains were 
 first observed in the strata of Tilgate Forest. 
 
 The scapula is like that of the crocodiles, while 
 the coracoid bone is of the lacertian type. The ribs 
 
 * Medals of Creation, p. 751.
 
 THE HYLiEOSAURUi?. 323 
 
 have the bilobed head, as in the crocodiles, asso- 
 ciated with the arched and rounded process of the 
 lizards, and an enormous expansion of the bone at 
 its spinal curvature. This reptile possessed a very 
 formidable dermal covering : it had rows of ellip- 
 tical and circular dermal bones along each side of 
 the vertebral column, and appears to have been 
 armed with a series of angular spines of great size, 
 arranged along the middle of the back ; in the same 
 manner as the dorsal fringe of the Iguana. The' 
 structure of the bone composing these dermal 
 processes, closely resembles that of the ligamentous 
 fibres of the corium, or skin, and seems to have 
 resulted from an ossified condition of the dermal 
 integument. A few detached vertebra? of the 
 Hylasosaurus, recognisable by their perfectly cir- 
 cular and nearly flat extremities, have been found 
 in the Weald clay at Brixton.* 
 
 Megalosaurus.-J- — This name was given by Dr. 
 Buckland to an enormous reptile, of which teeth 
 and bones were first observed in the oolitic lime- 
 stone of Stonesfield, near Oxford, and afterwards 
 in the Wealden strata. The teeth present a 
 striking contrast to those of the Iguanodon ; they 
 
 * See " Medals of Creation," p. 734, and " Memoirs on the Fossil Reptiles 
 discovered in Tilgate Forest." Philos. Trans. Part II. for the year 1841. 
 t See Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Essay.
 
 324 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 are sabre-shaped, with trenchant serrated edges. 
 The original was probably carnivorous, and nearly 
 thirty feet in length. As it was contemporary 
 with the Iguanodon and several other large sau- 
 rians, it may have preyed on their young and on 
 the lesser reptiles. Many teeth, vertebras, and por- 
 tions of the femur of this animal, have been found in 
 the Island. The vertebrae are not subquadrangular 
 like those of the Iguanodon, but are cylindrical at 
 the ends and contracted in the middle, and have a 
 very smooth surface. The femur is nearly cylin- 
 drical and slightly bowed ; it has two large rounded 
 prominences, or trochanters of nearly ecpual size, 
 below the head of the bone ; it may therefore 
 easily be distinguished from the thigh-bone of the 
 Iguanodon. 
 
 Cetiosaurus. — This extinct reptile, as its 
 name imports, bore some resemblance to the Ceta- 
 ceans. The vertebrae are almost circular at the 
 ends, and have a very short body ; the front arti- 
 culating surface is nearly flat, and the other 
 concave, in the dorsal vertebra?, but in the caudal 
 both ends are deeply hollowed ; they are very large, 
 often eight inches in diameter. By these cha- 
 racters the vetebrae of the Cetiosaurus may easily 
 be recognised. I have obtained several from the 
 weald clay at Sandown and Brook. The original
 
 CETIOSAURTJS. 325 
 
 animals are supposed to have been of aquatic, and 
 probably of marine, habits, on the evidence of the 
 sub-biconcave structure of the vertebra?, and of the 
 coarse cancellous tissue of the long bones, which 
 are destitute of a medullary cavity. They must 
 have rivalled the whales in bulk, for some remains 
 indicate a length of forty or fifty feet.* 
 
 Streptospondylus. — Among the large verte- 
 brae washed up on the shore in Brixton Bay, I 
 found several with one end convex and the other 
 concave ; these belong to the extinct crocodilian 
 reptile called Streptospondylus (meaning reversed- 
 spine), because these vertebrae are arranged in the 
 spinal column in a position the reverse of that 
 which obtains in all other reptiles of the same 
 osteological type ; for the convexity or ball of the 
 vertebrae is placed anteriorly, whereas in the cro- 
 codile, &c. it is in the opposite direction. f The 
 original, in its form and habits, probably bore a 
 general relation to the crocodiles. 
 
 Plesiosaurus. — The splendid collection in the 
 British Museum, which contains several perfect 
 skeletons of different species of this genus of ex- 
 tinct marine reptiles, must be too well known to 
 render any description necessary of the osteological 
 
 * Medals of Creation, vol. ii. p. /26. 
 
 t Cuvier's Reckercltes stir les Ossemens Fossiles. Tom. V. pi. 6.
 
 326 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 characters of the Plesiosauri and Ichthyosauri. 
 A few vertebrae of Plesiosauri are the only 
 remains of these animals I have obtained from 
 the Island. 
 
 Fossil Turtles. — Of che Ionian reptiles, water- 
 worn fragments of bones are the only vestiges 
 that have come under my notice. Some of these 
 fragments in all probability belong to the Trionyx 
 Bakewelli, a species which occurs in the Wealden 
 strata of Tilgate Forest,* and is characterised by 
 the granulated surface of the costal plates, and 
 a dermal covering of tortoise-shell, as is shown 
 by the imprints of the scales left on the bones. 
 Except in possessing a defensive integument of 
 this kind, this extinct chelonian must have re- 
 sembled the existing predaceous soft turtles ; and 
 doubtless like them inhabited the mud-banks of 
 rivers, and preyed upon the eggs and young of the 
 larger reptiles, and on the uniones and other 
 mollusca, the shells of which are often found asso- 
 ciated with its remains. 
 
 Imprints on sandstone. — We must here con- 
 clude our description of the fossils that have 
 been discovered in the Wealden strata of the Isle 
 of Wight ; to attempt a full exposition of the 
 characters and relations of these organic remains, 
 
 * Geology of the S.E. of England, p, 235. Medals of Creation, p. 778.
 
 IMPRINTS ON SANDSTONE. 327 
 
 would requii-e a volume expressly devoted to the 
 subject. A few additional remarks are, however, 
 necessary on some anomalous appearances in the 
 sandstone of Brixton Bay, that have recently 
 come under my notice. The occurrence of im- 
 prints resembling the foot-tracks of birds and 
 reptiles, on the surface of slabs of sandstone of 
 very ancient formations, must be known to the 
 well-informed reader, from the lucid illustration 
 of the subject, in Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater 
 Essay. Among those supposed foot-prints are 
 several of large dimensions, described under the 
 name of Chirotherium, which are conjectured to 
 have been made by some enormous three-toed 
 reptile, passing over the stone when it was in a 
 soft state. Others equally colossal, from the 
 arrangement of the markings on the slabs indica- 
 ting the progressive footsteps of bipeds, have been 
 ascribed to gigantic extinct birds.* The layer of 
 clay, or sandstone, overlying these imprints, gene- 
 rally retains casts of them, which appear in relief 
 on the surface of the slabs when removed ; in 
 other instances the cast of a single mould alone 
 remains, and being more consolidated than 
 the matrix, is often extracted whole. Several 
 large sandstone casts of this kind were dis- 
 
 * Medals of Creation, p. 708.
 
 328 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF AVIGHT. 
 
 covered last year in the Wealden sands at Has- 
 tings, and sent up to the Geological Society. A 
 similar cast has been obtained from the Wealden 
 sand in the cliff in Brixton Bay, and is in my pos- 
 session. This specimen is a solid tripartite mass 
 of fawn-coloured sandstone ; the middle process 
 is fifteen inches, and the two lateral projections are 
 twelve inches in length ; the greatest thickness is 
 six inches ; the processes are laterally compressed 
 and rounded at the extremities, and united to one 
 common base. As the origin of these singular 
 concretions is very problematical, every specimen 
 should be preserved ; and if several occur on the 
 same bed of sand, their relative position should be 
 carefully ascertained.* 
 
 Ancient ripple-marks. — Connected with this 
 subject are the ripple-marks so often pervading 
 extensive surfaces of sands, sandstones, and clays, 
 in sedimentary deposits that have been formed 
 on sea-shores, or along the banks of rivers, or in 
 
 * The method adopted to obtain impressions from engraved monumental 
 brasses, namely, the placing of tough thin paper over the surface of the in- 
 scription or effigies, and rubbing it freely with the black composition termed 
 " heel hull," which adheres to the parts in relief, but leaves the cavities 
 white, will be found convenient for obtaining an accurate plan and outline of 
 the imprints on the sandstone. This process is also applicable to anj fossil 
 that lias a surface flat and firm enough to bear the friction when covered by 
 the paper. I have often taken in a few minutes, imprints of the plates of 
 turtles, scales of fishes, &c. sufficiently distinct to exhibit the general cha- 
 racters of the surface of the specimens.
 
 ANCIENT RIPPLE-MARKS. 329 
 
 bays, deltas, lakes, and estuaries, in comparatively 
 shallow water. In many parts of the Wealden 
 formation these appearances are very striking ; 
 especially in the vicinity of Horsham,* and in the 
 quarries in Tilgate Forest in Sussex, j- The slabs 
 of limestone, clay, and sandstone, exposed in 
 recent falls of the cliffs along the southern shores 
 of the Island, are frequently covered with ripple- 
 marks. 
 
 Every one must have noticed when walking by 
 the side of a river at low water, or on the sands of 
 the seashore, that if the water has been agitated by 
 the wind, the surface of the mud or sand is fur- 
 rowed more or less deeply by the rippling of the 
 waves ; the markings presenting various appear- 
 ances according to the force and direction of the 
 wind and currents. The undulations on the sur- 
 face of the sandstone have arisen from similar 
 operations. In many instances the stone is so 
 rough as to be employed in stable-yards, where an 
 uneven surface is required to prevent horses from 
 slipping as they pass over. Sometimes the fur- 
 
 * These were first noticed by Mr. Lyell in 1822, and described in a letter 
 addressed to the author. 
 
 t It is singular that although Professor Playfair mentions the cause of this 
 appearance as undoubted, yet so little attention or credit was given to the 
 statement, that my description of the phenomenon was received with much 
 hesitation.
 
 330 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 rows are deep, denoting that the water was much 
 agitated, and the ripple strong ; in other instances 
 the undulations are shallow, and intersected by 
 cross-ripples, indicating a change in the direction 
 of the waves. Some slabs are covered by slightly 
 elevated, broad ridges of sand, made up of gentle 
 risings disposed in a crescent shape ; these have 
 been produced by rills flowing into the river, 
 during the recession of the tide. The rippled 
 surfaces often bear traces of the trails of mol- 
 lusca, and annelides, and in some strata, im- 
 prints of the claws of crustaceans, of the pectoral 
 fins of certain fishes, and of feet of reptiles have 
 been observed.* But I have never detected un- 
 equivocal evidence of footmarks of any kind in 
 the Wealden strata. Impressions of vegetables, 
 several of which appear to have been produced by 
 grasses, were abundant on some recently exposed 
 slabs near Brook Point, on my late visit ; the 
 vegetable matter had evidently been changed to 
 carbon, which was in a great measure washed 
 away, but enough remained to point out the 
 origin of the markings. 1 have observed similar 
 appearances on slabs of sandstones and clays 
 lying on the embankments of the recently con- 
 structed Tonbridge Wells Railway. 
 
 * Set Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Essay.
 
 summary. s;n 
 
 Summary. — And now, ere we depart from these 
 shores, and bid farewell to scenes so fraught with 
 interest and instruction, I would detain the reader 
 a brief space, and while the data are before us, 
 endeavour to interpret the nature of those physical 
 revolutions of which they afford such unequivocal 
 evidence. It appears, indeed, scarcely possible 
 for the most incurious observer while sitting on 
 these rocks of petrified trees, and surrounded by 
 fossil bones of enormous reptiles, and heaps of 
 river-shells obtained from the neighbouring cliffs, 
 not to speculate on the causes which have given 
 rise to these extraordinary results. For as a 
 profound thinker has justly remarked, " when 
 any natural phenomena are for the first time ob- 
 served, a tendency immediately develops itself in 
 the mind to refer them to something previously 
 known, and bring them within the range of ac- 
 knowledged sequences."* 
 
 It was with a view of inducing a train of thought 
 which should lead the intelligent stranger, un- 
 familiar with the nature of geological evidence, to 
 attempt the interpretation of the appearances pre- 
 sented to his notice, that this excursion was intro- 
 duced by some general remarks on the changes 
 
 * "On the Correlation of Physical Force*;" by W. K. Grove, Esq. 
 M.A. F.R.S. &c London. 1846.
 
 332 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 effected on the surface of the land, by the agency 
 of streams and rivers. 
 
 Let us test the facts before us by the principles 
 enunciated in those remarks. We have here strata 
 of great thickness, made up of laminated detritus, 
 identical in appearance and composition with the 
 consolidated mud-banks of rivers and deltas — we 
 have rafts of drifted pine-trees, and the remains 
 of cycadeous plants, and arborescent ferns — 
 innumerable layers of freshwater shells and crus- 
 taceans, with large mussels resembling the unio- 
 nidas of the rivers of America — heaps of waterworn 
 bones of colossal oviparous quadrupeds, which com- 
 parative anatomy instructs us belong to types of 
 organization long since extinct — in fine, an accu- 
 mulation of transported materials teeming with 
 the spoils of some unknown region, associated with 
 fluviatile mollusks and crustaceans, without any 
 intermixture of marine exuvia?. What is the 
 obvious inference — what the unavoidable conclu- 
 sion at which we must arrive ? Unquestionably, 
 that these deposits were the delta of a river, which 
 flowed through a country possessing a fauna and 
 flora of a tropical character, and essentially dis- 
 tinct from any now known to exist. 
 
 The country of the Iguanodon. — We have 
 here then data from which, by the method of
 
 COUNTRY OF THE IGUANODON. 333 
 
 induction previously explained, we may restore, 
 as it were, the region whence the Wealden strata 
 were derived, the animals by which it was inha- 
 bited, and the vegetables that clothed its surface. 
 Whether that country was an island or a con- 
 tinent cannot, perhaps, be determined ; but that 
 it was diversified by hills and valleys, and irrigated 
 by streams and rivers, and enjoyed a climate of 
 a higher temperature than any part of modern 
 Europe, is most evident. Arborescent ferns, palms, 
 coniferous trees, and cycadeous plants, constituted 
 its groves and forests, and delicate ferns the vege- 
 table clothing of its soil; and in its fens and 
 marshes the equiseta, and plants of a like nature, 
 prevailed. Its principal herbivorous quadruped 
 was the enormous lizard, the Iguanodon ; its 
 carnivora, the Megalosaurus and other predaceous 
 reptiles; crocodiles and turtles frequented its 
 rivers, and deposited their eggs on the banks and 
 shoals; and its waters teemed with fishes, mol- 
 lusca and crustaceans. That the soil was of a 
 sandy nature on the hills and plains, and argil- 
 laceous in the lowlands and marshes, may be 
 inferred from the vegetable remains, and the litho- 
 logical character of the strata in which they are 
 'imbedded. Some inferences relating to the pre- 
 vailing atmospheric condition of the country may 
 u 2
 
 334 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 also be drawn, from the undulated surfaces of the 
 sandstones, and from the fossil trees. In the 
 former we have proof, that when the land of 
 reptiles existed, the water was rippled by the 
 breezes, which then, as now, varied in intensity 
 and direction in a brief space of time ; by the 
 latter, that in certain situations the wind blew 
 from a particular quarter for a great part of the 
 year, and that the mean annual temperature was 
 as variable as in modern times. From what has 
 been advanced, it must not, however, be supposed, 
 that the country of the Iguanodon occupied the 
 site of the south-east of England ; and that the 
 animals and terrestrial plants of the Wealden, 
 lived and died near the spot where their relics 
 are entombed. For with the exception of the 
 shells and crustaceans, which probably inhabited 
 the delta, all the fossil remains bear marks of 
 having been transported from a great distance. 
 But though three-fourths of the bones we 
 discover have been broken and rolled,- — the teeth 
 detached from their sockets, — the vertebras and 
 bones of the extremities, with but very few ex- 
 ceptions, disjointed, and scattered here and there, 
 — the stems and branches of the trees torn to 
 pieces, and deprived of their foliage--— there is no* 
 intermixture of sea-shells, nor of beach or shingle ;
 
 COUNTRY OF THE IGUANODON. 335 
 
 these remains have been subjected to abrasion from 
 river currents, but not to attrition from the waves 
 of the ocean. The gigantic limbs of the large 
 reptiles could not have been dissevered from their 
 sockets without great violence, except by the decom- 
 position of their tendons from long maceration in 
 water ; and if the latter had been the sole cause, 
 we should not find the bones broken and sepa- 
 rated, but lying more or less in juxtaposition, 
 like the skeletons of the Plesiosauri in the Lias. 
 The condition in which these fossils occur, proves 
 that they were floated down the river with the 
 rafts of trees, and other spoils of the land, till, 
 arrested in their progress, they sank down, and 
 became imbedded. The phenomena here con- 
 templated cannot, I conceive, be satisfactorily 
 explained upon any other grounds ; and the source 
 of the mighty stream which flowed through the 
 country of the Iguanodon, must therefore, like 
 that of the Mississippi, have been hundreds, 
 perhaps thousands, of miles distant, from the delta 
 accumulated in the course of ages at its mouth. 
 
 Voyage round the Isle of Wight. — As 
 during the summer months, excursions round the 
 Island are almost daily made by the steamers, an 
 opportunity is afforded of obtaining a general view 
 of the geology of the coast in the course of a few
 
 336 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 hours. To a person acquainted with the physical 
 structure of the country, such a voyage is alike 
 agreeable and instructive, and the reader will find 
 a day well spent in taking a rapid survey of the 
 most important geological sections which the coast 
 scenery exhibits. The steamers leave Cowes or 
 Ryde, and take an easterly or westerly course, 
 according to the state of the tide. In the following 
 brief notice, the localities most worthy of remark, 
 in a geological point of view, are described in the 
 order they will appear, if the former route be 
 pursued. 
 
 Proceeding from Ryde to the eastward, we coast 
 along the northern shore of the Island, which is 
 almost everywhere covered with vegetation to the 
 water's edge ; a low bank, or cliff, of the fresh- 
 water eocene marls and limestones, being the only 
 indication of its geological structure. St. Clare, 
 the charming seat of Col. Vernon Harcourt, stands 
 on an eminence of these deposits. Doubling the 
 eastern point of St. Helen's, Bembridge Foreland 
 appears, surmounted by the range of chalk hills 
 that terminates at Culver Cliff, We cross the 
 mouth of Brading Haven ; the little town of 
 Blading is seen nestling in a grove of elms at the 
 foot of the chalk downs, which form the western 
 boundary of the view. The upper horizontal
 
 .-..:
 
 VOYAGE ROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 339 
 
 freshwater strata on the northern extremity of 
 Whitecliff Bay (see p. 127) next appear, and a 
 good view is soon obtained of the bay, bounded 
 on the south by the magnificent chalk cliffs of the 
 Culvers. 
 
