io8 .Kendall : Gcoloi^^y op the Vale of Eden. 



save ill Swiudale Beck, where tine graptolites, . two or three 

 inches in length, are obtainable. : ■.■ 



The next formation, a longo intervallo, is the Basement Bed 

 of the Carboniferous Series. Two aspects of this rock are 

 presented in the district : one composed of rocks of local deri- 

 vation, is by all observers referred, without reservation, to 

 the Carboniferous S3'stem. The contained pebbles accord 

 with the immediately subjacent or adjacent rocks, whatever 

 they may happen to be. At Sliap Wells they include detritus 

 of the Shap Granite, while a mile further south the^' consist 

 wholly of Silurian rock. Near the source of Swindale Beck, 

 and at other places along the foot of the Cross Fell range, 

 vein-quartz from the Skiddaw Slates predominates, with a slight 

 infusion of rhyolite. 



The other type of conglomerate termed ' polygenetic,' is 

 constituted of pebbles of a great variety of rocks, many of 

 which, e,g., Gneiss and Schist, are not recognisable in any part 

 of the district. Dr. Marr is disposed to regard this conglomerate 

 as a representative of the Old Red Sandstone, but it may be 

 remarked that the submersion of the old land beneath the 

 waters of the Carboniferous sea took place at so late a stage in 

 some parts of the district that the conditions of the Old Red 

 physical geographv may well liave persisted far into Carboni- 

 ferous times. 



The Carboniferous Limestone is displayed in tine sections, 

 two of which, in Smardale and about Roman Fell, will be 

 visited, when further additions to our knowledge of the 'phy- 

 lum of the 'phyllums' may be anticipated. The Smardale 

 section will probably prove of great interest as the limestone 

 is traversed by a gorge exposing it from its base to its contact 

 with the Permian. The Upper Carboniferous will not be 

 encountered on any of the excursions. 



The Permian Rocks of the Vale of Eden are of extraordinary 

 interest. They commence with a basal conglomerate-— the 

 Lower Brockram — that rests in strong unconformity upon 

 various members of the Carboniferous Series, but the con- 

 stituent pebbles are practically a ' pure culture ' of Carboni- 

 ferous Limestone and chert. The succeeding Penrith Sand- 

 stone, 1000 feet thick, a bright red sandstone composed of 

 quartz and felspar u'ithoiit mica, is, if such a thing exists in 

 Britain, a true desert sand. The nature of the materials 

 suggests its derivation from the waste of the Millstone Grit — 

 the large size of the perfectly rounded sand-grains and the 

 abundance of felspar in the undecomposed rock pointing to 

 this conclusion. 



The Upper Brockram consists of a series of betls of con- 

 glomerate interbedded with the top of the Penrith Sandstone. 

 The contrast in constitution to the Lower Brockram is V^ery 



Natural.ist. 



