376 Brigadier Silvertop's Sketch of the Tertiary Formation 



large and small pectens, cardia, balani, and fragments of ostrea?. 

 From this point it may be followed continuously to Almeria, 

 whose ancient extensive castle is built upon an eminence it forms 

 within the walls of the town on its northern side ; but it does 

 ^not extend inland above two or three miles, constituting a hilly 

 broken tract, two or three hundred feet above the level of the 

 sea, along the eastern slope and base of the Sierra de Gador. 

 In a long subsequent descent to Almeria, an older conglomerate 

 rock, of a dark brown colour, with numerous large and small 

 fragments of transition limestone, is observed to come out from 

 under the tertiary deposit, and shortly after the fundamental 

 limestone of Gador makes its appearance from under the con- 

 glomerate. 



The fundamental limestone is much decomposed, and of an 

 ochreous tinge ; but a few undecomposed strata of a dark grey 

 colouf alternate with the former in a little escarpment bordering 

 the road, and dip to the north at 30°. It would appear from 

 the above fact, analogous to what was noticed near Velez-Malaga, 

 that an alluvion had been formed upon the surface of the tran- 

 sition limestone of the Sierra de Gador, previous to the epoch 

 when the tertiary deposit took place. 



Almeria. — This is one of the most agreeable, cheerful, little 

 seaport towns along the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain, 

 containing about 12,000 inhabitants. To the east of Almeria 

 there is an extensive flat bordering the Mediterranean as far as 

 the Cabo de Gata, distant about eighteen miles, when the coast 

 line, winding round towards the north, is bounded as far as the 

 village of La Carbonera by a ridge of volcanic rocks, partially 

 concealed in the latter part of its course under tertiary -deposits. 

 This open tract, contiguous to Almeria (see section 7. PL II.), 

 rises gradually and in step-like manner towards the north, termi- 

 nating at the southern base of a mountainous district termed La 

 Sierra de Alhamilla, composed of mica-slate. Towards the west 

 it is bounded by the Sierra de Gador. Probably the whole of 

 this tract, which chiefly consists of sandy, marly, argillaceous 

 loam, capped irregularly, as it approaches the mountainous dis- 

 trict, by thin beds of conglomerate, are of modern origin : how- 

 ever this may be, indisputable proofs of the epoch to which a 



