﻿1848. EXCAVATED LIMESTONE CLIFFS. 281 



one. The sandstone is fine-grained, hard, and 

 durable. Some beds are very white, others flesh- 

 coloured, and interleaved with them are beds of 

 chert or quartz rocks. The dome-shaped sum- 

 mits of the Melville Range are visible in the 

 distance. 



The fragments of sandstone cover many miles of 

 surface, and the limestone, which splits off in thin 

 layers by the action of the frost, becomes by the 

 action of the weather as rough as a file, and soon 

 wears out a pair of shoes. There are some beautiful 

 excavations in the clifi's that are exposed to the 

 waves, and a fine gothic shrhie, with a canopy and 

 mouldings supported on slender pillars, attracted 

 our special notice. An isolated column, which 

 stands before it, had been selected as a breeding- 

 place by two ivory gulls, who were very clamorous 

 Avhen any one approached their nest. The young 

 had ash-grey backs, and were nearly fledged. A 

 very clear sunset enabled me to obtain an ex- 

 tensive view to seaward; and I am convinced that 

 no land nmch above the level of the water lies 

 within forty miles to the northward of this point. 



A thick, wet fog, accompanied by a strong head- 

 wind, detained us at our encampment till after 

 breakfast on the 17th. During our enforced stay, 

 Mr. Rae killed a roe rein-deer in excellent condition, 

 and we procured also some waveys (Anser hyper- 



