516 ISLE OF MAN. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 



ISLE OF MAN.* 



THE general position and dimensions of this island, 

 are sufficiently known to render unnecessary any further 

 information on this subject than that which is to be procured 

 by inspection of the map ; the more so, as it remains one of 

 the most imperfect parts of British geography, and a minute 

 detail of particulars would therefore be merely a pretence 

 to an accuracy which is unattainable. Fortunately, its 

 geological details are so simple, and the limits of the rocks 

 which compose it are so easily assigned with that degree 

 of precision which is sufficient for an account of this 

 nature, that, as far as the present objects are concerned, 

 there is no reason to regret the imperfections of the 

 present Map. 



The Isle of Man is naturally divided into two distinct 

 portions, as dissimilar in their general appearance as 

 in their structure; the southern, and by far the larger 

 part, consisting of an irregular group of mountainous 

 land, and the northern, presenting an alluvial tract, for 

 the most part flat, and in many places so level as to 

 admit with difficulty of a sufficient drainage for the 

 purposes of agriculture. The characters of the shores 

 correspond, as might be expected, with that of the 

 surface; being smooth and even where they bound the 

 northern division, and rocky and indented, with few 

 exceptions, throughout the whole of the larger southern 

 district. Some variety nevertheless occurs, even in the 

 shores of the northern division; since they terminate 

 abruptly on the west side of the island by earthy cliffs, 

 while on the east and north, they descend more gently 

 to the gravelly beach which surrounds them. These 



* See the Map. 



