2 On certain Newer Deposits in Sicily, 



During this excursion, I have had an opportunity of examin- 

 ing the greater number of the extensive and interesting forma- 

 tions which enter into the structure of this island, and have been 

 enabled, I hope, to determine clearly the exact place in the 

 geological series to which many of them must be referred. The 

 formations which I shall have to describe, will be, 1^^, A sand- 

 stone, with a few subordinate beds of marl and limestone, oc- 

 cupying a great part of the central chain, and extending along 

 part of the northern coast, which is inferior to the Jura or 

 Apennine limestone, but whose exact age it was not in my power 

 to ascertain during my rapid tour ; 2J, The limestone and dolo- 

 mite, of which the north-western part of the island consists, and 

 which is probably the equivalent of the Jura or Apennine lime- 

 stone ; 3c?, Marls and limestones containing nummulites and 

 hippurites, and which must probably be referred to the chalk 

 and green sands of other parts of Europe; ^tK Cretaceous 

 limestones and marls belonging to the older tertiary epoch ; 

 5th, The extensive newer tertiary deposit, containing shells of 

 existing Mediterranean species ; Qthi A conglomerate, also con- 

 taining recent shells, but of a still newer date than the tertiary 

 rocks ; "Ith, Bone-breccias, and cave-bones, of the same age as 

 the recent conglomerate ; and, lastly. Diluvium. 



I did not visit the north-eastern angle of the island, and have 

 therefore nothing to say of the primitive and transition rocks 

 which are found only there ; nor will I attempt any description 

 of the volcanic rocks, excepting only such as are found in con- 

 nection with the tertiary. My limited time will scarcely admit 

 of my doing more than to transcribe my notes, which plan, al- 

 though inconvenient in some respects, will possess the advantage 

 of enabling me to bring forward my observations in the order 

 in which they occurred to myself. I shall confine myself, in the 

 first place, to mere geological descriptions of the districts I vi- 

 sited, and will leave all theoretical conclusions till the end. 



Neighhcmrhood of Palermo, — The fine Bay of Palermo is 

 flanked on both sides by rugged precipitous hills of limestone, 

 from behind which other hills extend, having the appearance, 

 when seen from the sea, of gradually contraxiting inwards;, and 

 thus forming an amphitheatre, bending at the distance of one 



