VENTNOR TO SANDOWN BAY. 261 



At the foot of the cliff near Shanklin Chine, 

 the lower series of greensand strata emerge, and 

 gradually rising to the surface, form the western 

 coast of Sandown Bay. The view of the bay from 

 Shanklin is extremely interesting, for the white 

 chalk strata of Culver form the eastern promon- 

 tory, and the gait, firestone, and greensands of 

 Redcliff, succeeded by the low Wealden cliffs, may 

 be distinctly traced. 



Beyond the cliffs at Sandown is the vale of 

 Newchurch, a low alluvial plain, protected from 

 the inroads of the sea only by a thick bed of 

 shingle ; beneath which, at low water, the Wealden 

 clay may be seen extending under the green- 

 sand strata on the east and west. The little Inn on 

 the shore, and the Fort, now appear, and we reach 

 the spot where our examination of the eastern side 

 of Sandown Bay terminated. 



Our excursions have now extended round the 

 Island, and embraced the whole series of coast 

 sections, with the exception of the Wealden cliffs 

 that intervene between Compton Bay and Ather- 

 field Point. A visit to Brook Bay will enable us 

 to complete our survey, by an investigation of those 

 highly interesting natural records, of one of the 

 most remarkable epochs in the physical history of 

 our globe. 



