24() Formation and Age of the Queensberrys. 



and shade moving swiftly across the grey hillside as in a mighty 

 panorama, the imagination is traversing the deep ravines and 

 silent corries of these ancient uplands, and vainly striving after the 

 secrets of such endless variety and lavish detail. 



While the physical features of this district are distinctive 

 enough to give them a form and scenery peculiarly their own, yet, 

 on the other hand, they have much in common with the neigh- 

 bouring heights. From St. Abb's Head on the east coast to 

 Portpatrick on the west there is a continuous range of elevated 

 ground. The Lammermoors, Moorfoots, Lowthers, and Queens- 

 berry, east of the Nith valley ; the Kells, the Merrick, and the 

 Rhins of Galloway, on the west, are parts of one connected whole. 



They are the remnants of an ancient, elevated tract or table- 

 land, w"hich has been powerfully denuded by atmospheric 

 agencies. Deep valleys are scooped out which radiate in all 

 directions from the highest points ; yet on the hill-tops the original 

 character of the plateau is still evident. 



Amid this vast series of hills the position of the Queensberrys 

 is unique. They occupy the most southern point of this elevated 

 tract, with the other mountain chains arranged behind them and 

 spread out divergently towards the north like the sides of a great 

 V — the Queensberrys forming the apex. One arm extends in a 

 north-eastern direction towards Peebles, and the other towards 

 the north-west, into Ayrshire. The Queensberry barrier thus 

 situated forms a natural watershed deflecting the streams north 

 and south. We find here the real source of the river Clyde. 

 The Crook Burn, a little stream trickling down the northern 

 slope, within the boundaries of Dumfriesshire, flows into Lanark- 

 shire, and there joins the Daer Water. Further down the valley 

 this larger and longer stream loses its name, which is here 

 usurped by the small Clyde Burn. On the east the Lochan Burn 

 joins the Kinnel, and on the south the Pishnack, the Bran, the 

 Capel, and the JE flow into the Annan. Wee Queensberry is 

 only 1679 feet above sea level, but a little further north a higher 

 point reaches 2285 feet. 



In dealing with the geological structure of these hills, we 

 find that the relation of their strata to those of the surrounding 

 country is very similar to the relationship which also exists in the 

 physical features of the Queensberrys and their environments. 

 This region comprises an essential part of a large and varied 



