258 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



XXI. A Note on the Geology of Grough Island. By J. H. 

 Harvey Pipje, B.Sc, M.B., Geologist to the Scottish 

 National Antarctic Expedition. 



(Read 26th March 1906.) 



Gough Island lies in the South Atlantic in about 40° 20' S., 

 9° 56' W., some 1500 miles W. by S. of the Cape of Good 

 Hope, which is the nearest land except the Island of Tristan 

 da Cunha, distant about 280 miles X. by W. The island has 

 a height of over 4000 feet, and is about 8 miles long by 

 4 broad. 



It is one of the peaks of the mid-Atlantic rise, a ridge 

 which is covered by water less than 2000 fathoms deep, and 

 from which rise above water St Paul's Piocks, Ascension, 

 and Tristan da Cunha. Xo soundings have been taken 

 between this latter island and Gough Island, but the rise is 

 now known to extend southwards as far as the parallel of 

 55° S., and possibly Bouvet Island is situated on a spur 

 extending somewhat to the eastward. 



The island was visited on the voyage homeward of the 

 *' Scotia" from the Antarctic seas to Cape Town in April 

 1904, and three days were spent in its vicinity, but only on 

 one of these was landing possible. Even then the time 

 ashore was limited to several hours, so that nothing like a 

 complete survey of the island was possible; in fact, the 

 exploration ashore was restricted to the seaward end of a 

 narrow glen, and the difficulty of landing made it necessary 

 to limit the collection of rocks to a small number of hand 

 specimens, all of which were obtained within an area of some 

 few hundred yards. 



The island, as seen from the sea, is very precipitous, and 

 in most places rises in sheer cliffs some 200 feet high, in- 

 creasing to nearer 1000 feet at the northern end of the 

 island. At the south-west end is a more or less level plateau 

 at an elevation of about 300 feet, but everywhere else the 

 island appears to consist of steep ridges separated by narrow 

 glens. In general appearance it reminds one rather of 



