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ON THE ORIGIN OF THE " RAISED BEACH," AND THE CLIFF 

 BOULDERS OF FALMOUTH BAY ; AND OF THE DRIFT BEDS 

 ON PLYMOUTH HOE. 

 By NICHOLAS WHITLEY, C.E., F.R.Met.S. 



On the coast-line of Falmoutli Bay, and on the south of the 

 Falmouth Hotel, a remarkable and instructive series of 

 beds of drift have been exposed by the erosion of the coast- 

 line by the sea ; they have been described by Sir Henry de la 

 Beche in connection with many other similar deposits on the 

 coasts of Devon and Cornwall ; and he adds that " the occurrence 

 of flints in some of these raised-beaches, is not of easy 

 explanation." 



As the so-called " Raised Beach " immediately south of the 

 Falmouth Hotel is now hid behind a retaining wall recently 

 erected, I have put on record a carefully prepared section of its 

 various beds, and having further examined this part of the coast- 

 line west^vard, I found between Gyllenvase Beach and Swanpool 

 Point three additional patches of similar deposits as shown by 

 the following sections. 



Section No. \, near the Falmouth Hotel. 



The beds in descending order are — 



No. 1. A foot of soil with broken pieces of quartz and 

 slate at the base, the trail ; passing into,— 



2. About 3 feet of clayey loam with angular pieces of 

 crushed slate mostly pitched upright in the loam. A well-defined 

 parting at base. 



3. About 4 feet of very fine brown silicious sand, as fine as 

 that in an hour-glass, with a few scattered stones. Well defined 

 at the base. 



4. Three to four feet of coarse silicious sand and layers of 

 gravel, mainly of white quartz perfectly rounded, and a water- 

 worn pebble of flint. 



