130 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF BLACKPOOL AND DISTRICT 



As arguments in favour of its conservation, its scientific interests are no 

 less cogent than its aesthetic attraction. This attraction may be said to be 

 founded upon the strong individuality of the district, and upon the extreme 

 variety of scenery, from the severest to the gentlest beauty, which it presents 

 within its small area. For the area within which the lakes themselves are 

 found is embraced by a circle of only 1 5 miles' radius, the centre of which is 

 a little west of Dunmail Raise, the summit of the road (782 feet) between 

 Ambleside and Keswick. 



The ' dome-like uplift of the district during Tertiary time * which ' gave 

 rise to the radial drainage that persists to the present day,' as indicated at the 

 close of the following section on the geology of the district, is no longer 

 apparent on the ground, for the middle of the dome has been broken down 

 by erosion : nor does any eminence afford sight of the radial arrangement of 

 the main valleys, though this is evident on a map. The heads of those valleys, 

 however, are not centralized : instead, there is a well-marked water-parting 

 between northward and southward drainage, and on this divide Dunmail 

 Raise, centrally placed, is the lowest point. Westward of this pass the divide 

 runs along the heights, north of Langdale, and thence to Hanging Knotts and 

 Great End, and to Great Gable and Pillar above Wastdale : eastward it leads 

 by Fairfield and the Kirkstone Pass to Nan Bield, and so across the lower fells 

 beyond. The highest points on this divide are in the west, and the highest in 

 the whole district, Scafell Pike (3,210 feet), is near but not actually on the 

 divide in this direction. 



A broad scenic distinction, involving a threefold division, is very clearly 

 seen between the sedimentary rocks, principally in the north and south, and the 

 volcanic and igneous rocks, principally in the centre, as detailed in the following 

 section. 



It is with the volcanic rocks that the roughest and grandest scenery is 

 associated ; they vary in texture and hardness, and have weathered into crags, 

 ravines and precipices contrasting strongly with the smooth outlines of the 

 sedimentary rocks. In illustration, the easy slopes of Skiddaw may be 

 compared with the severe, broken lines of the Scafell-Gable group of heights : 

 Helvellyn and the noble head of Ullswater with the tranquil foot of that lake : 

 the rugged head of Langdale with the gentle scenery around Windermere, 

 upon which the dale debouches. 



II. GEOLOGY. 



BY 



T. EASTWOOD, A.R.C.S., F.G.S. 



The Lake District, with its charming and varied scenery, is within com- 

 paratively easy reach of Blackpool in these days of rapid transport. Its 

 geology is no less interesting than its topography, but the following account 

 can be regarded only as an introduction to this subject, and the reader is 

 referred to the various publications of the Geological Survey, and to Marr's 

 ' Geology of the Lake District ' for further information. 



