6oo Coal. 



and west are now partly covered by Permian and New 

 Eed Sandstone rocks 4, shrouding parts of the strata 

 that lie in synclinal curves. The high rising strata 

 of the upper part of the anticlinal curve were destroyed 

 by denudation, and great part of the synclinal curves 

 have been preserved because they were bent down so 

 low, and partly covered by newer rocks, and have there- 

 fore been protected from the wasting effects of rain, 

 rivers, and the sea in older times. This, I repeat, is the 

 reason why so many coalfields lie in basin-shaped 

 forms. And this form is quite independent of Permian 

 and Secondary strata lying accidentally on the coal- 

 beds. Thus the South Wales and Forest of Dean 

 coalfields were never covered by these formations, and 

 both are basin-shaped, and form with the Bristol and 

 Mendip Coalfield parts of one original coalfield, now 

 turned into three coal-basins by disturbance and denu- 

 dation. 



North of South Wales and Dean Forest all the other 

 coalfields of England, and I think I may add of 

 Scotland, probably once formed one coalfield ; and 

 these have been separated by disturbances which threw 

 their strata into long anticlinal and synclinal curves. 

 The Staffordshire, North Wales, and Lancashire coal- 

 fields were certainly one, and these were united to the 

 Warwickshire, Leicestershire, and Nottingham and 

 Derbyshire coalfields, which again joined that of Durham 

 and Northumberland, which again was united to the coal- 

 fields of Cumberland, and probably of Scotland. They 

 have since been disjoined by curvature of the strata com- 

 bined with denudation, and the Northumberland and 

 Yorkshire coalfields are now independent basins, partly 

 buried under Permian and New Red Sandstone strata. 

 And so, of the other visible coalfields, Warwick, Leicester, 



