CHALDON DOWNS. 389 



succeeded by the lower groups, terminates in the 

 Portland oolite on the east. The view by Mr. 

 Webster (see PI. XIX.) admirably illustrates the 

 geological structure of this beautiful bay. In this 

 sketch the chalk appears on the right, forming the 

 liigh cliff on the western cape, termed Bats Corner; 

 in passing thence, the firestone, gait, Wealden, and 

 Purbeck strata, successively appear, and lastly the 

 Portland rocks, which terminate the point on the 

 left of the view, as indicated by the archway 

 called the " Barn-door." A line of low oolitic 

 rocks stretches across the mouth of the bay. 



Chaldon Downs. — Proceeding to the west- 

 ward, we lose all traces of the beds below the 

 chalk ; the chalk cliffs, which are between 200 and 

 300 feet high, form the western headland of Durdle 

 Cove, and continue along the coast to Whitenore 

 Point, the eastern cape of Weymouth Bay, a dis- 

 tance of about two miles (lign. 36, p. 390) ; these 

 strata present some interesting features. In these 

 cliffs, the gradual transition of the chalk beds from 

 a vertical to a gently inclined position, is clearly 

 shown. The vertical strata at Bats Corner, par- 

 take of the same characters as those at Handfast 

 Point ; the chalk being much indurated, and the 

 flints shattered. A quarter of a mile to the west, 

 the layers of flint are nearly horizontal, being 



