1 



WESTMORLAND. 



WESTMORLAND. 



1091 



Cumberland and Westmorland, is about 7 miles long, with an average 

 breadth of half a mile. The upper part of the lake is in the valley 

 of Patterdale, into which open other dales or valleys, including Glen- 

 coin, Glenridden, Grisedale, and Deepdale, which are formed by the 

 short branches thrown off towards the lake by the semicircle of 

 mountains which here surrounds it. Martindale opens at its northern 

 end upon the south-east side of Ulleswater; it lies between the hills 

 of Martindale Forest on the east, and a detached mountain or hill on 

 the west. These dales are watered by mountain streams flowing into 

 Ulleswater, from the lower extremity of which the Eamont flows. 



From the main ridge near Birkbeck Fells an important branch is 

 thrown off in a north-east direction ; but between this and the branch 

 ridge, which has been described as parting from the main ridge at 

 High-street, an two shorter branches separated from the High-street 

 branch by the valley of Mardale, from each other by the valley of 

 Swindale, and from the Birkbeck Fells branch by the valley of Wet 

 Sleddale. 



The branch from the principal ridge of the mountains at Birkbeck 

 Fells is known in the part nearest the ridge as Shap FeU. It extends 

 northward in several ridges, separated by intervening vales. Knipe 

 Sear, and the hills of Shap Moor, Newby High Moor, Ravensworth 

 and Meaburn Moors, and Colby Common, all belong to this branch. 

 The intervening valleys have a general direction north and south, and 

 the waters which drain them unite to form a stream which joins the 

 Eden between Kirkby Tbore and Temple Sowerby. 



The branches from the main ridge on the south side extend on the 

 western side of the county a very abort distance from the main ridge, 

 subsiding in the valley of Grasmere, by which they are separated 

 from a detached group of the Cumbrian Mountains, which occupies 

 the western extremity of the county. Numerous branch ridges and 

 groups of hills extend in various directions, including many forests, 

 fell*, and crags, separated by valleys, drained by numerous streams, 

 and presenting varieties of picturesque scenery. 



The western extremity of the county is occupied by part of another 

 group of the Cumbrian Mountains divided into two parta by the valley 

 of Great Langdale. Langdale Pikes, Silver How, and Loughrigg Fell are 

 between Onamere and Great LaogdaU ; and Bow Fell (2911 feet high), 



t the border of Westmorland sod Cumberland, and Wrey Nose, or 



Wrynoee, form the western tsrtnmsHnn of the valleys of Great and 

 Little Laogdale, which are separated from each other by a ridge 

 called Lmgtnire. The two lakes of (iraimera and Kydal Water form 

 the Rothay, which flows into the Wiodermere. 



Geologically the county may be regarded as "-iithMiig of three 

 parte. The slate rocks of the Cumbrian Mountain group form the 

 first part or division ; the formation* of the great carboniferous and 

 mountain limestone series of the north of England, of which forma- 

 tion the Pennine Chain forms the western outcrop, constitute the 

 soood put or division ; and the new red-sandstone of the Valley of 

 the Eden the third. 



If a line be drawn in a south-easterly direction from the foot of 

 Ulleswater, passing a little to the south-west of Shap and Orton, 

 and thence to Ravenstonrdale, at that place bending to the south 

 till it reaches the border of the county at the point where the road 

 from Sedb-rgh to Kirkby Stephen enters it ; and if another line be 

 drawn newly at right angles to the former, commencing at Shap 

 Well*, passing by the sooth side of Wardale Crags, and crossing the 

 Valley of Long Sleddale at the hamlet of Little London, the Valley 

 of Kentmere near the Mall, and the Valley of Trout beck a little above 

 Town Head, and thence, skirting the southern flank of Wansfell, to 

 Fool Wyke, war the north-west angle of Windermere, the whole 

 county will be divided into three irregular and unequal districts, each 

 marked by peculiar geological features. We shall consider them in 

 the following order: 



1. The green-elate and porphyry of the north-western district. 



3. The upper slates of the south-east. 



8. The carboniferous rocks of the north-east, and the new red- 

 sandstone of the basin of the Eden. 



1. OnmSatt md Pvrpkm. This, the middle term of the series 

 into which the Cambrian slates have been divided, and overlying the 

 lowest member of that aeries in the adjoining county (the Skiddaw 

 slate of Sedgwick), occupies the whole of the north-western portion of 

 the county, and is bounded on the south by the range of a series of 

 overlying beds of calcareous slates (Coniston limestone, Ac.), and on 

 the north-east by the carboniferous rocks. It comprehends two dis- 

 tinct classes of rocks, igneous and aqueous, yet so blended and inter- 

 jected, that they must be considered as the rffecte of two distinct 

 aausus acting together and continued during a lengthened geological 

 period. The igneous rock* include almost every variety of frlstone 

 and feletone-porphyry, occasionally pawing into greenstone : thoy more 

 rarely put on a columnar form like that of basalL The aqueous rocks 

 are composed of quarts in an extremely fine state of comminution, and 

 obtain ( their typical colour from earthy chlorite derived from the 

 Plutonic silts. All these rocks have in a greater or leas degree a slaty 

 stoucUiie, and from them the finest roofing-slates are quarried. The 

 rocks of thu division rise into tlie highest and most rugged peaks of 

 the whole lake district, constituting the main ridge of the mountains 

 west of High-street, those between Graemere and Great Langdale, tc. 