 On reaching the extremity of Whitecliff Bay, 
 the vertical section of the highly inclined chalk 
 strata, which forms the eastern promontory of 
 the Island, is finely displayed (see PL XV.). The 
 dip of the strata, varying from 50° to 70° towards 
 the north, is clearly marked by the layers of flint 
 nodules, which are distinguishable a quarter of a 
 mile from the shore. Culver Cliffs, which the 
 reader will remember, are the eastern termination 
 of Bembridge Downs (see lign. 8, p. 126), are be- 
 tween 300 and 400 feet high, and about a quarter 
 of a mile in breadth. When off the promontory, 
 a very interesting geological view is obtained ; 
 at one glance we see the nearly vertical chalk, 
 bounded on the right {north) by the eocene strata 
 of Whitecliff, and on the left (south) by the green- 
 sand of Redcliff. 
 
 Upon doubling the headland, we enter Sandown 
 .Bay (see the section, lign. 9, p. 134) ; the lower 
 chalk, firestone, gait, and greensand, appearing in 
 succession, like sloping bands of yellowish white, 
 green, blue, and deep red; the latter denoting the
 
 340 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 ferruginous sands of the lower group. Sandowri 
 Fort is now visible, and marks the low tract con- 
 sisting of the Weald clay (p. 133). The new 
 church and little town of Sandown, are seen on 
 the brow of the sand cliffs which form the western 
 side of the bay, and extend toward Shanklin, 
 retaining the same dark red ferruginous colour as 
 those at Redcliff. The eastern termination of the 
 southern range of chalk, forming the lofty downs 
 above Shanklin, next appears, and seaward, the 
 high but subordinate cliff of greensand at Dunnose 
 Point. The dip of the strata in the cliffs on each 
 side of Sandown Bay, and the anticlinal axis formed 
 by the elevation of the Wealden, may be distin- 
 guished by means of a good telescope. 
 
 Off Dunnose, we lose sight of the inner range 
 of chalk downs, and gain the region of the 
 Undercliff, which from the sea presents, in the 
 foreground, a line of fallen masses of rock and 
 strata scattered along the sea-shore ; and above, 
 a verdant terrace covered with trees and shrubs, 
 with here and there houses peering out from 
 amid the foliage — the barrier of firestone capped 
 with chalk, surmounting the terrace on the north, 
 and hounding the view for a distance of six miles 
 (see p. 251). The ledges of cherty firestone pro- 
 jecting like lines of masonry along the face of
 
 VOYAGE ROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 341 
 
 this inland cliff, may be distinguished, if the 
 steamer keeps within the usual distance of the 
 shore. 
 
 Nearing Blackgang, St. Catherine's appears 
 towering above the western termination of the 
 Undercliff. The Sandrock hotel is seen standing 
 on a ledge high up the precipitous escarpment of 
 the greensand, which here forms the sea-cliff (see 
 p. 234), near the foot of the inland cliff of fire- 
 stone ; the latter rises to within 200 feet of the 
 summit, which is nearly 800 feet above the level 
 of the sea. The ruins of the tower of St. Catherine 
 surmount the whole. The white chalk is seen 
 forming the top of the downs, and appearing from 
 the sea as an inconsiderable layer, immediately 
 over Blackgang. 
 
 From Blackgang to Atherfield the cliffs are 
 entirely composed of the greensand, and the 
 general direction of the beds from east to west 
 may be easily traced (see lign. 17, p. 215). The 
 clays and sands along this part of the coast present 
 a very curious appearance. The lower strata are 
 generally dark, indeed, almost black, but the up- 
 permost are of a light ferruginous colour ; and 
 wherever springs are thrown out by the clay part- 
 ings, the cliffs are stained with broad streams 
 of ochreous yellow. This appearance is cor-
 
 342 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 rectly attributed by Sir Henry Englefield, to the 
 action of the water that percolates from the surface 
 of the soil through these strata, and issues out on 
 the face of the cliff; the oxidation of the sands 
 and clays is the result of the decomposition of the 
 sulphuret into peroxide of iron. This change is 
 often accompanied by the formation of crystals of 
 sulphate of lime or selenite.* The abundance 
 of nodules of pyrites in these clay cliffs, as well as 
 in those of the Wealden, is so great, that consider- 
 able quantities of this mineral are collected on the 
 shore by the cottagers, for sale to the copperas 
 manufacturers. 
 
 Approaching Atherfield, the undulated outline 
 of the distant horizon on the north, denotes the 
 re-appearance of the central range of chalk downs, 
 which we lost sight of behind Dunnose Point, 
 and is here seen extending in a south-westerly 
 direction towards the southern shore. The station- 
 house on Atherfield Point marks the locality where 
 the junction takes place between the Wealden and 
 the greensand (p. 221). 
 
 The next interesting geological features of 
 this coast, are the cliffs at Brook Point, but 
 the steamers pass at so great a distance from 
 
 * A similar result has taken place in some of the railway clay embank- 
 ments, ami been productive of considerable injury to the woikd.
 
 VOYAGE ROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 343 
 
 the shore, that the general bearing of the strata 
 only can be distinguished. In the long sweep ex- 
 posed in these bays (p. 210), the greatly elongated 
 arch, formed by the anticlinal axis of the Wealden 
 (p. 214), may be distinctly made out in a clear 
 state of the atmosphere. Shalcomb Down (p. 220), 
 now forms the inland distance on the north ; and 
 as we near Compton Bay, the middle chalk range 
 is seen extending to the shore, and the sea washes 
 the base of the magnificent line of chalk hills 
 from Afton Down to the Needles. 
 
 The position of the greensand, gait, and fire- 
 stone, beneath the white chalk, in the cliffs west of 
 Compton Chine, may be distinguished from a dis- 
 tance, owing to the contrast of colour presented by 
 the upper and lower groups ; as in RedclifF in 
 Sandown Bay. Freshwater Bay (p. 195) is now 
 gained, and the cliffs of the Mainbench, and of 
 Scratchell's Bay, and the Needles, stand forth in 
 all their sublimity (see p. 197). There is one 
 point in Scratchell's Bay in which a magical effect 
 is produced, by the sudden appearance of the 
 richly coloured cliffs in Alum Bay, between the 
 pure white pinnacles of chalk. 
 
 As we sail round the Needles, the distant Isle of 
 Portland is seen on the western horizon, and on 
 the north are the shores of Hampshire (p. 16*4).
 
 344 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 The vertical strata of Alum Bay (p. 146), and the 
 freshwater series at Headon Hill (p. 151), are now 
 on our right ; and we perceive that the structure 
 of this north-western extremity of the Island, is 
 the counterpart of the north-eastern promontory 
 at Culver Cliff and Whitecliff Bay, which we 
 sailed by in the earlier part of our voyage. Col- 
 well and Thorness Bays are next passed, and we 
 land at Yarmouth to prepare for our excursion to 
 the Dorsetshire coast.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL EXCURSIONS ALONG PART OF THE SOUTHERN 
 COAST OF DORSETSHIRE. 
 
 VOYAGE FROM YARMOUTH TO SWANAGE — SWANAGE BAY — THE PUR- 
 BECK STRATA FOSSILS OF THE PURBECK STRATA THE PORTLAND- 
 OOLITE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE STRATA THE 
 
 SOUTH-EASTERN COAST OF PURBECK — THE SOUTH-WESTERN COAST 
 
 WORBARROW BAZ LULWORTH COVE — FOSSIL TREES — DURDLE COVE 
 
 CHALDON DOWNS — RINGSTEAD BAY — THE ISLE OF PORTLAND — 
 
 PETRIFIED PINE-FOREST — FOSSILS OF PORTLAND AND WEYMOUTH 
 
 RETROSPECT — COROLLARY. 
 
 Voyage from Yarmouth to Swanage. — At the 
 distance of about fifteen miles across the chan- 
 nel, from the western extremity of the Isle of 
 Wight, the south-eastern part of the county of 
 Dorsetshire forms a peninsula, which is called the 
 Isle of Purbeck. This district is of an irregular oval 
 form, its greatest length from east to west is between 
 thirteen and fourteen miles, and its average breadth 
 from north to south, seven miles. It is composed 
 of cretaceous, wealden, and oolitic deposits, and a 
 brief notice of its geology will form an interesting 
 and highly instructive sequel, to our survey of the 
 corresponding strata in the " beautiful Island."
 
 346 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 At Yarmouth a cutter may be engaged to con- 
 vey the visitor to Swanage, a little town on the 
 eastern coast, situated near the once celebrated 
 quarries of Purbeck marble. But during a great 
 part of the year, steam-packets ply twice or thrice 
 weekly from Portsmouth and Southampton, to 
 Poole, and Swanage, calling for passengers at 
 Ryde, Cowes, and Yarmouth ; so that the Isle of 
 Purbeck may be included in our geological ex- 
 cursions with but little inconvenience. This short 
 voyage is very delightful in fine weather, for with 
 a telescope the principal lines of strata may be 
 traced along the distant coasts, and a comprehen- 
 sive view obtained of the relations, and original 
 continuity, of the now dissevered masses which form 
 the dry land. 
 
 In sailing from Yarmouth towards the Isle of 
 Purbeck, our course, after passing by the Needles, 
 is to the west, and the chalk dill's of Dorsetshire 
 soon become distinctly visible ; and we at once 
 perceive, that if the vertical chalk range we are 
 leaving behind were prolonged in a direct line to 
 the west, it woidd unite with that towards which 
 we are steering our little bark. Mr. Webster has 
 graphically described the most striking features of 
 the varied landscapes which successively appeal- in 
 this voyage: "The Island we had just left assumed
 
 FROM YARMOUTH TO SVVANAGE. 347 
 
 a very interesting- appearance. The gradual rise 
 of the northern side above the sea — the coloured 
 strata of Alum Bay — those singular masses of rock 
 the Needles — with the majestic chalk cliffs behind 
 them of the most dazzling whiteness — and the 
 precipitous face of the southern side of the Downs 
 above Freshwater — composed altogether a picture 
 of the most romantic character. On the north lay 
 the coast of Hampshire (see p. 164), consisting of 
 tertiary clay cliffs, above which were seen the town 
 of Christchurch, and several lesser places. As we 
 approached the Dorsetshire side, I perceived that 
 the chalk cliffs were of great height, forming the 
 eastern end of the promontory called Handfast 
 Point ; on the north side of which lay Studland 
 Bay, and on the south Swanage Bay. In these 
 cliffs, which present a vertical section of the Isle 
 of Purbeck from north to south, were seen, while 
 we were yet some miles distant, several very 
 large caverns ; and towards the north end four or 
 five detached masses of rock rising out of the sea ; 
 these were evidently isolated portions of the chalk, 
 which like the Needles had resisted longer than 
 the rest of the cliff, the destroying effects of the 
 waves. When sufficiently near, I made the vessel 
 lay to, that I might examine the stratification by 
 a telescope ; and I was surprised and delighted to
 
 348 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 «so ' 
 
 find the south end composed of strata of chalk and 
 
 flint quite vertical."* 
 
 Swanage Bay. — We land 
 at the little town of Swanwich, 
 or Swanage, where excellent ac- 
 commodation may be obtained, 
 and vehicles and boats hired 
 for excursions by land or water. 
 The exportation of stone is 
 still so considerable as to give 
 the place an aspect of cheerful 
 activity. 
 
 The cliffs that extend across 
 Swanage Bay, expose a trans- 
 verse vertical section of the 
 strata from north to south, and 
 afford a key to the geological 
 structure of the Island ; as 
 shown in lign. 28. 
 
 In this line of coast, the 
 entire scries of deposits from 
 the Chalk at Ballard Downs, 
 to the Portland oolite at Durl- 
 stone Head, is displayed in 
 the natural order of succes- 
 sion. This section will remind 
 
 li B< Id's [sle of Wight, p. 164. 
 
 3S
 
 SWAN AGE BAY. 349 
 
 the reader of that from Shalcomb to Brook Point 
 (lign. 13, p. 220) ; but in the latter, only the 
 upper wealden beds appear on the south, the 
 lower group not being exposed to view. 
 
 The general dip of the strata is to the north, 
 but the angle of inclination is not uniform, and 
 some of the cretaceous and wealden deposits present 
 flexures and contortions of a very remarkable cha- 
 racter. Before we stroll along the shore to collect 
 specimens, and examine the strata in detail, it is 
 desirable to engage a boat, and sail across the bay, 
 that we may obtain a general idea of the geologi- 
 cal structure of the country. From Swanage the 
 cape or headland of Handfast Point, a chalk cliff 
 350 feet high, appears on the north ; and to this 
 spot we will direct our course. Doubling this 
 promontory we enter Studland Bay,* and perceive 
 that the coast is formed of the upper chalk, which 
 emerges from beneath the eocene strata on the north 
 at a very low angle, and continues round the ex- 
 treme point of the cape, where several pinnacles, 
 that may be regarded as representative of the 
 Needles, guard the coast. A little to the south of 
 this point, the layers of chalk and flint, which are 
 as strongly defined as in Culver Cliff (p. 336), 
 
 * If the section, lign. 28, were prolonged, Studland Bay would appear on 
 the north of Ballard Downs. 
 
 x 2
 
 350 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 suddenly turn upwards in a curve, forming nearly 
 a quarter of a circle, and abut against vertical 
 strata of the same kind ; " the vertical layers of 
 flints meeting the bent part of the chalk, as so 
 many ordinates would meet a curve, and decreas- 
 ing in height as they get more under it."* (See 
 lign. 28. Handfast Point). This appearance, as 
 Mr. Conybeare has clearly shown, is attributable to 
 a fault or dislocation, which in part of its course 
 coincides with the lines of stratification. The 
 chalk in the curved and vertical strata is extremely 
 indurated, but in the horizontal, is of its usual 
 consistence. The vertical flints, like those in the 
 Isle of Wight, are, for the most part, shattered 
 {ante, p. 202), and the fragments separated from 
 each other by the chalk. These flints do not fall to 
 pieces in the hand, like those of Freshwater, Culver, 
 &c. because the severed portions are firmly held 
 together by the chalk in which they are imbedded ; 
 but there is the same variety in the size and form 
 of the fragments, from large angular pieces to fine 
 powder.f 
 
 * Geology of England and Wales, p. 110. 
 
 t These appearances were first pointed out by Mr. Webster, whose de- 
 scriptions will be found as faithful as they are lucid, by those who visit the 
 scenes he has so exquisitively portrayed in the beautiful illustrations of Sir 
 Henry Englefleld'a work. These phenomena may be most easily examined 
 on the south side of the cliff at Handfast Point, where the shore is gener- 
 ally strewn v. itli large masses of fallen chalk.
 
 SWANAGE BAY. 351 
 
 Southward of Handfast Point, near the foot of 
 Ballard Down, there is a small cove or recess 
 termed Punjield, in which strata of Firestone, 
 Gait, Greensand and Wealden clay, are seen in a 
 highly inclined position. The middle series of 
 the Wealden deposits, the Hastings Sands, which 
 are not visible in the Isle of Wight, form 
 the line of cliffs from Punfield to Swanage. 
 These beds consist of sands, clays, and calcareous 
 grits, enclosing seams and disseminated masses 
 of lignite, and containing bones of reptiles, &c. 
 The sea-shore, as in Brook and Sandown Bays, is 
 often strewn with fossil trees, and rolled bones of 
 the Iguanodon and other animals, that have been 
 washed out of fallen masses of the strata. The 
 tract on which the town of Swanage stands, is on 
 the line of junction between the Hastings beds, 
 and the Purbeck group ; the latter comprises 
 clays, sands, and limestones, with bands of shelly 
 marbles, calcareous shales, and coarse limestones, 
 full of small paludinos, cyclades, and other fresh- 
 water shells. 
 
 The spaces respectively occupied by these de- 
 posits as measured along the foot of the cliff, are 
 given by Dr. Fitton as follow : — 
 
 Firestone 250 paces. 
 
 Gait 200 —
 
 352 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 Greensand 240 paces. 
 
 Weald clay 46 — 
 
 Hastings sands 3500 — 
 
 Interval between the sand cliffs and the 
 rise of the Purbeck strata 200 — * 
 
 The cliffs in Durlstone Bay are entirely com- 
 posed of the Purbeck strata ; those in the middle 
 are much bent and undulated, but in the southern 
 part, the arrangement of the beds is well displayed. 
 The termination of this coast at Durlstone Head, 
 consists of the marine strata called the Portland 
 oolite, which are seen to emerge from beneath the 
 Purbeck hills (see lign. 28). 
 
 In the coast section thus briefly described we 
 have, therefore, the following series : — 
 
 I. The Cretaceous System, comprising the upper 
 and lower white chalk, firestone, gait, and 
 greensand. 
 II. The Wealden, including the Weald clays, the 
 Hastings beds, and the Purbeck. 
 III. The Oolite, of which the upper, or Portland 
 group, is alone visible. 
 Of these, the Purbeck and Portland strata are 
 for the first time brought under the observation 
 of the reader, and will therefore require more 
 particular notice. 
 
 * Geological Transactions, vol, iv. p. 207.
 
 THE PURBECK STRATA. 353 
 
 The Purbeck strata. — The uppermost Pur- 
 beck bed is a green, calcareous, and for the 
 most part friable, deposit, containing shells of a 
 small species of Unio ; beneath this is a stratum 
 of the well-known marble, composed of an aggre- 
 gation of the small river snail -shells already de- 
 scribed (Paludina elongata, P/.VI. fig. 2); a polished 
 slice of this marble is figured in lign. 29. Some of 
 
 I.1GN. 2'J. POLISHED SLAB OF PURBECK MARBLE. 
 
 ( Composed of petrified river snail-shells. ) 
 
 the layers contain interspersions of the large palu- 
 dinae (P. jltiviorum, PL VI. fig. 3) of the Sussex 
 marble, and also a few small river-mussels. I 
 have seen polished slabs of this kind, in which 
 sections of bivalves (Uniones) formed the princi- 
 pal markings ; these shells were associated with 
 cyprides and very small fragments of bones, and 
 vegetable detritus. The white and cream-coloured
 
 354 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 slates and coarser limestones, or Purbeck stone, 
 as they are termed, are also shelly conglomerates, 
 the prevailing shells being small species of the 
 genera Cyclas, Cyrena, &c* 
 
 The stone now quarried is in the upper part of 
 the series of shales, clays, and limestones. Mr. 
 Webster states, that in the thickness of 125 feet, 
 there are more than fifty layers of useful stone ; 
 these include a remarkable deposit, 12 feet thick, 
 termed "Cinder" by the workmen, and which 
 consists of a regular oyster-bed. The lower 150 
 feet are made up of shales, clays, and shelly 
 limestones, too friable to be of any value in an 
 economical point of view. The total thickness, 
 from the uppermost bed to the Portland marine 
 limestone, is about 275 feet.f Fibrous carbonate 
 of lime, in layers two inches thick, is often found 
 adhering to the bands of marble, as in the in- 
 stance observed in Sandown Bay (p. 136). 
 
