2 TOPOGRAPHY 



A stranger arriving at Gibraltar cannot fail to be 

 struck with the irregular configuration of the rock. 

 From no one point can he view its entire extent, 

 and every turn gives it a new, though not always 

 equally pleasing character. Its picturesque posi- 

 tion, its bold and noble fortifications, and the varied 

 and charming scenery of the neighbouring coasts of 

 Spain and Africa, combine to attract his attention. 



Viewed from its beautiful Bay, Gibraltar forms 

 an object worthy of the artists' study, and a still 

 more beautiful and singular view is obtained from a 

 flat on the hill, on which stands the Spanish town of 

 St. Roque. From this position (a distance of nearly 

 four miles intervening) the rock of Gibraltar appears 

 as an island, the isthmus connecting it with the 

 main land merging into the azure blue of the sea. 

 Although at the present day this is nothing more 

 than an optical delusion, yet the rock of Gibraltar 

 must, at a former and perhaps very remote period, 

 have been washed on all sides by the sea, for the 

 isthmus just mentioned, together with the land for 

 nearly two miles beyond, bear unequivocal marks 

 of having once formed the sea bed. The surface, 

 almost entirely composed of sea sand resembles a 

 little sandy desert, in many parts of which are seen 

 large assemblages of gregarious shells similar to those 

 now in existence in the bay. A recently discovered 

 Roman ruin,* about 200 yards from the present shore 



* This ruin was discovered in the early part of 1845, by 

 some labourers. The coins found there belong to the 

 period of the lower empire. 



