88 REPORT—1858. 
I followed its boundary from Seatoller under the mountain Hay Cock, Steeple, and 
Pillar, to the point where it crosses the Liza river in Ennerdale. 
The greenstone beds here consist of the coarse conglomerate slate similar to those 
resting on the flanks of Black Comb: the general dip is to the south-east. There is 
a similar border of transition rocks between the clay-slate and the syenite, to that 
between the same rock and the granite, a nearly black greenstone and beds of softened 
rock, but they are less regular and less considerable. I followed the upper limit of 
the syenite as it descends the southern side of Ennerdale under Pillar, and it seemed 
to me to be on the whole conformable to the beds of greenstone slate resting upon 
it: so also on the northern side of the valley, the syenite is seen ranging under the 
greenstone slate of High Stile. About half-way down Ennerdale Water the clay- 
slate appears with a south-east dip underlying the syenite. In the western flank of 
Revelin, the mountain on the southern bank at the foot of the lake, the dip of the 
strata is distinctly W.N.W. at an angle of about 10°, whilst the dip on the eastern 
flank of the same hill near the syenite is south-east ; thus the principal anticlinal of 
the district is shown to pass through the middle of Revelin. I found the W.N.W. 
dip also at acorresponding point on the south side of the lake, in a gill at Crosslands, 
The strata on the northern side of Ennerdale, between Floutarn Tarn and Red Pike, 
are much broken up and confused by faults and entanglements of masses of the clay- 
slate in the syenite, as described by Sedgwick. 
On the whole, the direct evidence to be obtained on the spot seemed to me to be 
in favour of the supposition that the syenite is metamorphic, consisting of the upper 
bed of the clay-slate. I may mention, as confirming this opinion, that the transition 
beds of syenite in Ennerdale contain the same crystals of Chiastolite, which are such 
a distinguishing mark of the transition beds immediately above the Skiddaw granite. 
In support of this hypothesis, I may observe that syenite in mass is found near 
Keswick in St. John’s Vale, in a position exactly similar to that of Ennerdale; that 
is, immediately under the lowest beds of the greenstone slate. If this hypothesis is 
correct, the syenite must lie below the Eskdale granite, which I suppose to consist of 
the lower beds of the greenstone slate; and the position of the mass of syenite on 
the northern bank of Wast Water is quite consistent with that supposition, as the 
general dip of the strata is to the south-east. 
The only remaining arga of igneous rock which I have to notice is that of the 
Shap Fell granite. This granite is very limited in extent, though very decidedly 
marked in character, and so well known by its boulders scattered far and wide by 
the northern drift. It constitutes the end of a range of rough porphyritic rock 
which immediately underlies the Coniston limestone through its entire course, 
and which here passes under the mountain limestone belt which encircles the Lake 
mountains on their eastern border. All the neighbouring rocks are much indurated 
and altered by heat. In approaching the granite from the west, the Coniston lime- 
stone is lost, and the flagstone above it much altered for some miles in extent. The 
granite has evidently been in a highly fluid state, and has extensively penetrated the 
adjoining slate rocks in ramifying veins. But I saw no evidence of any great faults 
or other disturbance of the natural order of the strata; and in the absence of this 
evidence, the only conclusion I could arrive at was, that this granite also is meta- 
morphic, consisting of the highest bed of the greenstone slate, viz. the rough por- 
phyry immediately underlying the Coniston lime. 
I have now completed the direct evidence to be obtained on the spot as to the 
relative position of the granites and slate rocks, and I must proceed to notice the 
difficulties and objections which may be made to the metamorphic hypothesis. How 
can we account for this metamorphic action of the central heat having been produced 
at such verv different depths in the series of strata, from the lower beds of the 
Skiddaw slate to the highest of the greenstone series ? 
I think this may be explained on the simple supposition that the strata were 
already inclined before the metamorphic change took place. We must take into 
account also the much greater denudation of superincumbent strata which we know 
takes place in some localities, than is observed in others. Combining these two pos- 
tulates, I think we may arrive at a fair solution of the difficulty. If we look at the 
map, we see that the Shap Fells granite occurs at the south-east corner of the di- 
strict, just where the dip of the strata would carry the upper beds down the deepest, 
