Dr. Woolacott — A Raised Beach hi Diirhain. 69 



that it shall possess certain well-defined characters, such as the 

 Easington deposit so clearly displays ; but it is certain that all 

 these features cannot always be found at every point in such 

 formations. If, for example, the present coast of Durham was 

 uplifted, there are few places at which such a tout ensemble of 

 characters as we find at Easington could be seen in the elevated 

 deposits. There are not many stretches of the shore where there 

 are accumulating such a distinctly bedded series of deposits with 

 such an assemblage of shells and bored rocks ; in many parts very 

 few bored pebbles and few whole shells occur in the gravels ; the 

 shingle is sometimes not distinctly bedded, and often in front of a 

 limestone clifE a coarse, angular deposit is accumulating (which, if 

 uplifted and cemented, would form a breccia similar to that just 

 referred to). Another feature of marginal deposits, which is often 

 not taken into account, is that for a certain distance below high -water 

 mark there is a zone of erosion and most of the shells are either 

 washed up on shore above it or washed out beyond it, so that parts 

 of uplifted strand deposits may contain few or no shells, because 

 they were formed within this zone. 



The peculiar mode of occurrence and other features of the sands, 

 gravels, conglomerates, and breccias along the coast of Mid-Durham 

 (together with the definite evidence of Raised Beaches on Fulwell 

 and Cleadon Hills to the north), impressed me when I first studied 

 this coast many years ago, and convinced me that these deposits 

 were marginal sea-deposits. I have collected shell fragments from 

 many parts of these beds, but do not remember collecting any perfect 

 shells^ (except at Easington), although I was always expecting 

 to find a typical littoral exj^osure like that at this place. I have no 

 doubt that other similar exposures will be discovered, especially 

 now it is known where to expect them in these deposits. In my 

 opinion the section described in this paper finally settles that these 

 conglomerates are a true Raised Beach, and also proves that they 

 were formed in late Pleistocene times. I further consider that a 

 wave-cut terrace runs along the Durham coast, on which part of 

 these deposits rest. This level platform, with its bed of cemented 

 gravels, forms a noticeable feature of the coast for some miles. It is 

 specially distinct near Easington and Nose's Point, and to the north 

 of Hawthorn Dene. Mr. Lamplugh has asked me to consider the 

 possibility that the beach at Easington may be local (the rest of 

 the course being Fluvio-glacial), and that it is a remnant of a 

 Pre-glacial or early Glacial strand deposit preserved from removal 

 by the ice that swept southwards along this coast,^ while the rest of 

 the deposit was removed ; ^ while, on the other hand, Dr. Trechmann 



^ I have obtained numerous perfect Littorinas from the higher beach on 

 Fulwell, and some have been found in the Cleadon Sand Pit, etc. 



- " The Interglacial Problem and the Glacial and Post-Glacial sequence in 

 Northumberland and Durham " : Geol. Mag., Vol. LVIII, 1921, p. 27. 



^ e.g. the Horsebridge Head deposit near Newbiggen, and the Sewerby 

 Raised Beach near Flamborough Head were so preserved. 



