234 



THE BRITISH ISLES. 



north, and culminate in tlie Wliernsidc (2,41'1 feet), in Yorkshire, and Cross Fell 

 (2,892 feet), on the borders of Durliam. A transverse range connects the Pennine 

 chain with the Cumbrian Mountains, which are higher still. 



The scenery of the Pennine range is by no means inferior to that of the 

 Malvern ITills. The higher summits, it is true, are covered with heather or peat, 

 but their slopes are wooded or clad with succulent grasses. The finest oaks of all 

 England shade the southern slopes of the hills of Derbyshire and Nottingham- 

 shire. Delightful valleys penetrate the chain wherever we look, and the naked- 

 ness of the rocks enhances the beauty of the smiling landscapes which lie at their 

 base. Derbyshire and the valley of the Yorkshire Ouse may fairly dispute with 

 the "Weald of Kent and the vale of Severn the claim of being considered the finest 

 parts of England. Eunning water abounds in these hills, for the rains are 

 abundant. Through every valley a winding rivulet, sparkling amidst the verdure, 

 hastens along to pay its tribute to the " tranquil Ure, the flying Wharfe, or the 



Fig. 114. — 'J'he "Peak" of Derbyshire. 

 Scale 1 : 110,000. 



W.of G. 



1 Mile. 



superb Ouse." * Caverns, some of them in the possession of miners in search of 

 argentiferous lead, abound in this limestone region, and the water, charged with 

 carbonate of lime, which trickles, from their roofs, has formed innumerable stalac- 

 tites, whose beauty delights the visitor. Some of these caverns have been explored 

 by men of science, and the objects discovered in them have enriched the museums 

 of the country. An old mine yielded the remains of a human being and of 3,750 

 animals, belonging to five different species, and amongst articles of human work- 

 manship there was a precious design of a horse's head graven upon the bone of an 

 animal. t 



The uplands, which separate the basins of the Trent and Ouse from the North 

 Sea, are pretty regular in their direction. The whole of this littoral region is 

 formed of oolitic and cretaceous rocks, which strike north and south in narrow 

 bands. Separated by the great fissure through which the Ouse and Trent find 



* Spenser, "Faerie Queen." 



t W. Boyd Dawkins, Journal of the Geological Society, Feb., 1877. 