 Fossils of the Purbeck strata. — From what 
 has been stated, the reader will be aware that the 
 fossils of the Purbeck strata are identical in their 
 general character, with those of the upper divi- 
 
 * Some of the most ancient pavement in Ely Cathedral consists of slabs of 
 the Purbeck bivalve limestone. 
 
 * Mr Webster, in Geol. Trans, vol.ii. new series. Mr. Webster mentions 
 having found some nodular concretions of chert, containing silicified fresh- 
 water shells in the state of chalcedony ; I have not obtained any specimens of 
 • Mis kind.
 
 FOSSILS OF THE PURBECK STRATA. 355 
 
 sions of the Wealden, described in the pre- 
 vious chapters. They consist of river shells, 
 drifted land plants, bones of saurian and chelo- 
 nian reptiles, with the remains of fishes, and 
 crustaceans ; the absence of ammonites, echinites, 
 zoophytes, &c. being as complete as in the Sussex 
 wealden. 
 
 Many bones of reptiles have been procured from 
 Swanage cliffs,* and from the quarries in the 
 neighbourhood; but the most remarkable fossil 
 of this kind hitherto discovered, I had the 
 good fortune to obtain, through the intelligence 
 and liberality of Robert Trotter, Esq. F. G. S., of 
 Sussex. 
 
 The Swanage fossil Crocodile. — In the summer 
 of 1837, the workmen employed in one of the 
 quarries near Swanage, had occasion to split 
 asunder a large slab of the fawn-coloured lime- 
 stone, when, to their great astonishment, they 
 perceived many bones and teeth imbedded on 
 each of the exposed surfaces. As this was no 
 ordinary occurrence, — for though scales of fishes, 
 shells, and fragments of bones, were frequently 
 met with, an assemblage of bones had never been 
 
 * A description of some bones of the Iguanodon, found on the shore, half 
 a mile north of Swanage, is given by Dr. Buckland in Geol. Trans, vol. iii. 
 p. 429, new series.
 
 356 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 observed before, — both slabs were preserved; and 
 Mr. Trotter, who casually visited the place, pur- 
 chased them, and presented them to me. These 
 slabs measure 3 feet 10 inches by 3 feet, and are 
 a few inches in thickness. Many of the bones 
 were split asunder in separating the stone, others 
 were deeply imbedded, and of a few, imprints 
 alone remained. Much labour and care were 
 required to unite the severed parts of the bones, to 
 develop the others, and bring the specimens into 
 the state in which they now appear. On one slab, 
 a considerable portion of the left side of the lower 
 jaw, with two teeth, is preserved; and several teeth, 
 and numerous dermal or skin-bones, of a very 
 peculiar form, are dispersed about the stone.* 
 The bones of the pelvis, and some of those 
 belonging to the extremities, with many caudal 
 and dorsal vertebrae, and chevron bones, are im- 
 bedded in the same slab. The corresponding 
 piece of stone bears the impression of the portion 
 of jaw, and contains numerous dermal bones, 
 vertebra?, &cf Teeth and dermal bones of this 
 reptile were among my earliest discoveries in 
 
 * These dermal bones are figured in Medals of Creation, vol. ii. p. 702. 
 
 t The .slab first described is figured in the Wonder* < if Geology, vol. i. pi. i. 
 Botb specimens are now placed in an upright glass case against the wall, near 
 the doorway of the room containing the remains of the Iguanodon and other 
 Sauriaus, in the Gallery of Organic Remains, in the British Museum.
 
 SWAN AGE FOSSIL CROCODILE. 
 
 357 
 
 Tilgate Forest ; several teeth are figured by 
 Baron Cuvier, in Oss. Foss. torn, v., and in my 
 " Fossils of Tilgate Forest." In the latter work 
 portions of dermal bones, or scutes, are repre- 
 sented, and described as belonging to the fresh- 
 water turtles called Trionyces ; and it was not 
 until I discovered more perfect specimens, that 
 the true nature of these bones was apparent. The 
 gigantic Gavial of the Ganges, has rows of osseous 
 scutes, which are deeply pitted on the external 
 surface. Those of the Swan- 
 age Crocodile are distinguished 
 by a lateral conical projection, 
 which fits into a corresponding 
 depression on the under sur- 
 face of the opposite angle of 
 the adjoining plate. Nume- 
 rous hexagonal and pentagonal 
 scutes, articulated together by 
 marginal sutures, also entered 
 into the composition of the cui- 
 rass of this reptile, which there- 
 fore, must have constituted a 
 flexible and impenetrable coat 
 of armour, capable of resisting the attack of the most 
 formidable assailant. The teeth of the Goniopholis 
 (lign. 80) resemble in form those of the crocodile, 
 
 LIGN. 30. — TOOTH OP THE 
 SWANAGE CROCODILE. 
 
 (Goniopholis crassidens.)
 
 358 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 but the crown is strongly marked with numerous 
 sharp, well-defined, longitudinal striae, and there 
 is a prominent ridge down the middle of each side. 
 The successional teeth are often found in the base 
 of the perfect old teeth, as in the crocodile. 
 Some specimens from Tilgate Forest are two 
 inches long, and half an inch in diameter at the 
 base.* The vertebrae are biconcave, and have an 
 irregular medullary cavity in the centre of the 
 bone ; the chevron bones resemble those of the 
 crocodile. 
 
 Fossil Turtles. — Waterworn bones of turtles are 
 very common in the Purbeck strata, and several 
 almost perfect examples of the carapace, or 
 buckler, and of the plastron, or sternal-plates, 
 have been discovered ; a remarkably fine specimen 
 from Purbeck, was exhibited many years since in 
 Mr. Bullock's museum, in Piccadilly. 
 
 Fossil Fishes. — Detached angular scales of the 
 well-known Wealden fish, the Lepidotus, are often 
 met with in the clays and limestones ; and many 
 specimens of the entire fish, of a smaller species 
 of the same genus (Lepidotus minor), have been 
 obtained. The small hemispherical teeth, termed 
 by the quarry-men fishes' eyes, are of very frequent 
 
 " See Fossils of Tilgate Forest, PI. V. figs. 1, 2, 9.
 
 THE PORTLAND OOLITE. 359 
 
 occurrence in many of the beds. The slabs con- 
 taining the Goniopholis, previously described, have 
 numerous teeth and scales of the Lepidotus minor 
 scattered among the bones. 
 
 The Portland Oolite.* — The series of sedi- 
 mentary deposits, termed the Oolite formation by 
 English geologists, and known as the Jura lime- 
 stone on the Continent, from the mountain-range 
 in which it is so largely developed, consists of 
 Limestones, sands, and clays of great thickness and 
 extent, which abound in marine shells, corals, 
 crinoidea, articulata, and fishes — terrestrial and 
 marine reptiles, insects, and land plants — and two or 
 three genera of very small mammalia, referable to 
 the marsupialia and insectivora. In this formation 
 there are several local intercalations of fluviatile 
 deposits, resembling the Wealclen in the presence 
 of terrestrial animals and plants, and freshwater 
 shells. -j- Certain beds of the Oolite (called the 
 Stonesfield slate) contain organic remains, which, 
 with the exception of trigoniae and other marine 
 shells, correspond with those of the Tilgate cal- 
 ciferous grits. The collocation of teeth and bones 
 
 * The term Oolite, or egg-stone, is derived from many of the limestones 
 being composed of an aggregation of very small grains or spherules, which 
 bear some resemblance to clusters of small eggs, or to the roe of a fish ; this 
 structure is merely concretional. 
 
 t See Wonders of Geology, vol. ii. p. 436.
 
 360 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 of the Megalosaurus, Lepidotus, &c, with stems 
 and fruits of cycadeous plants, presented so striking 
 an analogy, that it led me, on my first discovery of 
 similar fossils in the Tilgate strata, to seek for the 
 equivalent of the latter in the Stonesfield oolite.* 
 In the Isle of Purbeck, the uppermost group of 
 the Oolite only appears; it is denominated "the 
 Portland Oolite" from the island in which the 
 limestone has for centuries been extensively 
 quarried. This group is separated into three 
 divisions ; viz. 1 , the Portland limestones ; 2, the 
 Portland sands ; and, 3, the Kimmeridge clays, so 
 called, from the bay of Kimmeridge, where these 
 beds are well displayed. 
 
 1. Portland limestones. — Oolitic limestone, 
 abounding in trigoniw, ammonites, pernxc, pluro- 
 tomariw, and other marine shells ; layers and 
 nodular masses of chert and flint; total thickness, 
 from 30 to 40 feet. 
 
 2. Portland sands, — Beds of white and green 
 sand and sandstone, with concretionary masses 
 of grit; the lower strata argillaceous ; total thick- 
 ness, about 130 feet. 
 
 3. Kimmeridge clay. — Dark blue clay, with 
 
 ' see The Fossils of the South Downs, 1S22, " On the analogy betfreen the 
 organic remains of the Tilgate beds and those of Stonesfield, near Oxford," 
 p. O'J.
 
 GEOGRAPHY OF THE STRATA. 361 
 
 septaria, and bands of sandy concretions ; beds 
 of lignite, and highly bituminous shales and clays; 
 marine shells are very numerous ; total thick- 
 ness, 800 feet. One species of oyster, the Ostrea 
 deltoidea, is characteristic of this group, and occurs 
 abundantly in every locality.* 
 
 Geographical distribution of the strata. — 
 The White chalk forms a narrow but lofty chain of 
 hills, that ranges inland across the Island, from 
 Handfast Point (section, lign. 28), to the cliff 
 called Bats-corner, on the south-western shore. 
 The lower cretaceous deposits appear along the 
 southern escarpment of the downs ; the chalk is 
 also exposed to the east of Bats-corner, in Wor- 
 barrow, or Worthbarrow Bay, and in several 
 lesser bays or coves, that have been excavated, by 
 the long-continued action of the waves, in the 
 Purbeck and Wealden deposits, that form the 
 southern cliffs. The height of this chain of 
 downs is from 500 to between 600 and 700 feet. 
 Ballard Hill, over Handfast Point, is 584 feet, 
 and Ninebarrow Down, 642 feet high. A line of 
 chalk cliffs forms the coast from Bats-corner to 
 Whitenore (see lign. 36), where the cretaceous 
 
 ♦ Sowerby's " Mineral Conchology " contains figures of many of the shells 
 of the Portland Oolite ; and in Dr. Fitton's Memoir, plates xxii. and xxiii., 
 several species are figured and described.
 
 362 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 beds trend inland, and the cliffs beyond consist 
 of the strata below the chalk. The Wealden and 
 Hastings deposits extend entirely across the penin- 
 sula, from Swanage Bay to the southern shore at 
 Worbarrow Bay, and form a valley, diversified 
 with heaths and cultivated tracts, between the 
 chalk escarpment and the next range. The 
 Purbeck beds run in a nearly parallel direction 
 with the Wealden, from the hills above Swanage, 
 spreading out to the north as far as the village of 
 Worth, and westward four or five miles, to the 
 seashore on the south of Worbarrow Bay, and the 
 adjacent coves. 
 
 The Portland group appears on the south-east, 
 beneath the Purbeck at Durlstone-head, and 
 continues along the coast to Gad-cliff, consti- 
 tuting the irregular tract that forms the south- 
 eastern part of the Isle of Purbeck. 
 
 Southern coast of Purbeck. — We must now 
 take a rapid view of the most important features 
 of the coast, from Durlstone-head to the western 
 extremity of this interesting district. Swanage 
 will be the most convenient place for the visitor 
 desirous of exploring the geological phenomena 
 of the eastern part of Purbeck ; the numerous 
 quarries in the vicinity, and the coast sections, 
 being rich in organic remains. East and West
 
 SOUTHERN COAST OF PURBECK. 363 
 
 Lulwortb, two little villages near Worbarrow 
 Bay, are the best halting-places for a survey of 
 the south-western shores ; and if the observer be 
 tempted to extend his tour to the Isle of Port- 
 land, Weymouth, of course, will be the place 
 of sojourn. 
 
 As the general dip of the strata is to the north, 
 the lower beds are displayed along the southern 
 coast; and we will now point out the most in- 
 structive localities, in proceeding from the south- 
 eastern corner of the Isle of Purbeck, to the west. 
 
 Contorted Purbeck strata. — The strata in the 
 middle and on the south side of Durlstone Bay, 
 are very remarkable for their broken and con- 
 torted condition, which was evidently produced 
 when the beds were in a plastic state. Septaria, 
 veins of calcareous spar, and crystals of gypsum, 
 occur in some of the clays ; there are also masses 
 of breccia, or conglomerate, composed of fragments 
 of the undulated layers, cemented together into a 
 firm rock.* 
 
 To the west of Durlstone Head, the Portland 
 oolite appears ; and at Tillyichim ilign. 28) there 
 are quarries for the extraction of the fine white 
 limestone, here called Purbeck stone. These strata 
 
 * Mr. Webster has figured a mass of this kind in pi. xxxi. Sir II. Engk- 
 field's Isle of Wight.
 
 364 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 contain ammonites, trigoniae, and the usual Port- 
 land shells, and veins and nodular masses of chert. 
 A bed of oyster shells, which an infiltration of 
 calcareous matter has converted into a hard shelly 
 conglomerate, like that of Bromley, in Kent,* 
 occurs in the upper part of the series. The 
 quarries at Tillywhim are generally visited by 
 parties in the summer, on account of the romantic 
 character of the scenery, and the delicious cool 
 retreat afforded by the caverns or excavations ; 
 these are reached by a path that winds through 
 a deep valley, strewn with masses of stone, 
 and the descent is by steps cut in the rock.-j- To 
 the eastward there are similar caves, formed by 
 the extraction of the layers of limestone : fine 
 specimens of the oyster-shell conglomerate may 
 be obtained from near the summit of the cliffs. 
 
 Lofty perpendicular cliffs of oolite, capped 
 with Purbeck strata, continue along the coast to 
 the west; and at the distance of about three miles 
 from Tillywhim, the Portland stone is worked in 
 Windspit quarries,! which are excavations in the 
 cliff, like those at the former place. 
 
 About a mile to the west of Windspit quarries, 
 
 * See Medals of Creation, vol. i. p. 385. 
 
 t A view of the cliff at Tillywhim is given by Mr. Webster, in Sir II 
 Bnglefield's Me of Wight, pi. xxxiii. 
 
 ■ <i in pi, xxxii. of tin- same- work.
 
 st. adhelm's head. 365 
 
 the cliffs form a bold cape, called St. Adhelm's 
 Head ; and about midway between these places, 
 the Portland sands emerge from beneath the oolitic 
 limestones, and gradually rise towards the upper 
 part of the cliff, as we proceed westward. The 
 promontory of St. Adhelm's Head is a conspicuous 
 feature of this part of the country, and is flanked 
 by dangerous rocks, which have often proved fatal 
 to mariners. It is a vertical section of the Portland 
 limestone and sands, and of the underlying Kim- 
 meridge strata ; the former appearing at the top in 
 immense square masses, and the latter below in a 
 steep slope, covered by huge fallen blocks and frag- 
 ments of stone. Deep fissures in the upper part 
 of the cliff' predict the impending ruin of other 
 masses, and the agitation of the sea for above a 
 mile from the shore indicates the nature of its 
 rocky bottom ; the remains, no doubt, of land 
 which has been overwhelmed by the ocean. On 
 the summit of this precipice are the remains of 
 St. Adhelm's chapel, a small building of early 
 Saxon architecture, originally a chauntry, where 
 masses were performed for the safety of the 
 mariners that passed by this dangerous shore, who 
 were expected to leave some gratuity at the first port 
 they landed at, for the maintenance of the priest.* 
 
 • Mr. Webster. 
 Y 2
 
 366 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 From this point to Gad Cliff, which, in direct 
 distance, is about six miles, the coast is much 
 indented, and is flanked by cliffs of Kimmeridge 
 clay, which are capped along the middle district 
 by Portland sand and limestone ; the total thick- 
 ness of the clays is about 300 feet. 
 
 Rounding St. Adhelm's Head, the coast tends 
 northward, and a creek, called Chapman's Pool, 
 appears on the right ; beyond is Emmett's Hill, 
 a ridge nearly 300 feet high, capped with Portland 
 stone, resting on the Portland sands, of which a 
 good section is here exposed.* To the west, 
 the cliffs for between two and three miles are, 
 in a great measure, composed of highly bitu- 
 minous shales, and laminated clays, termed " Kim- 
 meridge coal ; " we then reach Kimmeridge Bay, 
 an excavation formed by the sea, in the low 
 tract of fissile argillaceous deposits which consti- 
 tutes this part of the coast. The view of Gad 
 Cliff from Kimmeridge Bay is very imposing, 
 for in the foreground, the black bituminous 
 clay cliffs run out into a low point, and, tower- 
 ing over them to the westward, the limestone 
 summit of the distant hill is distinctly visible. 
 The bay is partly encircled by an amphitheatre 
 of Ingh ground, the summits of which consist of 
 
 " Sec Dr. Fitton's Memoir, p, 21 1.
 
 KIMMERIDGE BAY. .')()7 
 
 Portland stone, the steep grassy slopes being com- 
 posed of the Portland sands, resting on the Kim- 
 meridge clays. Thus, then, the three divisions 
 of the Portland oolite, as exhibited in the Isle 
 of Purbeck, may be traced from Emmett's Hill, 
 which is about 250 feet high, by the pro- 
 minence called Encombe Point, through Kim- 
 meridge farm to beyond Gad Cliff, where they 
 sink beneath the sea at Worbarrow Knob, on 
 the eastern side of the headland of Purbeck 
 beds, that forms the southern point of Wor- 
 barrow Bay.* The Kimmeridge clay reappears 
 in Ringstead Bay, between seven and eight miles 
 beyond Gad Cliff, to the west of the chalk at 
 Whitenore ; thence to Weymouth, the lower beds 
 of clay become charged with sand and calcareous 
 earth, and pass insensibly into the limestone strata 
 of the Oxford oolite. 
 
 Kimmeridge Coal. — The strata in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of the place from which the name of 
 the group is derived, are composed of bituminous 
 fissile shales and laminated clays, alternating with 
 thin courses of brown limestone. As some of the 
 layers are so largely charged with carbonaceous 
 and bituminous matter as to be used for fuel, 
 
 * Principally from Dr. Fitton's Memoir and sections: my own observations 
 along this part of the coast have been very limited.
 
 368 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 the most combustible beds of these substances 
 are commonly known as the Kimmeridge Coal.* 
 " This coal," observes Mr. Webster, " is merely 
 a slaty clay strongly impregnated with bitumen, 
 and does not exhibit any signs of vegetable 
 structure. It burns very readily with a brisk 
 flame, affording a good heat, but emitting a very 
 disagreeable smell. "-j- 
 
 Beneath the bituminous beds, are clays, shales, 
 and thin bands of limestone, containing the Ostrea 
 deltoidea, Ammonites triplex, Grypliea virgula, and 
 other shells characteristic of this division of the 
 oolite formation. 
 
