78 HARBOUR CONSTRUCTION. 



the ground at this place was raised to a maximum extent of 9 

 feet, and so remained. 



This change of level extended for a distance of 23 miles, in 

 which length it gradually died out, and gave place to a depression. 

 It is needless here to multiply instances of such changes 

 having taken place, those already mentioned being sufficient for 

 my purpose, which is to show that the presence of large detached 

 masses of rock or accumulations of boulders or blocks of rock, 

 even at considerable heights above the sea-level, must not, with- 

 out due investigation and clear proof as to the time when they 

 were deposited, be taken as evidence of the force of the sea- waves 

 at the present time, and, under existing conditions, at the places 

 where they are found. 



The cliffs along the coast south-westward from Wick Bay 

 are vertical, and are composed of compact black schistose rock of 

 the Devonian period. The beds are horizontal, or nearly so, and 

 the layers of rock vary in thickness from a few inches to several 

 feet. 



On approaching the "Auld Man o' Wick" from the north- 

 ward, the height of the cliff above sea-level is from 70 to 80 

 feet, and along this portion of the coast there is a remarkable 

 display of the power of waves. 



Fig. 13 is from a sketch which I made in the summer 

 of 1889, upon the spot, from actual measurements. The heap of 

 stones at B forms an almost continuous bank along the coast for 

 a considerable distance. In many places, the blocks of stone of 

 which this bank is composed many, or indeed the majority, of 

 which weigh several tons have been lifted over ledges 7 feet in 

 height, and driven uphill for a distance of fully 100 feet from 

 the edge of the cliff! 



A 15-ton block, as it now lies on its upward journey, is 

 represented in the sketch. 



There can be no doubt that at least some, if not all, of the 

 stones forming this bank have been quarried, by wave-action, 

 from the ledge A, because several may now be seen lying slued 

 round from the sites which, prior to disturbance, they evidently 

 occupied, their corners being crushed and broken by pivoting 

 upon other portions of the rock, which are also crushed, and 

 with which, in some instances, the stones are still in contact, 

 clearly indicating the force which must have been exerted in 

 moving them. 



