78 MR DAVID B. MORRIS ON 
exceed 2000 feet, and about 40 are over 1500. The 
terraced front of the Campsie and Touch Hills shows 
successive lava flows of Carboniferous age. The average 
height of the plateau is about 1250 feet, rismg towards the 
west, where it passes beyond the catchment basin of the 
Forth to Earl’s Seat (1894 feet), the highest summit; the 
-greatest elevation of this range in the Forth Valley being 
Meikle Bin, 1870 feet. Including the whole plateau, 15 
peaks exceed 1500 feet. Intrusive lavas appear in the 
dolerite crags of Abbey Craig, Stirling Castle, King’s Park, 
Polmaise, and Sauchie. The centre of the basin from Gart- 
more eastwards is occupied by the flat surface of the 50-feet 
raised beach, known as the “carse.” This is an old ocean 
floor, and is bounded all round by the old coast-line. 
Immediately adjoining the carse there appear at intervals 
portions of the more ancient ocean floor, known as the 100- 
feet raised beach. 
Issuing from their Highland glens, the rivers Forth and 
Teith meander across the bottom of the basin, gradually 
converging until they meet near Craigforth, whence the 
united stream pursues a winding course eastward. The rim 
of the basin is broken to the north, between the Old Red 
Sandstone heights and the volcanic rocks of the Ochils, and 
through the gap the River Allan flows. The Devon in its 
crooked course gathers the drainage of the greater portion of 
the Ochils, while the Bannock and Carron drain the plateau 
of the Touch Hills. 
CLIMATE. 
As regards climate, Scotland may be roughly divided into 
two regions—the western region with a large rainfall, and 
comparatively mild winters and temperate summers; the 
eastern region with smaller rainfall, and comparatively cold 
winters and hot summers. The western climate is purely 
insular, its character being the result of the proximity of 
such a large body of water as the Atlantic Ocean. It is 
also greatly influenced by the Gulf Stream. The eastern 
climate approaches the continental type, being affected by 
the presence of the great land mass of Europe and Asia, 
