1900 S. S. BUCKMAN — EXCURSION NOTES 183 



And lower down the river, where a similar series of soft 

 strata allowed a similar state of affairs, the Evenlode-Thames 

 had sent out a strike stream, and had collected consequents 

 in a similar manner. All the Cotteswold streams, such 

 as the Windrush, Coin, Churn, have been captured by 

 the strike stream, the Upper Thames, in this way. Fig. 13 

 shows it. And what is necessary to point out is that the 

 same state of affairs exists at the present day, the captured 

 rivers in the Vale of White Horse being taken up the 

 Thames now, through the breach in the Chalk escarpment 

 known as the Goring gorge. But what was presumably 

 the analogous state of affairs with regard to the Lias 

 streams taken through the Chelt gorge of Inferior Oohte 

 has passed away, owing to the successful growth of the 

 Severn. 



If such was the case there should be evidence in the 

 valleys. The Teme-Coln, as it may be called, making its 

 way through the Inferior Oolite gorge should have cut 

 back the sides of that gorge to form a valley with worn- 

 away spurs and only slight concavities such as is shown 

 in Fig. 8, or in a more degraded manner in Fig. 9. And 

 so it has. If anyone will look at the successive spurs 

 and concavities of the sides of the Chelt valley — the high 

 level valley above the 600 feet contour line — they may 

 notice the resemblance of these spurs and combes to the 

 valley-sides formed by a meandering river. 



This is an important point — the features of the present 

 Chelt valley were really determined by the meandering of 

 the original high-level consequent. The places where 

 springs and rivulets would afterwards break out to feed the 

 Chelt would be in the combes of the meander bends; because 

 from them the protective Oolite capping had been most 

 removed, and the water-retaining Lias had been brought 

 nearest to the surface ; and, again, atmospheric denudation 

 would have the best chance to make valleys of these 

 combes. 



