Rev. Mr Whewell's Address to the Geological Society. 153 



those views of the elevation and depression of portions of the 

 earth's surface are become, which were at first considered so 

 strange and startling. This is remarkably shown by the num. 

 ber of communications concerning raised beaches which we 

 have recently received. When we visit places where these oc- 

 cur, and look at the winding shore, where the sea line is faith- 

 fully followed or distinctly imitated by terraces, sands and 

 pebbles a little above it, we wonder that we should so long 

 have been blind to this kind of evidence. Such raised beaches 

 have been described during the past year, by Mr Prestwich, 

 as occurring in the Murray Firth : by Mr Austin, in the valley 

 of the Axe, the Exe, and the Otter. Dr Forchammer has 

 given us the evidence of recent elevation in the island of Bom- 

 holm ; Mr Trevelyan has given us similar evidence for the 

 coast of Jutland, and the islands of Guernsey and Jersey. 



Mr Morris**s paper, describing a series of dislocations in the 

 chalk cliffs to the south of Ramsgate, marked by shifts in a 

 bed of tabular flint, may perhaps be considered as also afford- 

 ing evidence of violent elevation. But since a small derange- 

 ment of the conditions of support of any stratum might occa- 

 sion dislocations of the scale of those here described, it would 

 probably be hazardous to consider them as otherwise than lo- 

 cal accidents. 



Among descriptions of the most recent geological phenomena, 

 I must notice Mr Clarke''s paper on certain peat-marshes and 

 submarine forests, which occur near Poole in Devonshire ; 

 and in his investigation of the causes which have produced 

 the results now visible, we may see by how easy a gradation 

 descriptive geology passes into the other portion of the sub- 

 ject, the study of the processes by which change is produced. 



Finally, in concluding this survey of our descriptive home 

 geology, I notice with great pleasure, Mr Burros communica- 

 tion of his notes on the geology of the line of the proposed 

 Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. In a country like^this, 

 in which the order and boundaries of the strata are, for the 

 most part, well ascertained, an additional accuracy of measure- 

 ment, of great value to us, may be supplied by the operations 

 of civil engineers employed on canals, roads, and the like works. 

 With this persuasion, and acting with the advice of the Coun- 



