56 Dr Forchhammer on the 



Art. VII. — On the Chalk Formation of Denmark. By Dr 

 G. Forchhammer. Communicated by the Author. 



The north of Europe possesses, with regard to geognostical 

 phenomena, several highly interesting facts, and a closer in- 

 vestigation into the nature of the Scandinavian transition for- 

 mation has thrown light upon those of other countries. But 

 these older formations have so much engaged the attention of 

 the geologists, that the few traces of mountains of a more re- 

 cent origin have hardly met with any notice, and may be said 

 almost entirely to have been neglected until within the last few 

 years. They deserve, notwithstanding, some attention from 

 their peculiar nature, and from some rather unexpected facts 

 which they exhibit. I intend, therefore, to give an account of 

 some rocks which have been comprehended under the name of 

 the chalk formation of Denmark ; but in order to be better 

 able to compare them with those of other countries, it will be 

 necessary to give a short sketch of some older secondary rocks 

 in the south of Sweden, and on the island of Bornholm. 



It is well known that the peninsula of Norway and Sweden 

 is almost entirely void of secondary rocks, except in its south- 

 ernmost parts, in the province of Scania, where such are found. 

 But these are of a very recent kind ; and rocks corresponding 

 to mountain limestone, the red marl, the coal formation, the 

 magnesian limestone, the lias and oolite of Great Britain are 

 entirely wanting. A coal formation occurs indeed both in 

 Scania (at Hoganaes,) and on the island of Bornholm, but it 

 is by no means analogous to that of Britain. It has a great 

 geognostical resemblance with the iron-sand of England, ex- 

 cept that, instead of the mere traces of coal which are found 

 in it in England, it contains in Scandinavia real beds of coal. 

 It is succeeded by green sand and chalk marl. Like the English 

 formation it consists of beds of fine white micaceous sand, al- 

 ternating with thin beds of clay, of a soft yellow sandstone, of 

 ironstone nodules, and occasionally of thin beds of limestone. 

 Coal occurs in numerous beds, but till now they only have 

 been found of an inferior kind ; besides a small formation of 

 basalts and olivine, and large depositions of kaolin, which en- 