 South-west coast of Purbeck. — We have 
 now arrived at that part of the coast, where the 
 range of vertical chalk, of which we examined 
 the eastern extremity at Ilandfast Point, appears 
 in the inland recesses of several little bays or 
 
 * At Chilley in Sussex, sandstone strongly impregnated with bitumen 
 (called " pitchstone" by the neighbouring peasantry,) and much resembling 
 in appearance some of the Kimmeridge beds, is found beneath the silt in 
 Pevensey levels. It is described in " the Fossils of the South Downs," p. 76. 
 I have not been able to examine this bed in situ; it probably belongs to the 
 Wealden formation. 
 
 t Sir H. Englefield's Isle of Wight, p. 187. I, may here notice that there 
 are often found at Kimmeridge, Encombe, and the surrounding neighbour- 
 hood, circular pieces of shale- which have evidently been turned in a lathe. 
 They are of the size of a half crown, and have a few circles drilled partly 
 through on one side; they are termed by antiquaries, "coal-money," and 
 are supposed to have passed as tokens in ancient times — perhaps they were 
 current only in the peninsula. Several are occasionally found carefully 
 I'n 1 1. .1 beneath two stones.
 
 SOUTH-WEST COAST OF PURBECK. 369 
 
 coves, which the sea has excavated along this 
 shore ; nine sections of the beds between the chalk 
 and the Portland oolite being exposed, within a 
 distance of five miles. The Wealden, Purbeck, and 
 Portland strata, which on the south-eastern coast 
 form on the south of the chalk downs a tract of 
 country of considerable breadth, are here dimi- 
 nished to one-third of a mile, or even less ; so 
 that in the space of a few hundred yards, the 
 entire series may be examined; for the strata 
 so rapidly converge to the westward, " that the 
 total distance from the top of the greensand 
 to the beginning of the Portland oolite, which 
 is about two miles and a half between Ballard 
 Downs, and Durlstone Head, is but 150 paces in 
 Durdle Cove."* 
 
 The plan of the coast, lign. 31, from the western 
 end of Worbarrow Bay to Whitenore, shows the 
 situation of the bays we are about to examine. 
 The " Sterne's Back" is part of the lofty range of 
 chalk downs, which, interrupted here and there by 
 deep valleys, in one of which the village of West 
 Lulworth is situated, continues westward to Chal- 
 don Downs, forming the inland barrier of the 
 Coves, and the line of cliffs from Bats Corner to 
 Whitenore Point. The scenery in this part of the 
 
 * Dr. Fitton.
 
 370 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 ft S 
 
 M - 
 
 peninsula is highly 
 picturesque, whether 
 viewed from the sea, 
 or from the summits 
 of the clowns. A mag- 
 nificent view of the 
 Dorsetshire coast, is 
 obtained from atumu- 
 lus on the brow of a 
 very lofty precipice of 
 chalk, that overhangs 
 Worbarrow Bay ; it 
 is admirably repre- 
 sented in plate 35, of 
 Sir H. Englefield's 
 work ; PL XVI. is 
 a slight sketch of 
 the same. From this 
 height we look across 
 the bay to the west- 
 ward ; the path down 
 to the shore, is seen 
 beyond the projecting 
 point of the chalk 
 cliff. The detached 
 rocks in the sea are 
 of Portland stone, and
 
 SOUTH-WEST COAST OF PURBECK. 373 
 
 mark the western boundary of the hay ; the low 
 cliffs are Purbeck and Wealden strata. The hill 
 in the middle of the landscape is the Swine's Back, 
 beyond which is Lulworth Cove ; the Isle of Port- 
 land appears in the remote distance. The deep 
 sinuosities made in the cliffs by the inroads of the 
 sea are very conspicuous from this elevated posi- 
 tion, and the physical characters of the district 
 produced by its geological structure are well 
 displayed. The height on which we are standing, 
 is the sudden termination of the vertical chalk 
 range which appears in the section at Handfast 
 Point ; and we can trace the chalk downs extend- 
 ing four miles further westward, in the line of sea- 
 cliffs beyond the coves. Thus in the Isle of Wight, 
 the chalk cliffs at Freshwater appear to the west 
 of the Wealden strata of Brook and Compton Bays 
 (p. 210) ; and should the sea continue to encroach 
 on that part of the coast of the " beautiful Island," 
 the chalk would at length be reached, and form 
 the inland barrier of a semicircular bay, bounded 
 on the sides by the lower cretaceous deposits, and 
 on the south by Wealden strata ; as in the Coves 
 of Purbeck. 
 
 To the south, the chain of hills composed of 
 Purbeck and Portland beds appears ; and the 
 intermediate tract is a fertile valley, formed by the
 
 374 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 Wealden clays, and sands. Thus the northern 
 barrier of the coves consists of precipitous chalk 
 cliffs, the entrance is formed by rocks of the Port- 
 land and Purbeck limestone, and between these, 
 is a low coast, composed of the less durable strata 
 of the Wealden. These bays expose, in fact, trans- 
 verse sections of the hills of Portland and Purbeck 
 strata — of the clays and sands of the Wealden — 
 and at their back, chalk precipices of great height, 
 formed by the destruction of the southern face of 
 the Downs. 
 
 LIGN. ."2. — PLAN OF Till; STRATIFICATION OF THE COVES ON THE SOUTH- 
 WESTERN COAST OF THE ISLF. OF PUHBECK. 
 
 a, Chalk, b. Chalk-marl. r, Firestone, rf, Gait. e, Wealden. 
 /, Purbeck. g, Portland oolite. 
 
 The plan of the stratification, lign. 32, given by 
 Mr. Conybeare,* affords a clear illustration of this 
 structure. The Portland and Purbeck beds (g,f,) 
 dipping inland, in an angle of from 45° to 60°, 
 
 Geolog] of Km. land and Wales, p. 1S3.
 
 WORB ARROW BAY. 375 
 
 form the outer capes and reefs — the vertical cre- 
 taceous strata (a,b,c,d,) the inland cliffs; and the 
 wealden (e), the intervening portion. The latter 
 in many of the sections, have the same contorted 
 appearance as in the cliffs on the south of 
 Durlstone Bay. The solid layers of sandstone 
 and limestone, though broken, preserve regular 
 planes of stratification, having from their com- 
 pactness resisted the violence of the movements 
 to which they have been subjected ; but the 
 superincumbent plastic argillaceous beds, have 
 been bent into irregular curves, by lateral pres- 
 sure. Hence too the peculiar form of the coves ; 
 for the firm barrier of Portland stone, being only 
 partially broken through, scarcely more than one- 
 third of the circumference of these bays is open 
 to the sea. 
 
 Worbarrow Bay. — On the south side of Wor- 
 barrow Bay, the junction of the Hastings sands of 
 the Wealden, with the Purbeck strata, is visible, 
 and Dr. Fitton has described the following section, 
 which was observable at the time of his visit ; 
 from the crumbling nature of the cliffs, a clear 
 view of the beds is not always attainable. 
 
 Grey and yellow sand, occupying on the shore, 1 3 paces. 
 
 A space concealed at the top ; where visible the beds con- 
 sist of clay, with lignite ; concretions of quartzose grit 
 with cyclades. A< the bottom, paces.
 
 376 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 Beds containing stone with small paludinse cemented toge- 
 ther by green calcareous earth; called "marble," and 
 "marble-rag," by the quarry men; 16 paces. 
 
 About 25 paces more of the cliff are made up of brown and 
 grey clays, with bands of bluish grit, and thin beds of 
 stone. 
 
 Contorted clays and limestones, which extend to the pro- 
 minence called Worbarrow knob ; between this point, and 
 Gad Cliff on the east, a thickness of 50 feet consists of 
 alternating layers of clays and limestones, which are also 
 much undulated. 
 
 On the west side of Worbarrow Bay, low insu- 
 lated masses of Purbeck rocks appear on the 
 shore. In crossing this bay in a boat, a fine view 
 of the lofty chalk cliff is obtained ; and through the 
 valley in the centre of the cove, Lulworth Castle 
 forms a striking object in the distance. At a spot in 
 this bay called Arish-mel, vertical chalk and flint 
 strata, as at Handfast Point, are well displayed. 
 
 Lulworth Cove. — The picturesque scenery of 
 tjiis part of the Dorsetshire coast was well known 
 to tourists, and the little village of West Lulworth, 
 which is charmingly situated in a deep chalk 
 valley, was a frequent resort of water-parties from 
 Weymouth, during the summer, ere its attractions 
 were heightened by the discovery that the geology 
 of the country is in the highest degree interesting. 
 West Lulworth, of which a sketch is given in 
 PL XVIII. (p. 381), is about two miles west of
 
 LUL WORTH COVE. 379 
 
 Lulworth Castle, and a quarter of a mile from the 
 cove. The hill immediately above the village in 
 this view, is the western termination of the chalk 
 downs, called the Swine'sBack (seelign. 31, p. 370), 
 which is cut into by the cove, and forms a preci- 
 pitous chalk cliff in the middle of the bay. The 
 nearest headland seen beyond the cove is Gad Cliff; 
 that in the remote distance is St. Adhelm's Head.* 
 Lulworth Cove is about 1300 feet across, and is 
 of sufficient depth for vessels of above a hundred 
 tons burden, to remain at all times in perfect 
 shelter and security. A copious and transparent 
 spring bursts out from a cavern just below the 
 village, and after turning a mill, flows into the 
 
 Bindon 
 Hill. 
 
 LIGN. 33. — PLAN OF THE STRATA ON THE WEST SIDE OP LULWORTH COVE. 
 
 1. Chalk. 2. Firestone. 3. Gait. 
 
 4. Wealden. 5. Purbeck. 6. Portland stone. 
 
 bay. The rock from which the water issues, is 
 composed of sharp fragments of flint imbedded in 
 chalk rubble, cemented together by stalactitical 
 deposition. 
 
 * Boats may be obtained at Lulworth and Worburrow for excursions along 
 the coast.
 
 380 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 The cliffs around this semicircular basin present 
 the same section as those in Worbarrow ; the 
 entire series of strata, from 
 the chalk to the oolite, being 
 clearly exposed. The plan, 
 lign. 33, explains the relative 
 position of the deposits, 
 as seen on the west side of 
 the bay. On the east side, 
 a similar section occurs, as 
 represented in lign. 34; and 
 the chalk, firestone, gait, 
 Wealden, Purbeck, and Port- 
 land beds, are seen in their 
 natural order of superposi- 
 tion, in a distance of be- 
 tween five and six hundred 
 yards, proceeding from north 
 to south. 
 
 A view of this part of the 
 bay, from the west, is given 
 PL XVII. In this sketch a 
 small portion of the base of 
 the chalk downs is visible on 
 the left; the low cliffs that 
 succeed, and wind round the middle of the bay, are 
 the lower cretaceous strata, and the clays and sands 
 
 2 c$
 
 X
 
 LULWQBTH COVE. 383 
 
 of the Wealden. The headland at the entrance 
 of the cove, consists of contorted Purbeck beds, 
 resting on the Portland oolite, of which large 
 masses project on the shore. The appearance of 
 the undulated layers of Purbeck limestone, is 
 very striking in the weathered portions of the 
 cliff, from the intermediate clays having been 
 worn away, and the bands of stone left prominent. 
 The blocks on the right, in the foreground, are 
 of Purbeck limestone, and extend towards those 
 that form the opposite bar. 
 
 Dr. Fitton, with characteristic accuracy and 
 minuteness of detail, has given measurements of 
 the spaces occupied by the different groups of 
 strata below the chalk in Lulworth Cove. The 
 firestone and gait are about 150 feet; the Wealden 
 beds, 600 feet ; the Purbeck, 450 feet ; and the 
 Portland, 240 feet. The fossils here met with are 
 lignite, and a few paludinae and nniones, in the 
 Wealden ; and in the Purbeck, shells of the same 
 genera occur in layers, and mussel-shells abun- 
 dantly in a coarse green sand-rock, as at Durlstone 
 Head. 
 
 Fossil trees. — Seams of lignite are numerous in 
 the Wealden sands and clays, as in Swanage Bay, 
 and in Brook Bay, in the Isle of Wight. In the 
 Portland strata, a little way to the eastward, are
 
 384 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 petrified trees, still attached to the soil in which 
 they grew. These were first observed by the 
 present Dean of Westminster, and Sir H. De la 
 Beche.* The sketch in lign. 35, copied from the 
 " Memoir on the Geology of Weymouth," by these 
 distinguished geologists, illustrates the position 
 of the strata and fossil trees. 
 
 LIGN. 35. — SECTION EXPOSED IN THE CLIFF EAST OF HIWORTH COVE. 
 
 a, a. Stratum of calcareous laminated stone, termed " burr." 
 
 b, b. The "dirt-bed," with fossil trees. 
 
 (Fro?n the Geological Transactions.) 
 
 On doubling the rocks on the east corner of the 
 cove, the Purbeck beds are seen resting on the 
 oolite, and forming " South Cliff" which is sur- 
 rounded by the insulated masses of rock that appear 
 on the west side of Worbarrow Bay (see PL XVI. 
 p. 371). It is about a furlong to the east of 
 
 * Geol. Trans, vol. iv.
 
 DURDLE, OR BARN-DOOR COVE. 385 
 
 Lulworth Cove, in the highly inclined strata of 
 the cliff, that a considerable number of petrified 
 trunks of trees are exposed. Some are entirely laid 
 bare by the washing of the sea, and others partly 
 so ; but several are almost wholly encased by con- 
 cretions of soft burr-stone, and have their roots 
 fixed in a layer of black earth (termed dirt-bed 
 by the quarrymen) ; in precisely the same relative 
 position, and interspersed with similar rounded 
 fragments of limestone, as in the fossil forest of 
 the Isle of Portland, hereafter noticed. 
 
 The lowermost strata are the Portland oolitic 
 limestones, full of marine shells ; on them is 
 superimposed the layer termed the " dirt-bed,'" 
 with the fossil trees. This is covered by cream- 
 coloured calcareous stone disposed in very thin 
 undulated laminae, and locally termed "soft burr ;" 
 and above are shales, and thin bands of limestone, 
 belonging to the lowermost beds of the Purbeck. 
 
 There are also layers of chert containing chal- 
 cedonic casts of freshwater shells, in the cliff just 
 above the sea level.* 
 
 Durdle, or Barn-door Cove. — There are 
 several smaller bays, which are worth examining 
 
 * On the hills near Lulworth, there are detached hlocks of the Hertfordshire 
 siliceous pudding-stone, lying upon the clialk ; and large masses of this con- 
 glomerate may be seen in the street of West Lulworth, and in the walls of 
 some of the cottages.
 
 386 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 if the visitor's leisure will permit : these are Mupe 
 Cove, which is situated in Worbarrow Bay (see 
 lign. 31, p. 370) ; Stare Cove,* near Lulworth ; 
 and Man-of-War Cove, half a mile further to 
 the west, so called from a long rock at the 
 entrance, named the Man-of-War. In each of 
 these bays the same geological phenomena are 
 observable. They may all be approached from the 
 land, but are seen and studied to most advantage 
 from the water. 
 
 Durdle, or Barn-door Cove, is remarkable for a 
 natural perforation or archway, formed by the 
 waves in a projecting crag of the nearly vertical 
 Portland oolite, which bounds the eastern cape of 
 the Bay. This arch, commonly called the Barn- 
 door, is large enough to admit the passage of a 
 boat with the sails up; and in very fine weather it 
 is customary for the pleasure parties from Wey- 
 mouth to sail through it. The western cape of the 
 bay is composed of vertical strata of chalk and 
 flint, and is called Bats Comer (see lign. 31, p. 370). 
 This bay, therefore, differs from those above de- 
 scribed, in presenting but one section of the strata, 
 which commencing with the chalk on the west, and 
 
 * Slure Core,— so called from several caverns through which the sea dashes 
 with a loud roar. In this cove the contortions of the Purbeck heds are very 
 grotesque and remarkable. PI. xliv. of Mr. Webster, is a line view of this 
 Hull bay 

 
 CHALDON DOWNS. 389 
 
 succeeded by the lower groups, terminates in the 
 Portland oolite on the east. The view by Mr. 
 Webster (see PI. XIX.) admirably illustrates the 
 geological structure of this beautiful bay. In this 
 sketch the chalk appears on the right, forming the 
 liigh cliff on the western cape, termed Bats Corner; 
 in passing thence, the firestone, gait, Wealden, and 
 Purbeck strata, successively appear, and lastly the 
 Portland rocks, which terminate the point on the 
 left of the view, as indicated by the archway 
 called the " Barn-door." A line of low oolitic 
 rocks stretches across the mouth of the bay. 
 
 Chaldon Downs. — Proceeding to the west- 
 ward, we lose all traces of the beds below the 
 chalk ; the chalk cliffs, which are between 200 and 
 300 feet high, form the western headland of Durdle 
 Cove, and continue along the coast to Whitenore 
 Point, the eastern cape of Weymouth Bay, a dis- 
 tance of about two miles (lign. 36, p. 390) ; these 
 strata present some interesting features. In these 
 cliffs, the gradual transition of the chalk beds from 
 a vertical to a gently inclined position, is clearly 
 shown. The vertical strata at Bats Corner, par- 
 take of the same characters as those at Handfast 
 Point ; the chalk being much indurated, and the 
 flints shattered. A quarter of a mile to the west, 
 the layers of flint are nearly horizontal, being
 
 390 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 united with the vertical by a gentle curve, as shown 
 in lign. 36 ; and in these beds the chalk possesses its 
 original friable texture, and the flints are entire. 
 
 Whitenore Bats 
 
 Point. Chaldon Downs. Corner. 
 
 W. I 
 
 LIGN. 3G. — CHALK CLIFFS, ON THE SOUTHWEST COAST OF THE ISLE 
 OF purheck; from bats-corner TO WHITENORE-POINT. 
 
 (The Rev. W. D. Conybeare.)* 
 
 Towards Whitenore the firestone and gait appear 
 at the base of the cliffs. At this spot the chalk 
 trends inland, and thence to Weymouth the coast 
 is flanked by cliffs and flat shores of the inferior 
 strata. From the summit of the chalk cliff at 
 Whitenore, which is about eight miles E.N.E. of 
 Weymouth, the view to the west shows numerous 
 little bays, hollowed out of the shore by the action 
 of the sea along the coast, as far as Weymouth, 
 and Portland Island is strongly defined on the 
 horizon over the sea. To the eastward are seen 
 the chalk cliffs extending to Bats Corner, and the 
 projecting capes of Durdle and Lulworth Coves, 
 and the summit of Worbarrow Down. 
 
 Ringstead Bay. —To the west of Whitenore, 
 the Kimmeridge clay, which we lost sight of at 
 
 " x Geology of England and Wales.
 