 The prevailing strike of the rocks is north-east, and they dip at a high 



angle to the south-east. Garnets are found in some abundance in the 

 breociated rocks of this division, and agates and other minerals occur 

 in the cellular Plutonic silts. No organic remains have been discovered 

 in any part of the group. Metallic veins occur iu some places ; amongst 

 others, a lead-mine is worked south-west of Ulleswater. 



2. Upper Sl'ite* of the Soutlt-Eiatern District. This formation is 

 divided by Professor Sedgwick into three ill-defined groups : 1, tlio 

 foaailiferoua rocks south of Kendal and of Kirkby Moor ; 2, a lower 

 group, like the former in lithological structure, but with a more 

 decided slaty impress and fewer traces of fossils ; 3, a complicated 

 group of calcareous elates, alternating with hard coarse siliceous beds, 

 and several bands of fine roofing-slates, all resting ou the fossiliferous 

 limestone of Coniston. Mr. D. Sharpe also separates this division of 

 the slate rocks into three groups (' Proceedings of Geological Society,' 

 London, 1843), and seeks to identify them with the three principal 

 groups of Sir R. I. Murchison's Silurian system ; and his division has 

 been followed by subsequent writers. Mr. Sharpe' s division will be 

 found in the following descending order on making a traverse from 

 the south-east to the north-west ; as, for instance, from Kirkby Lons- 

 dale, where the uppermost beds underlie the old red-sandstone, to the 

 Coniston limestone above Low Wood, at the head of Windermere. 

 First, the Upper Ludlow rooks, occupying the greater part of the 

 district between the lower parts of the Kent and Lune, succeeded by 

 a band of Lower Ludlow rocks ; next, a series of unfossiliferous beds 

 (of considerable thickness when expanded in the district of Furness), 

 which are provisionally named Windermere rocks, and are the assumed 

 equivalents of the Wenlock formation ; and, lastly, a series of slates 

 (Kirkby I ninth), gray slaty grits, blue flagstones, and Coniston lime- 

 stone the four last being the supposed equivalents of the Caradoo 

 sandstone. 



The Coniston limestone forms a well-defined though irregular base 

 to this division of the slates on the north-west (this boundary being 

 rudely marked by the line we supposed to be drawn from Shap Wells 

 to Windermera Head). On the south and south-east it is bounded by 

 Moraoambe Bay and the carboniferous rocks, and it extends eastward 

 as far as the border of the county, except where it is overlaid by the 

 carboniferous series of Yorkshire. The rocks on the east b ink of the 

 Lune are separated from those on the west bank by an enormous fault, 

 which ranges in the direction of that river. Middloton and the other 

 fells on the eastern side of the Lune are composed of the beds of the 

 middle group of this division. The rocks to the east of Kendal, and 

 those which break out beneath the western escarpment of the car- 

 boniferous limestone of Underbarrow Scar, abound with Upper Silurian 

 fossils, and the Coniston limestone is charged with Lower Silurian 

 crustacean shells and corals. The middle term is unfortunately with- 

 out organic remains, and in the absence of separating calcareous bands 

 (Aymeatry and Wenlock limestones), Professor Sedgwick's recom- 

 mendation to separate the whole upper division of the slates of West- 

 morland into two groups, an upper and a lower, seems to be as yet 

 the safest plan. These uppermost slates are harder than those of the 

 lowest series, and give to the mountains formed of them a more 

 angular and picturesque outline and rugged surface ; but they do not 

 in these respects equal the middle series of slate rocks, which form 

 mountains of greater elevation and more picturesque character. The 

 mountains formed by the uppermost slates rarely have a height of 

 1000 feet, being inferior not only to the middle slate mountains 

 (Helvellyn, Langdale Pikes, Ac.), but also to the limestone mountains 

 of the Pennine chain. Valuable flagstones are obtained from thoso 

 rocks in many places, and copper is found in some parts of them. 



3. Carbonifermu Rocla, <tc. The inspection of any accurate geolo- 

 gical map of the lake district will at once point to the fact that a 

 mantle of carboniferous rocks has at one period continuously extended 

 round the whole of the Cumbrian slates. On the north-east of tlio 

 line we have supposed to be drawn from the foot of Ulleswater to 

 Ravenstonedale, the belt of carboniferous rooks is still unbroken, and 

 resting on the slates. 



The mountain limestone occupies all the county north-east of the 

 line of junction except the valley of the Eden, which is chiefly occupied 

 by the new red-sandstone ; a small district between Appleby and Shap, 

 where the limestone is covered by the coal-measures ; and a portion of 

 the county east of the upper valley of the Eden, where the limestone 

 is covered by the millstone-grit and shale. The mountain limestone 

 forms the mass of the Pennine chain, attaining in Cross Fell, which is 

 in Cumberland, but close upon the border of Westmorland, a height 

 of 2!>01 feet. The formations of the mountain limestone ob-erved in 

 this county are among the lowest in the series. Among them occurs 

 a stratum of whin, or basalt, 60 feet thick. Ou the steep western 

 escarpmont of the Pennine chain the subjacent beds of old red-sand- 

 stone appear, and even the slate rocks beneath the old red-s indatone. 

 There is a remarkable cavern in the mountain limestone at Dunall, 

 five mile* from Dufton ; and there are several lead-mine* near Dufton, 

 where antiuioniated lead-ore, lead-ore with such a superabundance of 

 sulphur as to take fire and burn on being held in the Saint; of a 

 candle, and small quantities of malachite, are obtained. Keautiful 

 specimens of flos-ferri, or arragonite, of snow-white colour and s-itin- 

 like lustre, and withurite, of clove-brown colour and striated texture, 

 have been found in Dufton mine. There are copper-mines near Orton 

 and Kirkby Stephen. 



