332 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [May 21, 



Scotland, but comparatively little can be gleaned as to the mode 

 in which the several rocks forming these metamorphic deposits are 

 associated together. 



Along the Banffshire coast the sections exposing rocks of a meta- 

 morphic nature are, on the whole, very satisfactory ; and the mode 

 in which these rocks are here arranged can, in most instances, be 

 distinctly made out. In this part of the North of Scotland there is 

 laid down on geological maps an area represented as occupied by 

 strata analogous to those which make up the Lower Silurian of the 

 South of Scotland ; and in this area it has been stated that Grapto- 

 lites occur. With reference to the latter, I have reason to believe 

 that what have been assumed to be Graptolites are simply dendritic 

 markings of oxide of manganese ; and, as concerns the affinity in 

 the mineral nature of the deposits of Banffshire and the South 

 of Scotland, although there is a general resemblance between 

 them, still the former have a decidedly more crystalline character. 

 This crystalline character of the rocks of Banffshire is by no means 

 equally uniform; and a section along the coast of this county 

 shows that in the eastern extremity less of the result of metamor- 

 phic action is visible among the strata than in the western side. 



On traversing the coast from the Old Red Sandstone of Gamrie,- 

 on the east, to the Old Eed Sandstone of Buckie, on the west, there 

 is seen, among the strata, especially between Gamrie and Banff, a 

 gradual increase of the metamorphic appearance in the several rocks 

 which occupy this interval ; and, west from Banff, rocks having a 

 gneissose aspect are abundantly developed along the coast. 



§ 1. Section from Gamrie to Buckie. (Pig. 1.) 



Commencing on the west side of Gamrie Bay, we have the Old 

 Bed deposits, which, in Mr. Cunningham's memoir, are represented 

 as abutting against the highly inclined " Grey wacke " rocks which 

 form this side of the bay, the latter being intersected by green- 

 stone. This juncture is, however, now obscured by debris. These 

 older rocks, which here appear in the condition of drab shales, 

 dip to the S.E. ; and the same rocks can be seen on the opposite 

 side of the bay, with the same S.E. inclination, at Crovie Head. 



On passing westwards along the coast, there is seen coming out 

 from beneath the drab shales a grey sandstone series, some of the 

 beds of which are made up of layers of pebbles about the size of a 

 pea ; and, in some instances, these pebbly layers are very distinct. 

 This greywacke-sandstone series has, in some of its layers, a cherty 

 composition ; and it passes downwards into quartz-rock, as seen at 

 Melross Head. In this portion of the section, from the drab shales 

 downwards to the quartz-rock, the whole of the strata have a uni- 

 form S.E. dip. At a short distance in the interior from Melross 

 Head, a small area of syenite occurs, as laid down in Mr. Cunning- 

 ham's map. 



At Melross Head a roll occurs ; and on the western side the newer 

 strata succeed the quartz-rocks, and dip N.W. These continue for 