 RINGSTEAD BAY. 391 
 
 Gad Cliff (see p. 366), reappears in Ringstead 
 Bay, and a good section of the strata is exposed 
 in the cliff. Proceeding towards Weymouth, the 
 clays in the lower part of the series gradually 
 become sandy and calcareous, and pass insensibly 
 into the Oxford oolite. 
 
 In Ringstead Bay, there is a striking example of 
 that kind of displacement, which is geologically 
 termed a fault ; signifying a vertical or diagonal 
 fissure through the strata, accompanied either by 
 a subsidence, or an upheaval, of one side of the 
 dislocated masses. In this instance the beds, con- 
 sisting of chalk, firestone, and oolite, on the south 
 side of the fissure, are thrown down much lower 
 than those from which they have been separated. 
 This phenomenon is connected with the displace- 
 ments which the districts we have passed over 
 have undergone. The line of disturbance we 
 traced through the Isle of Wight, forming the 
 anticlinal axis from east to west, continues through 
 the Isle of Purbeck from Swanage Bay to Lul- 
 worth Cove and the adjacent bays, and is pro- 
 longed westward through the vale of Weymouth, 
 to the Chesil Bank ; the strata dipping respectively 
 north and south, on each side the principal axis 
 of elevation. The transverse valleys which here 
 and there intersect the chains of hills, have no 
 doubt originated from fractures occasioned by the
 
 392 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 
 
 tension to which the strata were subjected during 
 their elevation, by the expansion of elastic vapours, 
 or heated erupted rocks, far beneath the surface. 
 For Mr. Hopkins has shown, on mathematical prin- 
 ciples, that tabular masses of rock elevated by a 
 force from below, must have been exposed to two 
 sets of tension, which would produce longitudinal 
 and transverse vertical fractures at right angles to 
 each other; and the direction of the principal 
 fissures, or lines of fracture, in the tracts of country 
 we have surveyed, remarkably coincides with this 
 theoretical deduction. 
 
 Pseudo-volcano. — A circumstance connected 
 with the bituminous property of the Kimmeridge 
 clay, which happened in Ringstead Bay some years 
 since, may here be mentioned. In September 
 1826, at Holworth Cliff, and adjacent to the pro- 
 montory of Whitenore, a spontaneous combustion 
 of the bituminous shale occurred, and burst forth 
 with considerable volumes of flame, and exhala- 
 tions of sulphureous vapours. It continued smoul- 
 dering for many years, and the surrounding clay 
 and shale were burnt into cellular slag. This 
 combustion probably originated in the heat pro- 
 duced by the decomposition of pyrites, with which 
 the strata abound.* 
 
 * See the Memoir on the Geology of Weymouth, &c. Oeol. Trans, 
 vol. iv.
 
 THE ISLE OF PORTLAND. 393 
 
 The cliff in Ringstead Bay is rich in the usual 
 fossils of the Kimmeridge beds ; and Osmington 
 Cliff, west of Ringstead, abounds in Trigoniae and 
 other shells of the Oxford clay, many of which are 
 in a beautiful state of perfection. Crystals of 
 sulphate of lime, or selenites, are common in 
 the clays. 
 
 The Isle of Portland. — Though beyond the 
 limits originally prescribed to these excursions, 
 the Isle of Portland, which we have seen looming 
 in the western horizon during the greater part of 
 our progress from the Isle of Wight, is so inti- 
 mately related in its physical structure with the 
 country over which our observations have ex- 
 tended, that some notice of that interesting spot 
 is necessary, to afford a comprehensive view of the 
 geological phenomena, which this volume is de- 
 signed to illustrate. 
 
 The Isle of Portland is a bold headland on the 
 south of Weymouth, about four and a-half miles 
 in length, and two in breadth, united to the main- 
 land by a bar of shingle termed the Chesil Bank. 
 It presents a precipitous escarpment on the north 
 about 300 feet in height, and declining towards 
 the south, appears, when viewed from the east 
 or west, like an insulated inclined plane rising 
 abruptly from the sea. The substratum or foun-
 
 394 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PORTLAND. 
 
 elation of the Island, consists of the Kimmericlge 
 clay, which attains a considerable elevation on the 
 north ; this is surmounted by beds of Portland 
 sands, and thick strata of the oolitic limestone so 
 well known as the Portland stone, which is ex- 
 tensively worked in numerous quarries. The 
 strata dip to the south at an angle which corre- 
 sponds with the profile of the Island. The coasts 
 are steep, the base of Kimmeridge clay forming a 
 talus surmounted by perpendicular crags of oolite ; 
 in the north-east cliff, there are beds of bituminous 
 shale like those in Ringstead Bay. The southern 
 extremity consists of low limestone cliffs, which are 
 worn into numerous caverns by the force of the 
 waves. 
 
 The summit of the northern brow to a depth of 
 upwards of twenty feet, is formed of a series of 
 freshwater strata superimposed on the uppermost 
 bed of oolite, which is locally termed "the Cap." 
 These belong to the Purbeck, and present the 
 same remarkable phenomena as were observed 
 in the cliff to the east of Lulworth Cove (see 
 p. 384). Mr. Webster first directed attention to 
 the highly interesting facts here disclosed. 
 
 The Kimmeridge clays of Portland resemble 
 those we have examined in Ringstead Bay, and in 
 the Isle of Purbeck. The lower beds of oolitic
 
 THE FETRIFIED FOREST. 395 
 
 limestone immediately above the clay, contain 
 nodules and veins of flint and chert, like those at 
 Durlstone Head ; the middle group is full of 
 trigonise, terebrae, cythereae, ammonites, and 
 other characteristic marine shells of the oolite ; 
 and the upper series, to within twenty feet of the 
 surface, consists of the fine architectural stone 
 which is locally termed the white-bed. Upon 
 this are three or four feet of limestone, full of 
 cavities left by a layer of shells, of which the casts 
 only remain ; and above, is an irregular bed of 
 flint nodules, covered by a thin stratum of earthy 
 oolitic detritus. Beautiful yellow sulphate of 
 barytes, called sugar-candy -spar, and stalactites of 
 calcareous spar, occur in the fissures of the lime- 
 stone. 
 
 The petrified forest.— Upon the uppermost 
 oolitic stratum, is a layer a foot thick, of very dark 
 brown friable loam, which appears to have been a 
 bed of vegetable mould. It contains a large propor- 
 tion of earthy lignite, and like the modern soil on 
 the surface of the Island, waterworn stones, and 
 pebbles. This layer is called the " dirt-bed" by 
 the quarry men, and in and upon it are stems and 
 branches of coniferous trees, and plants allied to 
 the Gi/cas and Zamia. Many of the trees and plants 
 are standing erect, as if petrified while growing 
 
 A A
 
 396 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PORTLAND. 
 
 undisturbed in their native forests. Their roots 
 extend into the soil of the dirt-bed, and their 
 trunks into the superincumbent strata of lime- 
 stone.* 
 
 As the Portland building stone lies beneath 
 these beds, and the Cap is only used for lime, the 
 fossil trees are removed and thrown by as useless, 
 and the dirt-bed cleared away, to arrive at the 
 more valuable material. On one of my visits to 
 the Island, the surface of a large area of the dirt- 
 bed was exposed, preparatory to its removal, and 
 the appearance presented by the fossil trees was 
 most striking. The floor of the quarry was lite- 
 rally strewn with fossil wood, and before me was 
 a petrified forest, the trees and the plants, like the 
 inhabitants of the city in Arabian story, being 
 converted into stone, yet still remaining in the 
 places they occupied when alive ! Some of the 
 trunks were surrounded by a conical mound of 
 calcareous earth, which had evidently, when in the 
 state of mud, accumulated around the stems and 
 roots. The upright trunks were in general a few 
 feet apart, and but three or four feet high ; they 
 were broken and splintered at the top, as if the 
 
 * The diagram of the fossil trees in Lulworth Cove, p. 384, if placed with 
 the lines of stratification in a horizontal position, will serve to illustrate this 
 description.
 
 THE PETRIFIED FOREST. 397 
 
 trees had been snapped, or wrenched off, at a 
 short distance from the ground. Some were two 
 feet in diameter, and the united fragments of one 
 of the prostrate trunks, indicated a total length 
 of between thirty and forty feet. In many ex- 
 amples portions of branches remained attached to 
 the steins. The external surface of all the trees 
 I examined was weatherworn, and resembled that 
 of posts and timbers of groins and piers within the 
 reach of the tides, and subjected to the alternate 
 influence of the water and the atmosphere. There 
 were no vestiges of the bark in a carbonized state, 
 nor of the natural external surface of the steins, 
 as in the prostrate trees at Brook Point in the 
 Isle of Wight (see p. 281.)* 
 
 The cycadeous plants occur in the intervals 
 between the trees, and the dirt-bed is so little con- 
 solidated, that I dug up with a spade several spe- 
 cimens that were standing erect, in the position in 
 which they originally grew. These plants, though 
 related to the Cycadeae (p. 290), are referred by 
 M. Adolphe Brongniart to a new genus, which he 
 
 * In the Botanic Gardens in the Regent's Park, there are several magni- 
 ficent specimens of the Portland trees, with the trunks remaining upright in 
 the mounds of stone, and the silicified roots extending into the bituminous 
 rubble of the dirt-bed. They are placed near the foot of the artificial mount 
 in the pleasure grounds. A great part of the stone-work of the cascade in 
 the Colosseum in the Regent's Park, is constructed of fragments of the fossil 
 wood of Portland. 
 
 A A 2
 
 398 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PORTLAND. 
 
 has named Mantellia. There are two species ; one is 
 short, and of a spheroidal form (31. nidiformis) ; the 
 other is longer, and sub-cylindrical (M. cylindrical) : 
 the specimens of the former species are called 
 " Crows -nests' by the workmen, who believe these 
 plants to be bird's nests, originally built by crows 
 in the fossil trees, which have become petrified. 
 The largest specimens are about two feet high, and 
 three feet in circumference.* 
 
 The Pine trees and the Mantelliae are completely 
 silicified, and their internal structure is beauti- 
 fully preserved in many examples ; the wood, 
 when microscopally examined, displays the Arau- 
 carian structure (see p. 283). A cone has been 
 found in the dirt-bed, which Dr. Brown considers 
 to be closely related to the fruit of the Norfolk 
 Island Pine (Araucctria excelsd).^ The Portland 
 and Isle of Wight fossil coniferae appear to belong 
 to one species. 
 
 Above the dirt-bed are layers of finely lami- 
 nated cream-coloured limestone, the total thick- 
 ness of which is about ten feet ; in these beds I 
 have not discovered any traces of organic remains, 
 
 * These fossil Cycadeae are admirably illustrated by Dr. Buckland in Geol. 
 Trans, vol. ii. new series ; and also in his Bridgewater Essay. A fine suite 
 of specimens, formerly in my collection, is exhibited in the British Museum. 
 
 t Dr. Pitton. 

 
 THE PETRIFIED FOREST. 399 
 
 but Dr. Fitton mentions the occurrence of casts 
 of Cyprides. These strata are covered by the 
 modern vegetable soil, which but little exceeds 
 in depth the ancient one above described, and 
 instead of supporting cycadeous plants, and pine- 
 forests, barely maintains a scanty vegetation, 
 there being scarcely a tree or shrub on the whole 
 Island. 
 
 There is a seam of black eaf'th at the distance 
 of five feet, and another two feet lower, beneath 
 the dirt-bed, indicating two short intervals during 
 which vegetable matter had begun to accumulate 
 on the surface of the uppermost beds of Portland 
 stone, when they were first emerging above the 
 level of the sea. In these layers Dr. Fitton 
 observed remains of cycadeous plants.* 
 
 The dirt-bed extends through the north of 
 Portland, and appears, as we have seen, on the 
 coast of the peninsula of Purbeck. It has been 
 discovered by Dr. Buckland near Thame, in Ox- 
 fordshire, and by Dr. Fitton, in the vale of 
 Wardour. It also occurs at Swindon, Wilts, 
 where fossil coniferous wood abounds, and some 
 specimens of cycadeas have been obtained; and 
 
 * See Wonders of Geology, vol. i. p. 362. For a detailed account of the 
 Portland quarries, and the phenomena concisely described in the text, consult 
 Dr.Fitton's " Memoir;" and Dr. Buckland and Sir H. De la Beche, "On the 
 Geology of Weymouth," Geol. Trans, vol. iv. second series.
 
 400 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PORTLAND. 
 
 between Stone and Hartwell, where it is covered 
 by cream-coloured freshwater limestone, resem- 
 bling the Cap of Portland, in which wings of 
 Insects, and leaflets of the Wealden ferns, have 
 been discovered by the Rev. P. B. Brodle,* and 
 my friend, the Rev. J. B. Reade, Vicar of Stone. 
 In the tertiary freshwater beds at Binstead (see 
 p. 105), there is a stratum of bituminous earthy 
 loam so like the dirt-bed, that it seems probable 
 it may have had a similar origin, and be the 
 remains of a layer of vegetable mould. 
 
 Organic remains. — The common species of 
 marine shells, already mentioned as characteristic 
 of the strata below the Purbeck, occur more or 
 less abundantly in the several localities previously 
 mentioned. In the Portland stone, one species of 
 ammonite, of a very large size, hence named 
 Ammonites aiganteus, is often met with, and good 
 specimens may be procured of the quarry men. 
 The fossil wood is to be found in most of the 
 stone quarries, and the cycadeous plants, called 
 
 * See the highly interesting work of Mr. Brodie, entitled, "A History of 
 the Fossil Insects in the Secondary Rocks of England," 1 vol. 8vo, with 10 
 plates, published by John Van Voorst, 1815. Mr. Brodie has discovered 
 numerous remains of small insects, belonging to forty-eight families and 
 genera, in the Wealden strata of Wilts and Bucks. I have not been so 
 fortunate as to detect any vestiges of Insects in the Wealden of the Isle of 
 Wight and Sussex ; but I have two or three wings of small beetles, from 
 Kent, and of neuropterous insects from near Stone, in Buckinghamshire
 
 ORGANIC REMAINS. 401 
 
 Mantellice, may be purchased of the workmen, to 
 whom they are known as " Crows nests." * 
 
 I am indebted to Mr. Damon, of Weymouth,f 
 for the following notice of localities, which may 
 afford useful hints to visitors : — 
 
 Ringstead Cliff. — From the Kimmeridge clay, Mr. Damon has 
 obtained specimens of Pholadomya, Terebratula, Trigonia, 
 Modiola, Ostrea deltoidea, Mya, Pleurotomaria, PhasianeUa, 
 Ammonites triplex, A. Gowerianus, &c. 
 
 Whitenore. — In the chalk marl, near the base of the cliff, after 
 recent falls, may be collected specimens of Ammonites, Turrilites, 
 Scaphites, Baculites, Terebratula, Pleurotomaria, Natica, Bucci- 
 num, and several kinds of Echinites. The white chalk is not 
 rich in organic remains. 
 
 At Osmington, two miles west of Whitenore, the firestone rests 
 on Kimmeridge clay, and contains Exogyra conica, Peeten 
 quinquecostatus, Cucullea, Serpula, Sharks' teeth, &c. The Kim- 
 meridge clay yields beautiful Trigonia, Ostrea deltoidea, &c. 
 
 On the shore opposite Weymouth, between Redcliff and Os- 
 mington, the Oxford oolite abounds in shells belonging to 
 upwards of twenty genera. 
 
 On the south side of Weymouth, a quarter of a mile east from 
 
 * At the little village of Chesilton, which is inhabited by some of the 
 quarrymen, I have always been able to purchase specimens. Should the 
 visitor wish to obtain a considerable length of the stem of a tree, with 
 branches attached, it may be well to caution him to beware of imposition ; a 
 specimen, sent to me as an entire trunk, was made up of disconnected 
 portions of stems and branches, belonging to several trees, ingeniously fitted 
 and cemented together. 
 
 t A fine collection of recent, as well as fossil shells, properly named, may 
 be purchased at Mr. Damon's establishment at Weymouth ; also most of the 
 rare species of fossils from the neighbourhood. 
 
 In London, fossils from the localities mentioned in the text, properly 
 named, as well as specimens of other British fossils, &c, may be obtained, 
 at moderate prices, of Mr. Henry Stutchbury, 61, Great Russell-street, 
 opposite the British Museum ; and of Mr. Tennant, 149, Strand.
 
 402 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PORTLAND. 
 
 Sandfoot Castle, the CoraWmj is full of shells and corals. A fine 
 spiral univalve, the Nerinea Goodhalli (Geol. Trims, vol. iv. 
 pi. xxxiii. fig. 12) is found here. 
 
 Near Black-rock, half a mile from Weymouth, the Oxford clay 
 abounds in fossils, which can, however, only be procured by 
 digging through a bed of alluvial soil, two feet thick. 
 
 The upper bed of Portland oolite, called the "Roach" is a 
 congeries of casts of Trigonice, Perna, Terebree, Ammonites, 
 Lucinee, &c. Scales and teeth of a species of Lepidotus are 
 sometimes found in the Portland stone. 
 
 Magnificent Septaria, veined with calcareous spar, are found in 
 the Oxford clay, and are cut and polished for tables, slabs, &c* 
 
 With this brief account of the Isle of Portland 
 and its petrified forest, these Excursions must 
 terminate. To the Geologist, this unpretending- 
 volume will, I fear, present but little of novelty or 
 interest, and probably be useful only as a guide to 
 the most important localities ; but to the General 
 Reader, who may be induced to visit and ex- 
 plore the " Beautiful Island," and the picturescpac 
 scenes described in the preceding pages, I would 
 fain hope that it may prove a source of pleasure 
 and instruction, by opening to his mind new and 
 inexhaustible fields of inquiry, replete with objects 
 of surpassing interest, and which the uninformed 
 and incurious tourist would pass by unnoticed or 
 disregarded. 
 
 * A fine collection may be seen at the establishment of Mr.Ragget, 
 Statuary, on the Smith 1'arailu, Weymouth.
 
 RETROSPECT. 
 
 In attempting to interpret the natural records 
 of the earth's physical history, the Geologist is 
 often in the condition of the Antiquary who en- 
 deavours to decipher an ancient manuscript, in 
 which the original characters are obscured and 
 partially obliterated by later superscriptions. It is, 
 indeed, frequently difficult, and sometimes impos- 
 sible, to determine the synchronism of those geo- 
 logical changes, of which the only indications are 
 insulated and but obscurely related phenomena. 
 Bearing in mind the caution of a distinguished 
 philosopher,* " that the language of theory can 
 never fall from our lips with any grace or fitness, 
 unless it appear as the simple enunciation of those 
 general facts with which by observation alone we 
 have become acquainted," we will take a retro- 
 spective view of what has been advanced, and 
 endeavour to deduce therefrom some general re- 
 sults as to the nature of those physical mutations, 
 
 * Professor Sedgwick.
 
