GEOLOGY 



NORFOLK is a tolerably flat county, rising nowhere to a height 

 of 350 feet, but forming an elevated plain which slopes gently 

 from the west and north towards the south-east and east. The 

 diversified scarps which occur in the west are bordered by the 

 levels of the Fenland, and portions of the north coast are fringed by 

 marshlands. Nevertheless, there is much to interest the geologist in the 

 cliffs of Red and White Chalk at Hunstanton, and in the so-called ' mud 

 cliffs ' of Cromer. The Chalk itself is always a hunting-ground for 

 fossils ; while the Norwich Crag, with its abundant shells and remains of 

 mastodon and other mammalia ; the Cromer Forest Bed series, with its 

 rich and varied vertebrate fauna and its interesting plant-remains, have 

 engaged the attention, not only of local observers, but of distinguished 

 geologists from all parts of the country and the Continent. The literature 

 in consequence is copious. 



If the coast scenery is for the most part monotonous, it is neverthe- 

 less modified by the bold hillocks of blown sand which here and there 

 fringe the shores ; while the inland scenery is rendered pleasant by the 

 intermixture of heath, woodland and common, with the cultivated tracts 

 and their richly-timbered hedgerows. Again, the isolated meres in 

 West Norfolk, and the fine series of freshwater lakes, or Broads, in East 

 Norfolk, offer attractions to the naturalist and to the painter, to say 

 nothing of those who come to the Broads for rest and relaxation. 



The earliest, and indeed the only independent work on the Geology 

 of Norfolk, was that issued in 1833 by Samuel Woodward (of Norwich). 

 Notes on particular portions of the county had already been published 

 by earHer observers : by William Smith, R. C. Taylor and others, 

 while shortly afterwards Caleb B. Rose (of Swaffham) printed his 

 excellent Sketch of the Geology of West Norfolk. Many a worker has since 

 added to our knowledge, among whom we should not fail to mention 

 Lyell, Joshua Trimmer, John Gunn (formerly rector of Irstead), the late 

 S. V. Wood, jun., and Mr. F. W. Harmer, who is still an energetic 

 worker. During the years 1875 to 1884 Norfolk was examined in 

 detail by the officers of the Geological Survey, from whose memoirs, 

 sections and maps may be obtained a detailed knowledge of the structure 

 of the entire county and full references to the observations of the many 

 other labourers in the field of geology. 



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