ABBOTSBURY TO BRIDPORT HARBOUR. Ivii. 



the oldest in the west and the newest in the east. Shortly and crisply Dr. 

 Ord led his audience all through the sequence from the Lias of Lyme Regis, 

 rich in the remains of the great saurians, and the Lower and Inferior Oolite 

 of the West Bay Coast, through the Middle Oolite near Abbotsbury, the 

 Upper Oolite north of Weymouth, the Chalk of the Lulworth Coast, then the 

 Kimmeridge Clay, the Portland beds of the Purbeck coast from St. Aldhelm's 

 to Durlston Head, just capped with the Purbecks, the Purbeck beds of Durlston 

 Bay and the Wealden beds of Swanage Bay, with the Chalk reappearing at 

 Ballard Down. At Swanage we for the first time leave the Mesozoic strata 

 and enter the Kainozoic, more commonly now called by geologists the Tertiary. 

 The Isle of Portland was an exception to his rule of the regular order of the 

 beds, since there we have Kimmeridge Clay covered with Portland stone. 

 Dealing next with the principal faults along the coast, due to secular cooling 

 of the underlying strata, Dr. Ord mentioned the great fault at Eype Gap, 

 where the Forest Marble and Fuller's Earth are faulted up against the Lias. 

 Another fault a little to the west of Bridport Harbour has brought down the 

 Midford Sands, which form the predominant feature of the cliffs from west of 

 West Bay to beyond Burton Bradstock. From Bridport Harbour to the 

 mouth of the Bredy we have only Milford Sands capped with Inferior Oolite, 

 which is full of fossils. Dr. Ord called attention to how the summit of the 

 sandstone cliffs east of the Bredy mouth have weathered back, a grey colour. 

 This was due to the appearance on the top of the cliffs of Fuller's Earth, the 

 next stratum above the Inferior Oolite. He pointed out how the Midford 

 Sands at Burton Bradstock are characterised by calcareous bands which, 

 being harder than the sandstone, stand out in relief owing to the softer sand- 

 stone weathering away, thus giving the cliffs the appearance of being horizon- 

 tally ribbed. The capping of Inferior Oolite, which had here been thinned 

 to ten feet, contained an enormous number of cephalopods, to which all the 

 ammonites and belemnites belong. Of these and other fossils found in the 

 neighbourhood he exhibited specimens which Mr. W. R. Bates, the Bridport 

 geologist, had kindly brought down for inspection. Dr. Ord concluded a 

 most interesting address, of which only a bald outline has been given, by 

 speaking of the Chesil Beach, its constituents, and process of formation. 



The HON. SECRETARY, in the name of the members present, 

 heartily thanked Dr. Ord for his lecture ; after which the party 

 proceeded to Bridport Harbour, where tea had been provided 

 on the most hospitable scale by Mr. and Mrs. A. N. Stephens. 



At a business meeting which followed six new members were 

 elected, and, on the motion of Mr. Philip Sturdy, sincere thanks 

 were voted to all who had, in the capacity of guides and hosts, 

 contributed to the enjoyment of a most successful day. 