 404 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 of which we have obtained such unequivocal 
 proofs. Fortunately, the evidence of the impor- 
 tant changes which the organic and inorganic 
 kingdoms of nature have undergone in this part 
 of the globe, during the vast periods embraced by 
 our researches, is so conclusive, that the attentive 
 reader will perceive the following inferences, start- 
 ling as they may appear, naturally result from the 
 facts that have been submitted to his observation. 
 
 I. The Oolitic Epoch. — The most ancient 
 deposits comprehended in our Excursions, are 
 the uppermost beds of an oceanic formation of 
 great extent — the Oolite — which is characterised 
 by numerous peculiar species and genera of marine 
 reptiles, fishes, mollusks, radiaria, corals, zoo- 
 phytes, &c. With these strata are intercalated in 
 some places, deposits of variable extent and thick- 
 ness, containing carbonized vegetable remains, 
 and the stems and foliage of palms, arborescent 
 and herbaceous ferns, cycadeous plants, and coni- 
 ferae ; with bones and teeth of terrestrial reptiles, 
 and of marsupial and insectivorous mammalia, 
 associated with vestiges of insects. These beds 
 are evidently attributable to the action of rivers 
 and streams, by which the spoils of the land were 
 transported into the abyss of the ocean. But our 
 present survey only refers to the period when a
 
 RETROSPECT. 405 
 
 portion of the bed of the Oolitic sea was elevated 
 above the waters, and constituted an island 
 clothed with pine-forests, and cycadeous plants.* 
 
 II. The Wealden Epoch. — The country with 
 its pine -forests was gradually submerged, and 
 formed the beds of estuaries and bays, into which 
 land floods, loaded with sedimentary detritus, depo- 
 sited mud, silt, and sand, abounding in the remains 
 of freshwater mollusks and crustaceans ; in which, 
 from occasional irruptions of the sea, were inter- 
 calated layers of oysters, and estuarine shells. 
 Bones and teeth of terrestrial reptiles, and of river 
 fishes, with stems and fragments of coniferous wood, 
 were also drifted into the estuaries and bays by the 
 streams and rivers. -j- The gradual subsidence of 
 the sea-bottom covered by these freshwater beds 
 continued, and the sediments accpuired an exclu- 
 sively fluviatile character, till at length the accu- 
 mulated deposits of avast river formed an extensive 
 delta, many hundred feet in thickness, upon the 
 inferior strata. The imbedded organic remains 
 attest, that throughout this epoch the fauna and 
 flora of the country through which the river 
 flowed, corresponded with those of the islands and 
 continents of the Oolitic period.^ 
 
 * Evidence : the Fossil Forest of Portland, &c. p. 395. 
 
 t Evidence: the Purheck strata, p. 354. 
 
 % Evidence: the Wealden strata and fossils, p. 332.
 
 406 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 III. The Cretaceous Epoch. — The commence- 
 ment of this era was marked by the subsidence of 
 the entire area now occupied by the greensand 
 formation, to a depth sufficient to admit of the 
 accumulation of the deep sea deposits, of which 
 the greater part of the cretaceous beds of England, 
 and of the adjacent portion of the European Con- 
 tinent, consists. The Wealden sediments were 
 submerged to a great depth, and upon them were 
 deposited sands, and argillaceous mud, and calca- 
 reous detritus, teeming with marine exuviae.* 
 But the ocean of the chalk extended far beyond 
 the limits of the Wealden ; it buried beneath its 
 waters a considerable portion of modern Europe, 
 and its waves reached the New World, and covered 
 part of the continent of North America. This 
 ocean swarmed with numerous forms of marine 
 organisms, belonging in a great measure to species 
 and genera unknown in the earlier, and in the 
 later, geological epochs. The interspersions of 
 freshwater deposits containing terrestrial exuviae, 
 though inconsiderable, prove that although the delta 
 of the country of the Iguanodon was submerged 
 in the abyss of the ocean, a group of islands, or a 
 continent, inhabited by that colossal reptile and 
 its contemporaries, and covered with pine-forests, 
 
 • Evidence : Greensand strata at Atherfield, &c. see p. L'23.
 
 RETROSPECT. 407 
 
 cycadeae, and ferns, flourished up to a late period 
 of the Cretaceous epoch.* 
 
 IV. The Tertiary Epoch. — The bed of the 
 chalk ocean was broken up, and considerable areas 
 were elevated above the sea, and covered with 
 vegetation, and tenanted by pachydermata and 
 other mammalia ; the dry land of Europe during 
 this period was less extensive than at the pre- 
 sent time. 
 
 In the basins and depressions formed by the 
 submerged portions of the cretaceous strata, new 
 sediments began to take place ; the sea which 
 deposited them teeming with marine animals, dis- 
 tinct from those of the pre-existing ocean. Local 
 intrusions of freshwater deposits, abounding in 
 the spoils of the land and its inhabitants, denote 
 the existence of islands or continents, tenanted 
 by mammalia allied to the tapir, elephant, rhino- 
 ceros, horse, deer, &c. ;-f and the vegetable remains, 
 consisting of palms and dicotyledonous trees, indi- 
 cate an approach to the flora of the warm regions of 
 the south of Europe. A few reptiles, principally 
 of the alligator and crocodilian types, and lizards of 
 small size, appear as the representatives of the 
 
 * Evidence : The Jguanodon, and freshwater turtles, pine-trees and cycadeae 
 of the greensand of Maidstone ; the ferns of the greensand of the Isle of 
 Wight, p. 230; the Clathraria Lyellii of the chalk-marl at Bonchurch, p. 244. 
 
 t Evidence : see p. 117, and p. 169.
 
 408 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 swarms of colossal oviparous quadrupeds of the 
 previous epochs. 
 
 V. The Pre-historic Epoch. — From the most 
 recent tertiary deposits, to those in which occur 
 the remains of animals which seem to have 
 always been contemporary with the human race, 
 the transition is imperceptible. But elevatory 
 movements, and subsidences, more or less general, 
 appear to have continually taken place, by which 
 the relative position of the land and sea was 
 subjected to repeated oscillation. During this 
 peric 1, large pachyderms, as the Mammoth, Mas- 
 todon, Hippopotamus, Rhinoceros, &c. — several 
 species of Horse — gigantic Elks and Deer — and 
 many Carnivora, as the Lion, Tiger, Bear, Hyena, 
 &c. — inhabited the European Continent and 
 Islands. While this fauna prevailed, a succession 
 of terrestrial disturbances occurred, by which the 
 physical configuration of the land was materially 
 changed. England and its Islands were separated 
 from the Continent ; and to this epoch is pro- 
 bably referable the formation of the lines of ele- 
 vation, that traverse the districts over which our 
 observations have extended. 
 
 Lastly — Man took possession of the land, and 
 such of the large mammalia as had survived 
 the preceding geological revolutions, were either 

 
 RETROSPECT. 409 
 
 exterminated by his agency, or reduced to a domes- 
 ticated state. Subsequently to the occupation of 
 these Islands by the aboriginal tribes, the country 
 has undergone no important physical mutations. 
 The usual effects of the atmosphere, the wasting of 
 the shores by the encroachments of the sea, the 
 erosion of the land by streams and rivers, the 
 silting up of valleys, and the formation of deltas, 
 are apparently the only terrestrial changes to 
 which England and its Islands have been sub- 
 jected during the historic ages. 
 
 Corollary. — From this examination of the 
 geological phenomena of the south-east of Eng- 
 land, we learn that at a period incalculably 
 remote, there existed in the northern hemi- 
 sphere an extensive island or continent, pos- 
 sessing a climate of such a temperature, that its 
 surface was covered with arborescent ferns, palms, 
 cycadeae, and other coniferae ; and the ocean 
 that watered its shores, was inhabited by turtles, 
 and marine lizards of extinct genera. This 
 country suffered a partial subsidence, which was 
 effected so tranquilly, that many of the trees 
 retained their erect position, and the cycadeous 
 plants, and a considerable layer of the vegetable 
 mould in which they grew, remained undisturbed. 
 In this state an inundation of freshwater covered
 
 410 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 the country and its forests, and deposited upon the 
 soil and around the trees a calcareous mud, which 
 was gradually consolidated into limestone ; thermal 
 streams, holding flint in solution, percolated the 
 mass, and silicified the submerged trees and 
 plants. 
 
 A further subsidence took place, floods of 
 freshwater overwhelmed the petrified forest, and 
 heaped upon it accumulations of detritus, which 
 streams and rivers had transported from the land. 
 The country traversed by the rivers, like that of 
 the submerged forest, enjoyed a tropical climate, 
 and was clothed with palms, arborescent ferns, 
 and cycadeae ; it was tenanted by gigantic her- 
 bivorous and carnivorous reptiles, and its waters 
 abounded in turtles, and various kinds of fishes, 
 and mollusca. The bones of the reptiles, the 
 teeth and scales of the fishes, the shells of the 
 mollusca, and the stems, leaves, and seed-vessels of 
 the trees and plants, were brought down by the 
 streams, and imbedded in the mud of the delta, 
 beneath which the petrified forest was now 
 buried. 
 
 This state continued for an indefinite period — 
 another change tookplace — the Country of Reptiles 
 with its inhabitants was swept away, and the 
 delta, and the fossil trees with the marine strata on
 
 RETROSPECT. 411 
 
 which they once grew, subsided to a great depth, 
 and formed part of the bottom of a profound 
 ocean ; the waters of which teemed with countless 
 myriads of zoophytes, shells, and fishes, of species 
 long since extinct. Periodical intrusions of ther- 
 mal streams charged with silex, gave rise to layers 
 and veins of nodular and tabular flint, and occa- 
 sioned the silicification of the organic remains 
 subjected to their influence. 
 
 This epoch, which was of long duration, was suc- 
 ceeded by elevatory movements, by which the 
 bottom of the deep was broken up, and large areas 
 were slowly upheaved ; and as the elevation con- 
 tinued, the deposits which had accumulated in 
 the depths of the ocean, approached the surface, 
 and were exposed to the action of the waves. 
 These masses of cretaceous strata now began to 
 suffer destruction, and the delta of the Country 
 of the Iguanodon gradually emerged above the 
 waters ; and finally the petrified forest of the 
 Oolite rose in the midst of the sea, and became 
 dry land. At length some portions of the ele- 
 vated strata attained an altitude of several hun- 
 dred feet, and a group of islands was formed ; 
 but in the basins or depressions beneath the 
 waters, sediments derived from the disintegration 
 of the sea-cliffs were deposited. Large herbivorous 
 
 B B
 
 412 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 mammalia now inhabited such portions of the 
 former ocean-bed as were covered with vegetation 
 sufficient for their support ; and as these animals 
 died, their bones became enveloped in the accu- 
 mulations of mud and gravel, which were form- 
 ing in the bays and estuaries. 
 
 This era also passed away — the elevatory move- 
 ments continued — other masses of the bed of the 
 chalk ocean, and of the wealden strata beneath, 
 became dry land — and at length those more recent 
 deposits containing the remains of the herbivorous 
 mammalia which were the last tenants of the 
 country. The oak, elm, ash, and other trees of 
 modern Europe, now sprang up where the groves 
 of palms and tree-ferns once nourished — the stag, 
 boar, and horse, ranged over the plains in which 
 were entombed the bones of the colossal reptiles — 
 and finally, Man appeared, and took possession of 
 the soil. 
 
 At the present time, the deposits containing 
 the remains of the mammoth and other extinct 
 mammalia, are the sites of towns and villages, 
 and support busy communities of the human race ; 
 the Huntsman courses, and the Shepherd tends his 
 flocks on the elevated masses of the bottom 
 of the ancient chalk ocean — the Farmer reaps his 
 harvests upon the cultivated soil of the delta of
 
 RETROSPECT. 
 
 413 
 
 the Country of the Iguanodon — and the Architect 
 obtains from beneath the petrified forest, the ma- 
 terials with which to construct his temples and his 
 palaces : while from these various strata, the Geo- 
 logist gathers together the relics of the beings that 
 lived and died in periods of unfathomable anti- 
 quity, and of which the very types have long since 
 been obliterated from the face of the earth, and 
 by these natural memorials is enabled to determine 
 the nature and succession of those physical revolu- 
 tions, which preceded all history and tradition.
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 127 should be page 126. 
 ,, 144, line 3 from the top, for west, read easl. 
 ,, 220, lign. 18, n. and s. should be transposed: the left 
 hand of the section is to the south.
 
 A List of the most important Publications relating 
 to the Geology of the Isle of Wight, and the 
 Coast of Dorsetshire. 
 
 I. " A Description of the principal picturesque Beauties, 
 Antiquities, and Geological Phenomena op the Isle of Wight ; 
 by Sir Henry C. Encjlefield, Bart. : with additional observations 
 on the Strata of the Island, and their continuation in the adja- 
 cent parts of Dorsetshire, by Thomas Webster, Esq. Illustrated 
 by Maps, and numerous engravings from original drawings." 
 1 vol. folio. London, 1816. pp. 238, and 50 plates. Published 
 at £i is* 
 
 The many references and extracts in the present work from 
 this splendid volume, sufficiently attest its value. The Reader 
 must bear in mind, that the freshwater character of the " Iron 
 sands" of Sussex, Kent, and Surrey, was unknown to Mr. Webster 
 at the period of Sir H. Englefield's publication ; and that the 
 series of deposits now denominated the Wealden, comprises the 
 " Iron or ferruginous sands " below the clays and Sussex marbles, 
 under the name of Hastings sands : while the ferruginous sands 
 between the Weald-clay and the Gait, belong to the Greensand 
 group . 
 
 II. Dr. Fitton's Memoir, to which reference has so often been 
 made in the preceding pages, is published in Vol. I V. new series 
 of the Transactions of the Geological Society of London; and 
 
 * Mr. Bohn has a copy for sale, price £2 12*. tirf.
 
 416 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 may be purchased separately, as well as several of the following, 
 at the Society's Apartments, Somerset House. It is entitled — 
 
 " Observations on some of the Strata between the Chalk 
 and the Oxford Oolite in the South-east of England ;" 
 pp. 286, 5 coloured Maps, 3 large plates of Sections, and 14 plates 
 of Fossils. Price £1 10s. 
 
 III. " On the Geology of the Neighbourhood of Weymouth 
 and the adjacent Parts of the Coast of Dorset." By the 
 Eev. Dr. Buckland (now the Dean of Westminster), and Sir H. 
 De la Beche. Geological Transactions, vol. iv. new series, pp. 46 ; 
 with a large coloured Map, and two plates of coloured Sections. 
 Price Is. 
 
 IV. "On the Discovery of fossil bones of the Iguanodon 
 
 IN THE WeALDEN FORMATION OF THE ISLE OF WlGHT AND IN THE 
 
 Isle of Purbeck. By the Eev. Dr. Buckland." Geol. Trans. 
 vol. iii. pp. 8. One Plate. Price 3s. 6d. 
 
 V. " Inquiries respecting the Geological Eelations of the 
 Beds between the Chalk and the Purbeck Limestone in the 
 South-east of England. By Dr. Fitton." Annals of Philosoxihy 
 for November, 1824. 
 
 VI. "On the Purbeck and Portland Beds. By Thomas 
 Webster, Esq. Secretary of the Geological Society." Geol. 
 Trans, vol. ii. Second series, pp. 4. One plate of Fossils. Price 
 2s. 6d. 
 
 VII. " On the Cycadeoide^;, a Family of fossil Plants 
 
 FOUND IN THE QUARRIES OF THE ISLE OF PORTLAND. By the 
 
 Eev. W. Buckland, D.D. &c." Geol. Trans, vol. ii. Second 
 series; pp. 8, with four plates. Price 5s. 
 
 VIII. "Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales. 
 By the Eev. W. D. Conybeare, and W. Phillips, Esq." 1 vol. 8vo. 
 London, 1822. This admirable work contains a compendium of 
 the geological phenomena of the Isle of Wight and the adjacent 
 coasts, so far as known at the period of its publication.
 
 WORKS AND MEMOIRS. 417 
 
 IX. "Observations on Part op the Sections of the Lower 
 Greensand at Atherfield, on the Coast of the Isle of Wight. 
 By W. H. Fitton, M.D. &c." Proceedings of the Geological 
 Society, vol. iv. p. 198. 
 
 X. " On the Thickness of the Lower Greensand Beds of the 
 South-east of the Isle of Wight. By F. W. Simms, Esq." 
 Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, vol. i. p. 76. 
 
 XL " Comparative Remarks on the Sections below the 
 Chalk on the Coast near Hythe in Kent, and Atherfield 
 in the Isle of Wight. By Dr. Fitton." Quarterly Journal 
 of the Geological Society, vol. i. p. 179. 
 
 XII. " On the Section between Blackgang Chine and Ather- 
 field Point. By Capt. L. L. B. Ibbetson and Professor Edward 
 Forbes." Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, vol. i. 
 p. 190. 
 
 XIII. "Catalogue of Lower Greensand Fossils in the 
 Museum of the Geological Society. By Professor Edward 
 Forbes, F.E.S. &c." Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 
 vol. i. p. 237, and p. 345. 
 
 The following Memoirs principally relate to the Strata 
 above the Chalk. 
 
 I. " On the Freshwater Formations in the Isle of Wight, 
 with some Observations on the Strata over the Chalk in 
 the South-east Part of England. By Thomas Webster, Esq." 
 Geol. Trans, vol. ii. (published in 1814). 
 
 II. "On the Freshwater Formation in Hordwell Cliff, 
 Hampshire, and on the subjacent Beds from Hordwell to 
 Muddiford. By Thomas Webster, Esq." Geological Transactions, 
 vol. i. p. 90. Second series.
 
 418 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 III. IV. "On the Strata or the Plastic Clay Formation 
 
 EXHIBITED IN THE CLIFFS BETWEEN ChRISTCHURCH HeAD IN 
 
 Hampshire and Studland Bay in Dorsetshire." And " On 
 the Freshwater Strata of Hordwell Cliff, Beacon Cliff, and 
 Barton Cliff, Hampshire. By Charles Lyell, Esq. F.R.S. &c." 
 Geological Transactions, vol. ii. Second series. Pp. 14, with a 
 coloured Map. Price 7s. 
 
 V. "On the London and Plastic Clay Formations of the 
 Isle of Wight. By J. S. Bowerbank, Esq. F.R.S." Geological 
 Transactions, vol. vi. pp. 4. Woodcuts. Price Is. 6d. 
 
 VI. " Remarks on the Existence of Anoplotherium and 
 Pal^eotherium in the Freshwater Strata at Binstead, near 
 Ryde, in the Isle of Wight. By Samuel Peace Pratt, Esq. 
 F.R.S." Geological Transactions, vol. iii. pp. 3. Price 3s. 
 
 VII. " Description of some Fossil Remains of Cileropotamus, 
 Pal^otherhjm, Anoplotherium, and Dichobune, from the 
 Eocene Formation, Isle of Wight. By Professor Owen." Geo- 
 logical Transactions, vol. vi. pp. 19 ; two plates. Price 7s. 
 
