heAdon reds. 135 



disappears. Another curvature of the C'^ast, commencing near 

 Widdick Chine, again shows the true northerly dip, bat the angle 

 is much lower, the distance from the line o£ greatest disturbance 

 being greater. From this point thei'e is a northward dip, till the 

 Headon Beds sink beneatli the sea-level a short distance north of 

 the Cliff End Hatterv. There may be indications of a very slight 

 anticline near the Totland Bay Hotel, but it seems scarcely more 

 than a flattening of the beds for a short distance. 



When we attempt to trace the beds on the ground, the landslips 

 at Headon Hill make it impossible to follow most of the horizons 

 continuously. However, the thick limestone which forms so bold 

 a feature all through the hill enables us to identify the beds above 

 and below it. 



Commencing with the base, the Headon Hill Sands (the glass 

 sands) can now only be traced for about 5 chains north of the Alum 

 Bay Pier, though formerly they could be seen a short distance 

 further. The extensive working of this sand in old times has 

 much to do with the tumbled and obscure character of this part 

 of the section. 



Then for a mile the foreshore is entirely occupied by fallen blocks 

 and landslips and the sands are invisible. It is probable that they 

 have really sunk beneath the sea-level for part of the distance, for 

 the higher beds also apparently sink slightly in the middle of the 

 hill, where the distance from the line of disturbance is rather 

 greater than at either end. 



At the east end of the landslip and 8 chains south-west of the 

 boat-house at Widdick Chine, the base of the Headon Beds is again 

 visible. The following section was measured at this point imme- 

 diately above the beach in May of the prei^nt year (1888) : — 



Feet. 



Lower Headon I ^, 



Beds, r^^y- 



Headon Hill 

 Sands. 



f Black carbonaceous sana and brown sand - 9 



I Buff sand and clay - - - - 1 



<; Buff sand ..... 2 



[_Fine white glass sand J ^ ^ I - 7 



21 



A similar section was seen by Prof Forbes and H, W. Bristow 

 when the original survey was made, and the junction of the 

 Headon Hill Sands with the Lower Headon Beds was clearly laid 

 open for examination. 



As Professor Judd had questioned the accuracy of the correla- 

 tion of the sands seen at the base of the cliff with the glass sands 

 at the other end of the hill, a boring was made to a depth of 9 

 feet below the beach level. The buff sand in the upper part 

 might have been referred to either division, for the upper j)art of 

 the Headon Hill Sands is generally stained for a depth of several 

 feet. But the underlying jjure white sands are so unlike any- 

 thing found in the Headon Beds, that it was not thought neces- 

 sary to carry the boring deeper, especially as the amount of water 



