472 proceed™ GS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 19, 



for several years past whilst carrying on the work of the Geological 

 Survey. The process has been necessarily slow ; for the direct evi- 

 dences do not generally obtrude themselves upon one's notice, and 

 they are so sparingly scattered over the ground, and so affected by 

 the form of the ground and other local causes, that any generaliza- 

 tion from a mere partial examination of the district would be worth- 

 less. It has been my privilege to go over the greater part of the 

 area acre by acre ; and although objects of more practical utility have 

 been the chief aim of this examination, I have always been on the 

 look-out for any records of the Glacial period which are graven on 

 the rocks themselves. I believe that very few such which are ex- 

 posed have escaped my notice ; and those found I have endeavoured 

 to register impartially, leaning as little as may be towards one theory 

 or another. 



I intend, first, very briefly to describe the physical features of the 

 district. 



The region lies between latitude 53° 38' and 54° 18', and Extends 

 from the great watershed of England on the east to Morecambe Bay 

 and the Irish Sea on the west. To the N.N.W. are the Lake moun- 

 tains, and to the south the plains of Cheshire and South Lancashii'e. 

 The accompanying map (PI. XXX.) will explain better than words 

 the features of the country. It is on the scale of -i inch to a mile, 

 and is coloured to represent elevations. The contours of one half 

 of it have been reduced from the Ordnance 1-inch contoured maps, 

 the remainder from the 6-inch scale. The levels which I have 

 used are those of 200, 500, 1000, 1500, 2000 feet. The great water- 

 shed is traced in lozenge-shaped dots. 



On the west, next the sea is a great plain, a continuation of that 

 of South Lancashire and Cheshire. It consists chiefly of Trias and 

 Permian much covered and almost entirely concealed by Glacial 

 drift and alluvium. This all lies below the 200-feet contour, and is 

 in some places more than 12 miles broad. Its extent is rudely 

 represented by the main mass left white on the west margin of the 

 map. 



With the exception of a small portion in the north-west corner of the 

 map forming the estuary of the river Kent, the rest of the district 

 west of the watershed consists of the drainage-systems of the Eibble 

 and the Lune. The whole of the Ribble-basin is contained in the 

 district, and a great portion of that of the Lune. The main direc- 

 tion of these rivers is from the north-east. 



The Ilibble-basin is bounded on the south-east by a chain of moor- 

 lands running north-easterly from Chorley, called by Mr. Hull the 

 Rossendale Anticlinal. They rise to heights of from 1000 to 1500 

 feet, one summit only attaining the latter elevation. Their southern 

 flanks drain into the Irwell, and thence by Manchester into the 

 Mersey. On the north of them is a long valley containing the valu- 

 able coal-field of Burnley and Blackburn. This country drains north 

 by the rivers Calder and Darwen, which pass through narrow defiles 

 in the long Pendle range of hills into the valley of the Ribble. 



The Pendle chain of hills is a strongly marked feature in the 