 VIII. " On the Tertiary or Supra-cretaceous Formations of 
 the Isle of Wight, as exhibited in the Sections at Alum and 
 Whitecliff Bays. By Joseph Prestwich, Jun. Esq." Quarterly 
 Journal of the Geological Society, vol. ii. pp. 224 — 259. 
 
 IX. " On the Discovery of the Fossil Remains of an Alli- 
 gator AND OF SEVERAL PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MAMMALIA IN THE 
 
 Hordwell Cliff; with Observations upon the Geological 
 Phenomena of that Locality. By Mr. Searles Wood, F.G.S." 
 In " The London Geological Journal, and Record of Discoveries 
 in British and Foreign Palaeontology," p. 1. September, 1846. 
 Published every second month, by Churchill, London. 
 
 *x* Models of the Isle of Wight, coloured geologically (price 
 from 5s. to 21. 2s.), may be obtained of Mr. R. T. Wilde, 19, Cur- 
 sitor-street, Chancery -lane. The purchaser should order the model 
 to be coloured in accordance with the Geological Map of this 
 volume.
 
 1*a- ,;,,:■ 
 
 INDEX OF COLORS 
 
 Eocene deposits 
 (nuux'/ie&irvffi water 
 
 freshwater Strata 
 | London Clay &e 
 
 Cretaceous I ■ *-» fj* 
 
 System | JkTirestane 
 
 \\'< .il.l-n 
 
 : i '/'/ 1 1,11,1, 
 
 Gays. Maris. San&r. 

 
 c 
 
 . 
 
 (.
 
 INDEX OF PLACES. 
 
 Apton Downs, 25, 204, 206. 
 Alum Bay, 24, 149, 155. 
 Ansh-mel, 376. 
 Arreton Down, 205. 
 Ashey Down, 122, 205. 
 Atherfield Cliffs, 221, 230, 342. 
 Station, 20, 220. 
 
 B. 
 
 Bagshot, 85. 
 Ballard Downs, 369. 
 Barn-door Cove, 386. 
 Barton Cliff, 166. 
 Basingstoke, 85. 
 Bats-corner, 369, 386, 389. 
 Beacon Cliff, 166. 
 Bembridge, 123. 
 
 Foreland, 336. 
 
 Binstead, 18, 102. 
 
 Blackgang Chine, 26, 233, 249, 341. 
 
 Bognor, 127. 
 
 Boiichurch, 247, 251, 257. 
 
 Bournemouth, 169. 
 
 Bracklesham Bay, 129. 
 
 Brading, 122. 
 
 : Down, 26, 251. 
 
 Haven, 96, 336. 
 
 Brighton, 203. 
 Brixton Bay, 284, 328. 
 Brook, 2i9. 
 
 Bay, 271. 
 
 Point, 25, 277. 
 
 Bullface Ledge, 277. 
 
 C. 
 
 Calbourne, 143. 
 Calshot Castle, 89. 
 Carisbrook, 142. 
 Chaldon Downs, 369, 389. 
 Chapman's Pool, 366. 
 Cherton Bunny, 166. 
 Chesil Bank, 391, 393. 
 Chesilton, 401. 
 Christchurch Bay, 164. 
 
 Colin's Pool, 256. 
 Cohvell Bay, 149. 
 Compton Bay, 25, 27, 210, 214, 280. 
 
 Chine, 210, 373. 
 
 Cowes, 18, 97, 146. 
 Cowlease Chine, 2S5. 
 Culver Cliffs, 27, 125, 339. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dodspit Farm, 143. 
 Dorsetshire Coast, 28. 
 Dunnose Point 250, 257, 340. 
 Durdle Cove, 29, 385. 
 Durlstone Bay, 352. 
 Head, 363. 
 
 E. 
 
 Emmett's Hill, 366. 
 Esher, 84 
 
 F. 
 
 Freshwater Gate, 19, 24, 194. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gad Cliff, 366. 
 Goldsworth Hill, 84. 
 Gosport, 88. 
 Gurnet Bay, 146. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hampstead Cliff, 146. 
 Handfast Point, 214, 349. 
 Headon Hill. 24, 14;/, 158. 
 Hengistbury Head, 164. 
 High Down, 177 
 Holworth Cliff, 392. 
 Hordwell, 164, 171. 
 Horse-shoe Bay, 255. 
 Horsham, 327. 
 Hurst Castle, 165. 
 
 I. 
 
 Isle of Portland, 393. 
 
 Purbetk, 345 
 
 Wight, HO.
 
 420 
 
 INDEX OF PLACES. 
 
 Kimmeridge Bay, 366. 
 
 L. 
 
 Ladder Chine, 231. 
 Little-town Down, 25G. 
 Longmead End, 1G5. 
 Luccomb Chine, 258. 
 Lulworth Cove, 28, 376. 
 
 , East and West, 37 
 
 Lymington, 1G3. 
 
 M. 
 
 Main-bench, 198 
 Man-of-war Cove, 386. 
 Medina River, 95, 140. 
 Motteston Downs, 204. 
 Mountjoy Down, 140. 
 Mupe Cove, 386. 
 
 N. 
 
 Needles, The, 24, 198, 343. 
 
 . ■ Down, 205. 
 
 Newchurcli, Vale of, 261. 
 Newport, 139, 142. 
 Newtown Bay, 96, 140. 
 >.iton, 241. 
 
 O. 
 
 Osborne, 145. 
 Osmington Cliff, 393, 401. 
 
 Parkhurst Barracks. 140. 
 Portland, Isle of, 393. 
 Purbeek, Isle of, 345. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quarr Abbey, 103. 
 
 K. 
 
 Redcliff, 135, 3 
 Ringstead Hay, 390,401. 
 Hookley, 142. 
 R,yde, 18, 98. 
 
 S. 
 
 Saint Adhelm'a Head, 365. 
 
 ■ Boniface Down, 250. 
 
 Catherine's Down, 240, 249. 
 
 Clare, 236. 
 
 Helen's, ill. 124, 336. 
 
 Sandown Bay, 132, 261, 339. 
 
 i :., 237. 
 Schehallien, 251. 
 
 Scratchell's Bay, 198. 
 Seafleld, 117. 
 
 Shalcomb Down, 219, 343. 
 Shalfleet, 142. 
 Shanklin, 258. 
 
 ■ ■ Chine, 258. 
 
 Down, 251, 257. 
 
 Shepherd's Chine, 285. 
 Southampton, 86. 
 Spithead, 90. 
 Stare Cove, 386. 
 Stone, Bucks, 400. 
 Stubbington, 89. 
 Studland Bay, 349. 
 Swanage, 346. 
 
 ■ Bay, 348. 
 
 Swindon, 399. 
 Swine's Back, 369. 
 
 T. 
 
 Thame, 399. 
 Thornev Bay, 146. 
 Tiepit, 2S5. 
 
 Tilly-whim Quarries, 363. 
 Tolland's Bay, 149. 
 Tongariro, 181. 
 
 U. 
 
 Undercliff, 93, 237, 251. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vauxhall Station, 17. 
 Ventnor, 248, 255. 
 Shute, 250. 
 
 W. 
 
 Walpen Chine, 231. 
 Wandsworth Station, 83. 
 Wardour, Vale of, 31)9. 
 West Lulworth, 29, 376. 
 Weybridge Station, 84. 
 Weymouth, 391. 401. 
 Whale Chine, 231. 
 WhitecliffBay, 124, 339. 
 Whitenore Point, 390, 401. 
 Winchester. 86. 
 Windspit Quarries, 364. 
 Wingfield Station, 85'. 
 Woking Common, 84. 
 Wooton-bridge, 19, 139, 
 
 — river, 96. 
 
 Worbarrow Bav. 28, 370, 375. 
 Knob, 367. 
 
 Var, River, 96. 
 
 Yarmouth, 19, 162, 194, 345. 
 
 Yaverland, 123,311.
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Afton Down, views from, 25, 206. 
 Alligator, fossil remains of, 169. 
 
 Hantoniensis, 169. 
 
 Alum Bay, View of, 24, 147. 
 
 , fossils of, 161. 
 
 , geology of, 152. 
 
 , section of, 155. 
 
 Ammonites giganteus, 400 
 
 Mantelli, 187. 
 
 varians, 187. 
 
 Animalcules, fossil in flint, 184. 
 
 — j so f t p ar ts, 184. 
 
 Anoplotherium commune, 117, 118. 
 secundarium, 117, 
 
 118. 
 Anticlinal axis of Sandown Bay, 
 
 135. 
 Araucaria excelsa, 398. 
 Area raulini, 191. 
 Artesian wells, 81, 87. 
 
 well of Crenelle, 82. 
 
 Ashey Down, 122. 
 
 sea-mark, view from, 205. 
 
 Atherfield Cliffs, 221. 
 
 fossils, 225, 239. 
 
 -, greensand series, 223, 
 
 225, 227. 
 
 -, road to, 220. 
 
 - Station, 20, 221. 
 
 -, view of, from the sea, 
 
 II. 
 
 Bagshot sands, 78. 
 Bar of shingle off Hurst Castle, 165. 
 Barber's Isle of Wight, 17. 
 Barn-door Cove, 386. 
 Basingstoke, 85. 
 
 , ruins of a chapel at, 
 
 S5. 
 Bats-corner, 390. 
 
 Bern bridge, 124. 
 Binstead, IS, 105. 
 
 , fossils, 103, 107, 110. 
 
 , limestone, 107. 
 
 , quarries, 102. 
 
 Blackgang Chine, view of, 26, 233. 
 
 , strata of, 233. 
 
 , from the sea, 341. 
 
 Bognor rocks, 127. 
 Bog-wood, 273. 
 Bonchurch, 245. 
 
 , fossils from, 245. 
 
 Bones of reptiles, 137, 312, 355. 
 
 in firestone, 245. 
 
 Botanic Garden, fossil trees in, 397. 
 Bowerbank, J. S. Esq., on Alum 
 
 Bay, 13. 
 , on Sandown 
 
 Bay, 132. 
 Bracklesham fossils, 129. 
 Brading Church, 122. 
 Down, vertical strata on. 
 
 26, 252. 
 
 Haven, 96. 
 
 Brander's Hampshire fossils, 164. 
 Brannon's Map of the Isle of Wight, 
 
 17. 
 British Museum, fossils in, 356, 398. 
 Brodie, Rev. P. B., on Fossil Insects, 
 
 400. 
 Brongniart, Ad. M., on Fossil Plants, 
 
 257, 397. 
 Brook Bay, Excursion to, 271. 
 
 Point, view of, 25, 277, 342. 
 
 to Shalcomb, 220. 
 
 , from the sea, 342. 
 
 Brown, Dr. Robt., on Fossil Plants. 
 
 290, 398. 
 Buckland, Rev. Dr. (Dean of West- 
 minster) Bridgevater Essay, 323, 
 
 330. 
 
 on Geology of 
 
 Weymouth, 381. 
 Wells, 82. 
 
 on Artesian
 
 422 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Buckland,Rev.Dr. on fossil Cycadea, 
 398. 
 
 reptiles, 
 
 137, 311, 323. 
 Bulimus, fossil, 111. 
 Bullface Ledge, 274, 277. 
 Butler, Mr., of Yarmouth, 19. 
 
 Calbourne, 142. 
 
 to Alum Bay, 143. 
 
 , fossil shells, 142 
 
 Calshot Castle, 89. 
 
 Cardita planieosta, 128. 
 
 Carisbrook, 142. 
 
 Carr, Henry, Esq., fossil wood in 
 
 chalk, 193. 
 Cave in chalk cliff, 197. 
 Cerithium turriculatum, 191. 
 Cetiosaurus, 324. 
 Chaeropotamus, 117, 119. 
 Chalk cliffs at Freshwater-gate, 24, 
 
 195. 
 
 in Purbeck, 349. 
 
 composition of, 175, 205. 
 
 Downs, 173, 204, 206. 
 
 formation, 61, 66, 173, 178. 
 
 fossils, 185. 
 
 subdivisions of, 176. 
 
 — vertical strata of, 199, 253. 
 
 — at Handfast 
 
 Point, 349. 
 
 ■ marl, 176. 
 
 Chara?, fossil, 108, 130. 
 
 Chert of the Undercliff, 211. 
 
 Chesil-bank, 391, 393. 
 
 Chesilton, 401. 
 
 Chilley pitch-stone, 368. 
 
 Choanites, 216. 
 
 Christchuroh Bay, 164. 
 
 Clark, Sir James, on Climate, 238. 
 
 Clathraria Lyellii. 244, 292. 
 
 , specimen of Capt. 
 
 Ibbeson, 295. 
 Cliffs at Alum Bay, 155. 
 
 at Blackgang Chine, 233. 
 
 — — in Compton Bay, 272, 274. 
 
 Culver, 27, 125, 339. 
 
 Climate of the Undercliff 238. 
 Coal, Kimmeridge, 367. 
 Coast, eastern, Isle of Wight, 124. 
 -, northern, Isle of Wight, 89, 
 
 145. 
 
 Coast of the Isle of Purbeck, 348. 
 
 370. 
 Colby, Col. on the Plumb-line, 251. 
 Colwell Bay, 149. 
 Compton Bay, 25, 27, 214, 274, 343. 
 
 , Mr. Lyell on, 280. 
 
 ■ Chine, 273. 
 
 Coniferous fossil wood, 252. 
 
 Contorted .strata, 363. 
 
 Conybeare. Rev.W. D., on Handfast 
 
 Point, 350. 
 the Coves 
 
 in Purbeck, 374. 
 Corlns corrugata, 190. 
 Corollary, 409 
 
 Country of the Iguanodon, 332. 
 Coves of Dorsetshire, 28, 29, 369, 376. 
 Cowes, 18, 97, 146. 
 Crackers rocks, 225. 
 Cretaceous system, 175, 192. 
 Crocodile, fossil, 163. 
 
 of Swanage, 355. 
 
 " Crows' Nests," 398. 
 Culver Cliffs, 27, 125. 
 Cycadeous plants, 291 
 
 ■ — fossil, 288, 395. 
 
 Cyprides, fossil, 111, 136, 305, 307 
 Cytherea incrassata, 149. 
 
 Damon, Mr., fossils collected by, 401. 
 
 Notes by, 401. 
 
 Dean of Westminster. See Dr. 
 Buckland. 
 
 De la Becbe, Sir Henry, on the Geo- 
 logy of Weymouth, 384. 
 
 Description of the plates. 23. 
 
 Dichobune cervinum, 117, 119. 
 
 Dinkel, Mr. Joseph, drawings by, 
 295. 
 
 Dirt-bed of the Isle of Portland, 395. 
 
 . in Lulworth Cliff, 384. 
 
 Ditrupa plana, 128. 
 
 Dodspit, tosails at, 143. 
 
 Dorsetshire Coast, view of, 28. 
 
 Coves on, 28, 374. 
 
 Downs, Afton, 204, 206. 
 
 St. Boniface, 250. 
 
 Catherine, 240. 
 
 Chaldon, 369, 389. 
 
 ■ Needles, 205. 
 
 -. southern, Isle of Wight, 213, 
 . western, Isle of Wight, 155. 
 of tin- Undercliff, 251. 
 
 — Hampshire, 163. 
 
 — Shanklin, 251, 257. 
 • southern range of, 249. 
 
 Drift, or alluvium, 60. 
 Dunnose Point, 257. 
 
 from the sea, 310. 
 
 Durdle Cove. 29, 385
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 423 
 
 Durlstone Bay, 351. 
 
 Head, 352, 
 
 oolite of, 303. 
 
 E. 
 
 Endogenites erosa, 288. 
 
 Engleficld, Sir Henry, work on the 
 
 Isle of Wight, 98. 
 • quoted, 14!), 
 
 165, 199,202,258. 
 Esher, strata at, 84. 
 Excursion to Atherfield, 218. 
 Brook Bay, 271. 
 
 — from Compton Bay to 
 
 Atherfield, 220. 
 toChristchurch Bay, 164. 
 
 Fossils, vegetable, 108, 161, 244, 247. 
 
 of the eocene strata, 110, 161. 
 
 firestone, 242. 
 
 greensand, 229, 260. 
 
 Portland oolite, 400. 
 
 Wealden, 286, 299, 354. 
 
 wood, in chalk, 193. 
 
 — of the Wealden, 279. 
 oolite, 40n. 
 
 Fowlstone, Mr. ofRyde, fossils by, 18. 
 silicified 
 
 D. fossils found by, 
 
 wood, 218. 
 Fox, Rev. W. 
 
 117. 
 Freshwater eocene strata, 100, \r6. 
 
 Bay, 343. 
 
 Gate, cave at, 197. 
 
 cliffs at, 19, 24, 195. 
 
 Fuci, fossil, 247 
 
 Fault in Ringstead Bay, 391. 
 Femur of Iguanodon, 314. 
 
 unknown reptile, 245. 
 
 Ferruginous sand-cliffs, 341. 
 Firestone strata, 176, 1S5, 241, 242. 
 Fishes, fossil, 307. 
 Fissures, or joints, in chalk, 200. 
 Fition, Dr. on the Atherfield strata, 
 222, 228. 
 
 Portland strata,390. 
 
 Wealden, 270, 289, 
 
 351. 
 
 — Worbarrow Bay, 375. 
 ■ sections by, 134, 215, 375, 
 
 3S0. 
 Flint, formation of, 1 79. 
 
 layers and nodules, 180. 
 
 veins, 200. 
 
 shattered, 202, 350. 
 
 Footsteps, supposed, 247. 
 Forbes, Prof. E. quoted, 131, 223, 227. 
 Forest, petrified, of Portland, 395. 
 Fossil alligator, 172. 
 
 animalcules, 183. 
 
 crocodile of Lymington, 163. 
 
 cycadeae in chalk-marl, 244. 
 
 fishes, 232, 307. 
 
 fuci. 249. 
 
 lobsters, 232. 
 
 ■ mammalia, 115. 
 
 reptiles, 245, 309. 
 
 sponges, 183. 
 
 turtles, 326, 358. 
 
 Fossils, cretaceous, 181. 
 
 of Alum Bay, 161. 
 
 Barton, 172. 
 
 Hordwell, 171. 
 
 Gad Cliff, 366. 
 
 Gait, 176. 
 
 of the Undercliff, 240. 
 
 Geology of Alum Bay, 153, 159. 
 
 Brook Bay, 272. 
 
 Compton Bay, 210. 
 
 Headon Hill, 158. 
 
 ■ Hordwell Cliff, 166. 
 
 Isle of Wight, 90. 
 
 Portland, 393. 
 
 Purbeck, 361. 
 
 Sandown Bay, 132. 
 
 the S. E. of England, 69. 
 
 Whitecliff Bay, 124. 
 
 Geological mutations, 74. 
 
 ■ principles, 56. 
 
 Gervillia anceps, 190. 
 
 Gladstone, Messrs. fossils collected 
 by, 230. 
 
 ■ ■ geological tour 
 
 by, 20. 
 
 Glauconite, 176. 
 
 Goldsworth Hill, 84. 
 
