Sketch o£ the Physical Nature of Cyprus. 



as their occurrence is very limited, tliey are included in the Trypanian series of the map. The age of 

 the limestones at Capo Greco and at Akurso in the district of Paphos is still an open question. 



Along both tlanks of the northern mountain-range, from the Karpassian peninsula to the neigh- 

 bourhood of Cape Kormakiti, we find a formation of brownish grey sandstones and shales, which Bellamy 

 has designated as the Kythræan series. The lowest beds of this series are coarse breccias and conglomerates; 

 but the greater part of it consists of regularly bedded compact calcareous sandstones, while at the top the 

 latters pass into greenish grey or reddish marls. This series is strongly developped along the southern 

 side of the mountains, and especially in the neighbourhood of the village of Kythræa: a similar sandstone 

 is laid bare near the bottom of some deep valleys on the southern slopes of the Troodos-range. The girdle 

 of sandstone along the southern side of the Kyrenia-mountains is a sterile, uninviting landscape. Out of 

 the often upset beds the erosion of streaming water has formed rows of low hills and ridges, scantily 

 covered with mould, where only an open, extremely xerophiie vegetation can thrive. Only very few fossil 

 remains (mollusca. echinoderms, bryozoa and foraminifera) in a bad state of conservation have been found 

 in this formation. The Kythræan sandstones were compared by Gaudry with the Macignos of Italy, and 

 Unger considered them to be allied to the Vienna sandstones, and consequently of Eocene origin. On 

 the other hand Bergeat reckoned them to the Miocene system, and at last Bellamy and Jukes-Browne 

 have designated them as belonging to "upper Eocene or Oligocene (?)'". 



The Idalian series, a term at first suggested by R. Russell in 1S81, includes the white chalky 

 marls and limestones, which extend over nearly half the area of the island. This formation constitutes 

 such a striking feature in the scenery of Cyprus, that "white chalks are as characteristic of Cyprus as 

 marbles are of Greece" (Bellamy). The area of the Idalian series seems to have originally extended all 

 over the island, but has been restricted partly by erupting igneous rocks, and is also partly covered by 

 younger stratified deposits. The greatest surface area of the Idalian formation is now on the southern side 

 of the igneous masses of the Troodos mountains; here it occupies a broad zone of land across the direction 

 of the valleys from the neighbourhood of Limassol and Amathus as far west as Polis tis Chrysoku and 

 the Akamas. As to the nature of their lithologieal composition the Idalian beds fall into three groups, 

 viz.: 1) Grey marls and gypsum beds, 2) Chalky limestones and marls, and 3) Shelly limestones. The central 

 and thickest portion of the Idalian formation consists of fine compact chalky marls, chalky limestones, and 

 soft siliceous marls in alternating layers; in these beds bands of flint from 10 to 15 cm thick frequently 

 occur. The limestones vary much in character; some are pure Globigerina-rocks, some are hard, compact 

 and siliceous, while others are tough white chalks like the Cretaceous chalk of England. All varieties are 

 white or nearly white. The intense whiteness of the chalky masses is very unpleasant to travellers, visiting 

 these i-egions. "The glare from the white soil is extremely painful to the eyes, necessitating the use of 

 coloured glasses to protect them; and the heat thrown back from the bare rocks is frequently intolerable, 

 aggreviated as it is by the infrequency of foliage and shelter-giving trees" (Bellamy). It is worth mentioning 

 that all the so-called "wine-villages", Kilani, Omodos, Arsos, Vasa, etc. are situated within the limits of 

 the white soil. Also between Larnaka and Dali (hence the name Idalian), in the Karpas and along the 

 northern mountain-range this formation has a considerable extension Other fossils than foraminifera are rare 

 in the Idalian beds; a few species are, however, found both in the white marls and in the younger shelly 

 limestones. There can be no doubt, that all these deposits are of Miocene age. 



Massive igneous rocks quite occupy the Troodos-range, as well as great parts of the lower ridges 

 radiating from the main range. With an average breadth of 27 å .30 km. they extend like a broad band 

 across the southern part of the island for a length of about 96 km. from Tvalo-Kliorio near Larnaka to 

 Pomos Point on the west coast Small outliers of similar rocks are met with in several places in the 

 Paphos district and also between Larnaka and Nikosia. 



In the ditterent parts of their area the nature of the eruptive masses is not always identical. Most 

 prevalent are the diabases, which are generally fine gi'ained, and have a blackish, grey-green or dull- 

 green hue. Frequently their surface is much weathered, broken up and decomposed. Such rocks constitute 



