778 REPORT—1896. 
In this section the Triassic Sandstone cores prove a dip of 10°, while the 
Stack series below have a dip of from 30° to 40°. The absence of the Peel Sand- 
stones proves that the Permians are faulted against the Carboniferous Limestone. 
The Triassic Sandstone probably belongs to the Lower or Bunter series. 
A third boring at Knock-y-Dooney, near Rue Point, at a distance of 1,670 yards 
to the north-east of Ballawhane, recently completed, has added another group of 
rocks to Manx geology. ‘The section is as follows :— 
Feet Inches 
Glacial drift “a 5 i F . a : ‘ TS 0 
Triassic Sandstone A “ . é Hl 5 ; - 463 4 
Permian rocks of the Stack series ; y - 7, we 28 3 
Yoredale’sandstones and shales . 3 ; 2 ‘ A te 0 
Carboniferous Limestone . . : F 3 ; » Jhe 4 
961 11 
This, the deepest boring in the island, proves the existence of the Yoredales, 
dipping at an angle of 50°, and passing into the Carboniferous Limestone, here, 
as before, full of crinoids.' : 
The fourth boring, close to the Lighthouse at the Point of Ayre, has completed 
the catalogue of the Manx rocks. Here the roclis are as follows :— 
Feet 
Boulder drift . 4 e ; 5 : : ; . . - 298 
Marls, red, brown, and grey, with gypsum and rock salt a . 392 
—_ 
690 
The salt sets in at 500 feet below the surface, and the total thickness of the 
rock salt is 88 feet 6 inches, the two thickest beds being 20 feet and 9 feet. 6 inches. 
Besides these a brine run, 2 feet 6 inches in depth, occurs at a depth of 615 feet 
5 inches from the surface. The depth of the salt-field remains unproved. 
The discovery of this salt-field is of considerable value, because it links on the 
salt-field at Carrickfergus with those of Barrow and of Cheshire, and shows that 
the Irish Sea is a basin in which the salt-bearing Triassic Marls were deposited. 
They have since been broken up and denuded, and it remains to be proved how 
far they are continuous under the sea, eastwards to Barrow and to the north-west 
in the direction of Carrickfergus. 
General Conclusions as to Solid Geology. 
It remains now to sum up the general results of the study of the Manx 
Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata. The Ordovician Massif is practically identical 
with the Skiddaw series of the Lake Country, the volcanic ash being left out. In 
Man and in the Lake Country there is the same relation between the Ordovician 
Massif and the Carboniferous Limestone, the Yoredale and the Permian strata, 
and the same unconformity between the Paleozoic strata below and the Triassic 
strata above. The Triassic Sandstone is probably the same as that of Aldingham 
and Barrow, which is sandwiched in between the Magnesian Limestone (Sheet 91, 
N.W. Geological Survey) and the Saliferous Marls of Barrow. We may also 
conclude, from this identity of structure between the districts of Barrow and 
Black Combe in the Lake district and of the rocks of the north of Man, that there 
is little hope of the south-western extension of the Whitehaven coalfield, so gal- 
lantly sought for by Messrs. Craine in their borings. The discovery of a salt-field 
is a most valuable addition to the mineral wealth of the island. 
“ Broken rings of Permian and Triassic rocks similar to those encircling the 
Jumbrian Massif probably surround that of Man, being mostly covered by the 
sea or by thick masses of drift. In the north of the island they probably dip 
northwards, and occupy a position approximately represented by the map on the 
wall, in which the uncoloured part of the northern plain is a terra incognita, only 
to be explored by further borings. 
' 1 For details of this section see report of Mr. Todd, published in the Journal of 
the Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society, vol. iii. p. 65. 
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