Kimeridge Clay. 



of the overlying Purbeck Lime- 

 stone is well seen in the Isle of 

 Portland, where all the strata dip 

 gently from north to south, as 

 shown in the annexed diagram. 



The KIM BRIDGE CLAY takes 

 its name from Kimeridge Bay in 

 Dorsetshire, on the cliffs of which 

 it is well exposed, with bands of 

 cement stones and many fossils, 

 such as Ammonites, Belemnites, 

 Reptilian bones, and many ordin- 

 ary molluscous shells. Certain 

 hard, shaley bands at Little 

 Kimeridge have been at intervals 

 used for the manufacture of 

 naphtha and mineral oils, but, I 

 think, never with great success. |j 

 West of this area the clay is well 

 known in the northern half of 

 Portland Isle, in Portland Road, 

 and in the country near the chalk 

 hills, between Ringstead Bay and 

 Abbotsbury. North of this it is 

 overlapped by the Cretaceous 

 rocks between Abbotsbury and 

 Buckland Newton near Cerne 

 Abbas, from whence, beginning 

 in a narrow band, it gradually 

 widens, trending north along the 

 borders of the Cretaceous escarp- 

 ment between Shaftesbury and 

 Mere. West of Mere it occurs in 

 interrupted patches at the foot of 



