The Coast-line 



This change in the character of the coast promised 

 something of interest, and we decided to visit Clifftown, 

 finding on inquiry that it was possible and quite safe to 

 proceed along the shore at all states of the tide. For 

 the first mile or two the Pliocene sand and clay con- 

 tinued with little or no change, but just beyond the 

 mouth of a small stream, Dipton Burn, the cliffs rose 

 abruptly to a height of upwards of 100 feet and were 

 seen to consist of a white limestone containing flints 

 similar to those which we had found as boulders in the 

 shingle beach. 



The junction of the Pliocene beds with the limestone 

 was obscured by masses of the latter which had fallen 

 from the cliff, and we were in consequence unable to 

 determine the exact relationship of the one to the other. 

 The stream which we had just crossed entered the 

 sea through a shallow valley excavated in the clays, 

 but as the country appeared to be higher inland, we 

 thought it desirable to follow the valley for a short 

 distance in the hopes of finding a section which showed 

 the contact between the clay and the limestone. 



At first we found little of interest, the eastern bank 

 being much higher than the western in fact, the stream 

 was flowing along the western edge of a range of low 

 hills, which we saw, from numerous small outcrops of 

 the solid rock peeping out amongst the vegetation, to 

 consist of the white limestone. 



About half a mile from the coast the valley turned 

 towards the west, leaving the foot of the hills so that 

 there was no object in following it farther. Near this 

 point, however, the stream was joined by a small tribu- 

 tary which flowed down from the hills. This we followed, 



79 



