CHAPTER XIII. 

 THE SCENERY OF THE ISLAND CONCLUSION. 



AFTER studying the various geological formations that enter 

 into the composition of the Isle of Wight, and learning 

 how the Island was made, it will be interesting to take 

 a general view of the scener}^, and see how its varied 

 character is due to the nature of its geology. It would 

 hardly be possible to find anywhere an area so small as 

 this little Island with such a variety of geological forma- 

 tions. The result is a remarkable variety in the scenery. 

 The main feature of the Island is the range of chalk 

 downs running east and west, and terminating in the bold 

 cliffs of white chalk at Freshwater and the Culvers. Here 

 we have vertical cliffs of great height, their white softened 

 to grey by weathering and the soft haze through which 

 they are often seen. In striking contrast of colour are the 

 Red Cliff of Lower Greensand adjoining the Culvers, and 

 the many-coloured sands of Alum Bay joining on to the 

 chalk of Freshwater. The summits of the chalk downs 

 have a characteristic softly rounded form, and the chalk 

 is covered with close short herbage suited to the sheep 

 which frequently dot the green surface. Where sheets of 

 flint gravel cap the downs, as on St. Boniface, they are 

 covered by furze and heather, producing a charming 

 variation from the smooth turf where the surface is chalk. 

 The Lower Greensand forms most of the undulating 

 country between the two ranges of downs ; while the 

 Upper Greensand, though occupying a smaller area, pro- 

 duces one of the most conspicuous features of the scenery 

 the walls of escarpment that form the inland cliffs between 

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