 Goniopholis, 357. 
 
 Gosport Railway, 88. 
 
 Greensand, 176, 189, 223. 
 
 Upper, or Firestone, 185. 
 
 fossils, 190, 229. 
 
 in Polytechnic In- 
 stitution, 229. 
 
 — group, 189. 
 
 of Atherfield, 221, 223, 
 
 225. 
 
 Neufchatel, 227. 
 Grenelle, Artesian well of, 82.
 
 424 
 
 Grey Wethers, 80, 
 Grove's Hotel, 144. 
 Gryphea sinuata, 191, 231. 
 Gurnet Bay, 146. 
 
 Gyrogonites, 109. 
 
 Hampstead Cliffs, 146. 
 Handfast Point, 349. 
 
 , vertical strata of,350. 
 
 Hastings, Geology of, by Dr. Fitton, 
 269. 
 
 — — sands, 351. 
 
 Headon Hill, 24, 161. 
 
 . fossils of, 161. 
 
 - strata of, 158. 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 — view of, 24. PI. IX. 
 
 Geological 
 
 151. 
 Hengisbury Head, 1G4 
 Hopkins, — , Esq. o 
 
 Structure, 141, 392. 
 Hordwell, 164. 
 
 ■ Cliffs, 166. 
 
 fossils of, 169, 171 
 
 strata of, 166. 
 
 Hurst Castle, 165. 
 Hybodus fossil, 232. 
 Hylaeosaurus, 322. 
 
 Ibbetson.Capt.Clathraria discovered 
 
 by, 295. , , ," 
 -fossils collected by, 
 
 229, 232. 
 
 on the Firestone, 242. 
 
 , . Greensand, 
 
 223. 
 
 — models of the Isle of 
 Wight, by, vi. 
 
 Iguanodon, 312, 321. 
 
 bones of, found in San- 
 down Bay, 137. 
 
 Swanage Bay, 
 
 35 J 
 
 country of the, 332. 
 femur of, 314. 
 sacrum of, 318. 
 teeth of, 316. 
 
 Impressions of fossils, method of 
 
 taking, 328. 
 Imprints on sandstone, 326, 328. 
 Insects, fossil, 1 10 
 
 of the Wealden, 400. 
 
 Brodie,Rev. P. B. , on, 
 
 400. 
 
 Iron-sand of Mr. Webster, 189. 
 Isle of Portland, 393. 
 
 — petrified iorest of, 
 
 395. 
 
 185. 
 
 of, 91. 
 
 - Purbeck, 345. 
 
 - Wight, cretaceous fossils of, 
 
 - eocene, 108. 127. 
 
 - form of, 91. 
 
 - geological structure 
 
 91. 
 
 190. 
 
 map of, 
 
 — greensand fossils of, 
 
 286. 
 Itchin, river, 86. 
 
 - models of, vi. 
 
 - plan of, 94. 
 
 - rivers of, 95. 
 
 - Undercliff of, 93. 
 
 - voyage round, 335. 
 
 - Wealden fossils of, 
 
 J. 
 
 .lasper pebbles, 217 
 
 K. 
 
 Kimmeridge Bay, 366. 
 
 -clay, 360, 390. 
 
 coal, 367. 
 
 coal-money, 368. 
 
 Lepidotus, 307. 
 
 Lignite in greensand, 323. 
 
 . wealden, 284. 
 
 Limneus, 111. 
 Lobster, fossil, 232. 
 
 bed of, 225. 
 
 Lonchopteris in greensand strata, 
 230. 
 
 Mantelli, 288. 
 
 London and Brighton railway, 72. 
 London basin, 60, 78. 
 
 clay, 80. 
 
 eocene formation. 66. 
 
 Long-mead End, 165. 
 Long-stone, 220. 
 Luccomb Chine, 256. 
 Lulwortb Cove, 376. 
 
 - strata of, 379. 
 
 view of, 28.
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 425 
 
 Lyell, Charles, Esq., on Compton 
 Bay, 280. 
 
 -the Ham li- 
 
 the Mis- 
 Sandown 
 Whitecliff 
 
 shire coast, 167. 
 sissippi, 269. 
 Bay, 280. 
 
 Bay, 126, 130, 146. 
 Lymington, fossils from, 163. 
 
 Mammalia, fossil, 24, 115, 117. 
 from Hordwell, 
 
 169. 
 Mantellia;, 398. 
 Map, geological, of the Isle of Wight, 
 
 30, 92, 430. 
 Meadow-rue, fossil, 140. 
 Medina river, 9f>, 140. 
 Megalosaurus, 323. 
 Mineral spring at Sandrock, 237. 
 Mississippi, delta of, 269. 
 Molluskite, 248. 
 Morris, John, Esq. , fossils discovered 
 
 by, 230, 274. 
 Mountjoy Downs, 140. 
 Murchison, Sir R., on the deviation 
 
 of the plumb line, 251. 
 firestone 
 
 strata, 241. 
 
 ■ South- 
 ampton well, 88. 
 
 Mussel-shells, fossil, of the Wealden, 
 302. 
 
 N, 
 
 Natica rotundata, 190. 
 Nautilus elegans, 186. 
 Needles, the, 198, 343. 
 Neocomian strata, 227. 
 Neritina concava, 149. 
 Neufchatel, greensand of, 227. 
 Newchurch Vale, 261. 
 Newport, 139. 
 
 to Calbourne, 142. 
 
 Newtcwn Bay, 96, 146. 
 Nodules of flint, 180 
 Northampton, the Marquess of, fos- 
 sils discovered by, 1S3. 
 Nucula scapha, 191. 
 Nummulites, 129. 
 
 Oolite, meaning of, 359. 
 
 Portland, 359. 
 
 Order of superposition of the strata, 
 
 65. 
 Organic remains of the chalk, 181. 
 eocene stra- 
 
 ta, 151. 
 
 242. 
 
 190, 229. 
 
 beds, 400. 
 
 beds, 354. 
 
 286. 
 
 ■ firestone, 
 
 • gait, 240. 
 
 ■ greensand, 
 
 ■ Portland 
 
 ■ Purbeck 
 Wealden, 
 
 Osborne, strata on the coast of, 145. 
 
 Osmington Cliff, 393. 
 
 Owen, Professor, British mammals 
 
 by, 117. 
 on the sacrum of 
 
 reptiles, 318. 
 Oxford clay, 393. 
 
 oolite, 367, 391. 
 
 Oyster - shells, fossil, in Purbeck 
 
 strata, 224, 354. 
 tertiary 
 
 strata, 130, 149, 158. 
 
 Palseontological Journal, 171, lis. 
 Palaeotherium crassum, 117. 
 magnum, 117. 
 
 — medium, 117, 119. 
 
 — minus, 117. 
 from Hordwell, 170. 
 
 Paludinae, fossil, of the Wealden, 
 
 300. 
 PanopEea intermedia, 128. 
 Parkhurst barracks, well at, 140. 
 Pebbles, 18, 216. 
 Pedestrian tour round the Isle of 
 
 Wight, 20 
 Perna mulleti, 191. 
 Petrified forest, 395. 
 
 trees, 279. 
 
 wood, 282. 
 
 Petworth marble, 299. 
 
 Phillips, John, Professor, plan of the 
 
 Geology of the Isle of Wight, 94. 
 Planorbis, fossil, 111. 
 Plesiosaurus, 325. 
 Polytechnic Institution, models and 
 
 fossils in, 188, 229, 232, 245.
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 426 
 
 Portland, Isle of, 394. 
 
 limestone, 360. 
 
 oolite, 359. 
 
 petrified forest of, 395. 
 
 quarries, 396. 
 
 . — sand, 360. 
 
 Potamides of the Wealden, 224, 301. 
 Pratt, S. P. Esq., fossils discovered 
 
 °y> 116 - ., B 
 
 Prestwich, J. Esq., on Alum Bay, 
 154 ' 15 !: Whitecliff 
 
 Bay, 126. 
 Pristis (saw-fish) fossil, 84. 
 Pritchard, Rev. Charles, fossils by, 
 
 310. 
 Pseudo-volcano, 394. 
 Pterocera retusa, 191. 
 Purbeck, Isle of, 345, 361. 
 
 . . fossils of, 354. 
 
 strata of, 353, 363. 
 
 ._^__ views in, 28. 
 
 . marble, 353. 
 
 Pyrites, 278. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quarr abbey, ruins of, 103. 
 Quarries at. Binstead, 102. 
 
 . Portland, 395. 
 
 , Purbeck, 354. 
 
 . Tillywhim, 363. 
 
 ■ Windspit, 364. 
 
 R. 
 
 Raft, fossil, in Brook Bay, 279. 
 
 Railway sections, 83. 
 
 Range of the Isle of Wight chalk 
 
 hills, 176. 
 Red-cliff, 135. 
 Rein-deer, fossil, 103. 
 Reptiles, fossil remains of, 24.,, 309. 
 
 . ■— femur of, 245. 
 
 _, . of the Wealden, 309. 
 
 Retrospect, 403. 
 
 Richmond, Rev. Legh, quoted, 122, 
 123, 205. 
 
 Ringstead Bay, 390. 
 
 fl_l_ .- fault in, 391, 
 
 Rippled sandstone, 328. 
 
 River Medina, 140. 
 
 Rivers, nature of deposits, 264. 
 
 , of the Isle of Wight, 95. 
 
 , Wealden, 332. 
 
 " Roach," limestone so called, 402. 
 
 Rock, arched, in Durdle Cove, 386. 
 
 Rock-crystal pebbles, 217. 
 
 Hoitellaria robaldina, 191. 
 
 Rotaliae, fossil, 184. 
 
 soft parts of, 1R4. 
 
 Ryde, 18, 98. 
 
 quarries near, 102. 
 
 seashore of, 98. 
 
 to Alum Bay, 145. 
 
 Culver Cliff, 121. 
 
 Newport, 139. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sacrum of the Iguanodon, 318. 
 St. Adhelm's-Head, 365. 
 
 chauntry, 365. 
 
 St. Boniface's Down, 250. 
 
 well, 250. 
 
 St. Catherine's Down, 240. 
 St. Cross, hospital of, 86. 
 St. Lawrence's church, 252. 
 SandownBay, 132,261,339. 
 
 . section of, 134. 
 
 Sandrock mineral spring, 237. 
 
 Sandstone, rippled, 326. 
 
 unknown imprints on, 
 
 326. 
 Saw-fish, fossil teeth of, 84. 
 Saxby, J. M. Esq., fossils by, 188, 255. 
 Scaphites grandis. 19, 231. 
 Schehallien, mountain of, 251, 
 Scratchell's Bay, 198. 
 Sections, geological, from Alum Bay 
 
 to Headon Hill, 155. 
 
 - Brook to 
 
 Shalcomb, 220. 
 
 London to 
 
 Brighton, 72. 
 
 London to 
 
 the Isle of Wight, 
 
 71, 75. 
 of Chaldon 
 
 Downs, 390. 
 
 — Compton Bay, 
 
 213. 
 
 — Durdle Cove, 
 
 385. 
 
 
 Cove, 376. 
 
 — Sandown Bay, 
 
 134. 
 
 — Whitecliff Bay, 
 
 126. 
 
 Worbarrow 
 
 Bay, 375. 
 coast, by Mr. Ly 
 
 — theHampshire 
 
 ell, 168. 
 
 — southern 
 
 coast of the Isle of Wight, 213. 
 -Underdid, 
 
 256. , ... 
 
 Sedgwick, Professor, quoted, 40J. 
 Septaria, 402.
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 427 
 
 Shalcomb Down, 220. 
 Shalfleet, fossils from, Ml'. 
 Shanklin, 258. 
 
 Chine, 258. 
 
 Down, 251. 
 
 sand-strata, 189. 
 
 Shark, fossil skull of, 232. 
 Shattered flints, 202, 251, 350. 
 Shells, fossil, of the cretaceous strata, 
 
 185. 
 eocene freshwater 
 
 strata, 24, 110. 
 
 marine stra- 
 
 ta, 24, 161. 
 
 — firestone, 242. 
 
 — greensand,24,229. 
 
 — Portland strata, 
 
 — Purbeck strata, 
 
 — Wealden strata, 
 
 299. 
 
 Shingle, pebbles composing it, 216. 
 
 Silicified chalk fossils, 186. 
 
 Siphonia, 230, 243. 
 
 Smart, W.Esq., fossils from Bourne- 
 mouth, by, 169. 
 
 Smith, Rev. Gerard, fossils by, 311. 
 
 Soft parts of animalcules in chalk, 
 184. 
 
 Southampton Artesian wells, 87. 
 
 station, 86. 
 
 to Ryde, 89. 
 
 water, S9. 
 
 South-East of England, Geology of, 
 59, 69. 
 
 Southern coast of the Isle of Wight, 
 sections of, 213. 
 
 South-west coast of Dorsetshire, 368. 
 
 South-western railway, 77. 
 
 Steamers to the Isle of Wight, 89. 
 
 Lymington, 163. 
 
 Swanage, 346. 
 
 Steam-voyage round the I. of Wight, 
 335. 
 
 Stonesfield fossils, 359. 
 
 Strata, arrangement of, 63. 
 
 chalk, vertical, 199. 
 
 Streptospondylus, 325. 
 
 Stutchbury, Mr. Henry, dealer in. 
 fossils, 401. 
 
 Subsidences of the TJndercliff, 252. 
 
 Sugar-candy spar, 395. 
 
 Summary of the geological pheno- 
 mena of the Wealden, 331. 
 
 Superposition of the strata, 65. 
 
 Surrey, geology of, 78, 83. 
 
 Sussex marble, 249. 
 
 Swanage Bay, 348, 352, 363. 
 
 fossil crocodile, 355. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tabular arrangement of the strati, 
 
 63. 
 Teeth, fossil, of Goniopholis, 357. 
 
 Hybodus, 232. 
 
 Iguanodon, 316. 
 
 Tennant, Mr., fossils of, 100. 
 Terebratulae, 226. 
 Terebratula sella, 191. 
 Terrain Neocomien, 228. 
 Tertiary strata, 60. 
 
 of Alum Bay, 24. 
 
 Hampshire, 169. 
 
 Headon Hill, 24. 
 
 - Hordwell, 166. 
 the London basin, 
 
 60, 63, 66. 
 
 124. 
 
 Lymington, 163. 
 Whitecliff Bay, 
 
 Thalictrum, fossil, 140. 
 
 Thetis minor, 191. 
 
 Tilgate Forest, fossils of, 269. 
 
 Tillywhim quarries, 363. 
 
 Tolland's, or Totness Bay, 149. 
 
 Tongariro, mountain of, 181. 
 
 Topping, Mr., microscopical artist, 
 
 184. 
 Tornatella afbensis, 191. 
 Tour of the Isle of Wight, 20. 
 Trees, fossil, in Brook Bay, 279. 
 
 Lulworth Cliff, 383. 
 
 — the Isle of Portland, 
 
 395. 
 
 the Regent's Park, 
 
 397. 
 
 Trigonia caudata, 190. 
 Trionyx Bakewelli, 326. 
 
 fossil, 112, 114. 
 
 of Hordwell, 169. 
 
 the Wealden, 326. 
 
 Trotter, Robert, Esq., fossil reptile 
 
 found by, 355. 
 Turtle, fossil, ol Binstead, 112. 
 
 Purbeck, 35S. 
 
 St. Helen's, 114. 
 
 the Wealden, 326. 
 
 U. 
 
 Undercliff, the, 237, 340. 
 
 coast of, 251. 
 
 geology of, 240. 
 
 Unio Valdensis, 302. 
 
 Valley of the Medina, 111. 
 Variegated strata of Alum Bay, 157. 
 Vauxhall station, 77. 
 
 c c
 
 428 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Ventnor, fossils from, 255. 
 Shute, fossils from, 250. 
 
 stiata around, 255, 
 
 to Sandown Bay, 257. 
 
 Venus parva, 191. 
 
 striato-costata, 191. 
 
 Vertical chalk strata, 199. 
 
 at Handfaot Point, 349. 
 
 the Needles, 155. 
 
 -onBrading Down, 251. 
 
 Vine, J. Esq., fossils found by, 311. 
 Voj age from Yarmouth to Swanage, 
 
 345. 
 round the Isle of Wight, 335. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wealden clay of Atherfield, 224. 
 
 cyprides, 305. 
 
 fishes, 307. 
 
 formation, 62, 68, 262. 
 
 character of, 268. 
 
 of the Isle of 
 
 Purbeck, 353. 
 
 Isle of 
 
 Wight, 269. 
 
 Sandown 
 
 Bay, 136. 
 
 — Sussex, 267. 
 
 fossils of. 286. 2S8. 
 
 reptiles of, 309. 
 
 shells, 299. 
 
 unionidae, 302. 
 
 Webber, Mrs. Jane, of Barton, dealer 
 
 in Hordwell fossils, 172. 
 Webster, Thos. Esq., on the Geology 
 
 of the Isle of Wight, 127, 140, 145, 
 
 154, 157. 
 
 Brook Point, 
 
 279. 
 
 shire coast, 346. 
 
 tered, 204. 
 
 strata, 368. 
 
 land, 394. 
 
 strata, 354. 
 
 -the Dorset- 
 
 - flints, shat- 
 -Kimmeridge 
 
 -pebbles, 217. 
 
 - Portland ls- 
 
 - Purbeck 
 
 - Siphonice, 
 
 Wells, 83, 87, 90. 
 
 ■ at Southampton, 87. 
 
 WestLulworth, 29. 
 
 Weybiidge, 84. 
 
 Weymouth, memoir on the geology 
 
 of, 384. 
 organic remains from, 
 
 401. 
 Whitecliff Bay, 124. 
 
 — Forbes, Prof, on, 131. 
 Prestwich, Mr., on, 
 
 126. 
 
 section of, 126. 
 
 Whitenore chalk cliffs, 390. 
 
 Winchester station, 85. 
 
 Windspit quarries, 354. 
 
 Wingfleld station, 86. 
 
 Woking Common, 84. 
 
 Wood, Searles. Esq., on Hordwell 
 
 Cliff, 115, 167, 169. 
 Wood, coniferous fossil, 252. 
 
 in chalk, 193. 
 
 of Portland, 395. 
 
 Woodward, Professor, drawings by, 
 
 30. 
 Wooton-bridge, 19. 
 
 river, 96. 
 
 Worbarrow Bay, 28, 370, 375. 
 
 Yar, river, 194. 
 
 Yarmouth, 19, 163. 
 
 to Freshwater Gate, 194. 
 
 Hordwell, 164. 
 
 Lymington, 162. 
 
 Swanage, 346. 
 
 Yaverland, 123. 
 
 Zamia, fossil, 13S, 291. 
 
 — crassa, 138. 
 
 Zoophytes of the chalk, 182. 
 
 F I N 1 S.
 
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 I. THE FOSSILS OF THE SOUTH DOWN'S; or. Rlus 
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