Geology 



Pursuing our journey up the main stream, the hilly 

 country soon came to an end and we entered an un- 

 dulating plain the vegetation of which was of the park- 

 land type long stretches of grass-land with clumps 

 of trees at intervals upon its surface. 



At the point where we left the mountains we also 

 left the Silurian rocks, which in their last exposure were 

 seen to be dipping steeply to the south-west. 



The next rock exposed was a red and green marl 

 with pseudomorphs after rock-salt and also numerous 

 lenticular masses of gypsum. On some of the bedding 

 planes were minute fossils which on examination with 

 a lens turned out to be the small crustacean Estheria 

 minuta. The rocks were evidently Triassic. They 

 dipped at 10 towards the north, and were therefore 

 unconformable with the Silurians upon which they 

 rested. 



The Trias was succeeded conformably by brown 

 earthy clays with thin bands of bluish-grey limestone, 

 and some thick shales. All these beds contained 

 numerous fossils, amongst which ammonites were the 

 most conspicuous. They were of Lower Jurassic age, 

 and were the first rocks belonging to that formation 

 which we had seen in this country. They were followed 

 by a thick series of oolitic limestones, porous sandstones, 

 clays and calcareous grits, which were visible in 

 numerous detached sections along the river. 



The dips were in some places towards the north 

 and in others towards the south, but always of a low 

 angle not exceeding 15. There was no indication 

 of faulting or of other violent disturbance of the beds, 

 and from these facts we concluded that the rocks were 



206 



