144 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



25 feet raised beach.. They are to be seen at Red Bay Tunnel, and 

 south of it excavated out of the IS'ew E,ed Sandstone — the principal 

 one being called ' Kanny's Cave.' A little south-east of Cushendun, 

 there are also some very fine and extensive sea-caves occurring in the 

 conglomerates of the Old E,ed Sandstone. The raised beach itself 

 ranges fi'om the 25 feet to the 40 feet contour, and is "^ell marked 

 along the coast at se\reral places between Cushendun and Glenarrff, 

 forming a slight escarpment or clrff of drift and rock along its course. 

 The southern half of the sheet, has for its eastern boundary the shore 

 extending from Red Bay to Grlenarm Bay." 



Memoir Geological Survey of Ireland (sheets 7 and 8), 1888. The 

 district described extends along the coast of Antrim and Derry ; it also 

 includes the Island of Rathlin. 



(p. 7.) — "The shore line from Portrash to Fair Head, east of 

 Ballycastle, composed for the most part of cliffs foi-med of successive 

 tiers of basalt resting on chalk, is generally bold, often inaccessible, 

 more especially in the neighbourhood of Bengore Head, which rises to 

 a height of 367 feet above the waters of the sea, where the celebrated 

 Giant's Causeway makes an interesting geological featui'e. Striking 

 as is the appearance of Bengore Head, it is completely surpassed by 

 that of Benmore or Fair Head, rising 636 feet or nearly double the 

 height of the former. This latter has a cap composed of a massive 

 sheet of dolerite which, on the sea face, is broken up into great poly- 

 gonal monoliths over 250 feet in length. At the base of this lofty 

 clifE broken columns of basalt are confusedly strewn over the slopes to 

 the waters edge, covering the underlying Carboniferous beds. 



" The peninsula of Portnish lies in the extreme north-west comer 

 of the county Antrim, and is fenced on its western side by perpendi- 

 cular cliffs composed of a sheet of dolerite some 70 feet in thickness. 

 The most westerly promontory is called Ramore Head. At a distance 

 of half a mile north-east from Ramore Head, a chain of islands, 

 sixteen in number, called * the Skerries ' commences, and extends in 

 an easterly direction for about a mile and a half, forming a natural 

 breakwater to the north Atlantic waves, which even in comparatively 

 calm weather may often be observed breaking over the seaward faces 

 of the Skerries and throwing the spray high into the air. 



"The coast line at and west of Portrush consists chiefly of cliffs of 

 basalt and dolerite, bounded at the base by a narrow uneven margin of 

 the same rocks, indented by numerous small irregular creeks and bays. 

 The surface at the top of these cliffs stands generally at a height of 



