1825.] Diluvial Formations. it 



thinj^ we know of the structure of the country to conceive the 

 existence of any lake whatsoever, much less of any body of 

 waters capable of bursting through the high chalk downs, and 

 of bringing the island into its present form. We are, therefore, 

 compelled to admit, that the island has been reduced to its pre- 

 sent form by some more powerful cause than any which is in 

 ordinary action. A detailed examination of the surface of the 

 country fully establishes this inference. For we have the most 

 direct evidence to prove, that diluvian torrents have swept over 

 every part of the Isle of Wight, its highest as well as its lowest 

 elevations ; and that they have scooped out deep valleys, and 

 driven before them enormous masses of gravel, which are heaped 

 upon the upper freshwater beds and all the other tertiary deposits 

 which extend to the north channel. 



Resulting Conclusions^ 

 From a consideration of such facts as these, w^e may, I think, 

 unequivocally establish the two following conclusions : 1 . That 

 during a period of time posterior to the deposition of the newest 

 regular strata which are known to geologists, many parts of our 

 island have been ravaged by powerful denuding forces. 2. That 

 the form and direction of the valleys produced by these denuding 

 forces, cannot be accounted for by any known action of the 

 waters which are now draining off the surface of the country. 

 On similar grounds the preceding conclusions might be extended 

 to many other parts of the world; and they are obviously inde- 

 pendent of any arguments drawn from the extent and the posi- 

 tion of the diluvial detritus. 



Position and Extent of the Diluvial Detritus. 



In the remaining part of this paper I shall proceed to an 

 examination of the materials which have been torn up hy diluvian 

 currents, and scattered over different parts of our island ; and 

 from the position and extent of these materials, I shall endeavour 

 to prove that they cannot be accounted for by the ordinary 

 operation of any known physical agent. It is not, however, my 

 intention to enter on any general details connected with the 

 history of this detritus, as they would inevitably lead me into 

 ground which is already occupied by the author of the " Reli- 

 quice Diluviance.^^ I shall, therefore, only select from the facts 

 which have come under my own observation, two or three which 

 seem to bear more immediately on my present object. On this 

 account I forbear to notice the successive valleys of denudation, 

 and the almost continuous masses of diluvium which present 

 themselves on the south coast ; and for the same reason I pass 

 over all the corresponding phenomena in the central and south- 

 ern parts of our island. I may, however, express a conviction, 

 founded on a very extensive range of observations, that there is 



