THE BASIX OF THE SEVERN AND THE BRISTOL CHANNEL. 



97 



virtue of their medicinal springs. Whilst the Malvern Hills are covered with 

 villas and hotels, the Forest of Dean, to the south of them, has become a great 

 centre of industry, abounding in coal and iron. Dean Forest, notwithstanding its 

 coal-pits and blast furnaces, is a picturesque district, comprising some 26,000 acres 

 of wild woodland, producing some of the finest timber in the country. 



Of the ranges which bound the vale of the Severn on the east, the Cotswold 

 Hills, rising in Cleeve Hill to a height of 1,134 feet, are the most important. 

 These hills are named after their " cots," or shepherds' huts, and have in turn 

 given their name to one of the most highly prized breeds of sheep, whose excellence 

 is due to the short and savoury grass which grows upon the oolitic rocks. This 



Fig. 53. — Promontories and Be.\ch of We.<^ton-si'per-IiIare. 

 Pcile 1 : 195,000. 



c 



i oreshore. 



Depth under 

 2* Fathoms. 



Depth 2i to 5 

 Fathoms. 



Depth over 5 

 Fathoms. 



3 Miles. 



range terminates in the hills which form so fine an amphitheatre around Bath, on 

 the Avon, and mav be traced even beyond that river, where there are a few 

 heights belonging to the same geological formations. The environs of Bath 

 are well known for their fossil wealth. Here cuttle-fish of gigantic size have 

 been found, which still retained pigment fit for use, notwithstanding the count- 

 less ages that must have elapsed from the time of its secretion by the living 

 organism. 



Towards its mouth the valley of the Severn is almost shut in by spurs thrown 



off from the mountains of Wales and the range of the Cotswolds. To the north of 



this ancient barrier the vale of Gloucester widens, its shape being that of a 



triangle whose apex lies in the south. The rocks spread over the valley of 



114 



