GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 



Striking contrast to the north side of the Island in its generally 

 light and loamy soil, and in the absence of woods. In the 

 southern part of the Island also is found a group of hdls, capped 

 by outliers of chalk, which rise to a far greater height than any 

 part of the generally low Tertiary district, and in fact form the 

 most elevated tract in the Island. 



A considerable part of both the northern and southern parts 

 of the Island is overspread by gravels and Alluvium, the former 

 being of considerable thickness and commercial importance. 



The following table gives in descending order the formations 

 Bhovv'n upon the map : — 



Blown Sand - - - -~) 



AUuvium . . - . ^Eecent. 



Peat - - - - 



River Terraces (Gravel) 



Angular flint-gravel of the Chalk Downs >- Pleistocene. 



Plateau Gravel - ' ' ', 



Hamstead Beds - - - - 



Bembridge Marls 



Limestone - - - 



-1 



Osborne Beds - 

 Headon Beds - 

 Headon Hill Sands 

 Barton Clay 

 Bracklesham Beds - 

 Lower Bagshot Beds 

 London Clay 

 Reading Beds - 

 Chalk- with-tiints 

 Chalk Rock - - - I 



Middle and Lower Chalk with }■ 

 Melbourn Rock. j 



Chloritic Marl - -J 



Chert Beds 1jj(.^^^^^^^j. 

 Sands J ^ '^ 



Gault - - . - 



Carstone - 

 Sand-rock Series - 

 Ferruginous Sands 

 Atherfield Clay 

 Wealden Beds with beds of sandstone 



Oligocene. 

 yi" Fluvio-marine " 

 of E. Forbes.*] 



-J 



^Eocene. 

 " I 



-J 



)>Upper Cretaceous. 



I LowerGreensand or 



" Upper Neocomian. ^ Lower Cretaceous. 



J 



The above formations will be described in ascending order, 

 commencing with the Wealden — the lowest and oldest strata seen 

 in the Isle of Wight. 



* The term " Vectian " was proposed for this group by Prof. John Phillips, but 

 has not been generally adopted. 



