270 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [May 5, 



NummuliteSi the number of latter increasing very much in the upper 

 beds. 



I will now give a general description of the several ridges above 

 alluded to. That which runs along the coast rises a few miles to the 

 south of the Bay of Rosas, and continues a short distance beyond 

 Barcelona. In its northern part, as far as Blanes, and at a few 

 points farther south, it forms high clifPs on the sea-shore, composed 

 entirely of granite. To the south of Blanes, the granite is overlaid 

 by schistose beds of various thickness, sometimes of several hundred 

 feet : these chiefly cover the north-western side of the ridge, and 

 extend into the plain on that side ; on advancing southwards, however, 

 the schists increase on the south-eastern side. These schistose beds 

 are in many parts covered by limestone, varying very much in extent 

 and thickness, and also by a red marly sandstone, which overlies the 

 limestone, though occasionally it rests on the schist, when the lime- 

 stone is wanting. The granite has been disturbed in several places 

 (subsequently to the deposition of these rocks) by the upheaval of por- 

 phyritic masses, and by the intrusion of granitic veins of great extent 

 and considerable variety. The chief disturbance has taken place 

 near Calella, where a mass of porphyritic rocks has acted upon the 

 ridge. No fossils have been found in the schistose beds, which in 

 many places have been considerably metamorphosed, and are pene- 

 trated in numerous places by granitic veins to a great extent. The 

 thickness of these beds increases very much to the south-west ; and 

 near Barcelona they form two-thirds of the upper part of the ridge. 

 The limestone also varies considerably in character, from a hard cry- 

 stalline mass to a rock of a slaty character. The fossils found in it are 

 very rare, and so much altered in structure that it is difficult 

 to ascertain their genera ; they chiefly consist of Encrinite stems, 

 Orthoceratites, without specific character, and a few obscure Brachio- 

 poda. Two very limited deposits of Coal have been found in this 

 limestone, at Malgrat and Montghat ; in the latter place, the lime- 

 stone, from a mixture of carbonaceous particles, is nearly black for a 

 short distance. It is covered to a very limited extent by a red marly 

 sandstone, which, however, has considerable development to the 

 south-west, which will be again mentioned. Near Montghat, and 

 about ten miles to the north of Barcelona, there is a considerable 

 deposit of this sandstone, forming a low ridge at the base of the 

 granite ridge and between the latter and the coast. The sandstone 

 ridge, from several local appearances and its metamorphic character, 

 appears to have been elevated at a more recent period ; and it con- 

 tains a bed of gypsum, above 100 feet thick, which has been exten- 

 sively worked. A plain, from half a mile to about four miles in 

 width, lies between the granite ridge and the coast. This plain is 

 covered to a considerable depth, from 30 to 50 feet, with the debris 

 of the hills which bound it, mixed up with many thin horizontal 

 layers of calcareous matter, containing a few freshwater and land 

 shells. Close to Barcelona, which is about three miles from the 

 granite ridge, rises Mount Juich, a hill about 700 feet high ; it is 

 composed of numerous beds of sandstone, conglomerates, and impure 



