412 T. V. Holmes — Geological Structure 



north of Kirklinton, and is there the formation resting on the 

 St. Bees Sandstone, though no clear sections appear at their junction. 

 But in Carwinley Burn, which falls into the Esk north of Netherby, 

 the line of junction of the St. Bees and Kirklinton Sandstones is 

 clearly shown, and the unconformity between them unquestionable 

 (Mem., p. 30). To the south-west of the above-mentioned places the 

 Kirklinton Sandstone may be seen at Bockcliff and Cummersdale. 

 But, west of the Eden, its boundary-line is hidden by the persistent 

 nature of the drift covering the surface there, mentioned when 

 treating of the Gypseous Shales. In the Memoir I have suggested 

 that probably the boundary of the Kirklinton Sandstone under the 

 Lias plateau may be the prolongation of a certain line of fault 

 westward. Anyhow, the evidence of the old Orton boring seems to 

 indicate the presence of at least 132 feet of Gypseous Shales there 

 beneath 210 feet of Lias. It seems highly probable that the 

 Kirklinton Sandstone, whether bounded, west of Carlisle, by 

 a fault or not, does not extend beneath the Lias outlier so far 

 westward as Great Orton. 



Above the Kirklinton Sandstone, north of Carlisle, are seen the 

 Stanwix Shales, which are mainly red and greenish-grey in colour. 

 They are surrounded on all sides by the Kirklinton Sandstone, the 

 junction between the two formations being well shown at Westlinton 

 and near Cliff Bridge, Kirklinton. The Stanwix Shales may be seen 

 also near Stanwix, north of Carlisle. At Carlisle the evidence from 

 various sections is that "they rise gently southward between Etterby 

 Scaur and Carlisle, and rapidly thin away to nothing at and west of 

 that city". Also that " South of Beaumont there is no evidence as 

 to the exact spot at which the Stanwix Shales abut against the 

 Lias" (Mem., p. 35). 



The Lias outlier, though covered by drift, forms a plateau having 

 a boundary-line which, though somewhat vague in consequence of 

 being veiled by its comparatively thin drift covering, yet is 

 everywhere more or less distinctly noticeable. Hence there is 

 a means of approximately ascertaining the boundary of the Lias 

 which does not exist in the case of older formations, west of Carlisle, 

 where the ground is not only more thickly drift-covered but the 

 surface features consist of ridges of Glacial Drift, alluvial flats or 

 peat-mosses. 



We have now to consider the. evidence bearing upon the com- 

 parative ages of the two formations resting upon the St. Bees 

 Sandstone. These are the Gypseous Shales of the Bowness and 

 Abbey Town borings, west of Carlisle, and the Kirklinton Sandstone 

 north-east of the area occupied by the Gypseous Shales. For, as we 

 have seen, there are no sections and no deep borings to settle the 

 question. It always seemed to me that in all probability the 

 Gypseous Shales were the older formation, as their thickness at 

 Abbey Town and Bowness suggested that they occupied an area not 

 only broader than that covered by the Kirklinton Sandstone but one 

 attaining a much greater depth. And while the Gypseous Shales 

 must have been deposited in a lake or lagoon, sandstone would be 

 formed in a shallow and variable area. Then the junction of the 



