﻿08 
  

  

  J. 
  CLIFTON 
  WARD 
  ON 
  THE 
  ORIGIN 
  OF 
  SOME 
  

  

  explanation 
  of 
  the 
  formation 
  of 
  rock-basins 
  by 
  snch 
  agents 
  as 
  the 
  

   sea, 
  running 
  water, 
  and 
  mere 
  weather-action, 
  or 
  by 
  rock-disturbance, 
  

   special 
  depression, 
  or 
  the 
  formation 
  of 
  gaping 
  fissures. 
  Certainly 
  

   the 
  lakes 
  in 
  question 
  do 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  formed 
  by 
  any 
  

   such 
  actions. 
  They 
  bear 
  no 
  marks 
  of 
  marine 
  action, 
  even 
  supposing 
  

   the 
  sea 
  capable 
  of 
  scooping 
  out 
  smooth 
  hollows 
  in 
  closed 
  fiords 
  

   running 
  far 
  inland. 
  Such 
  hollows 
  are 
  not 
  now 
  being 
  formed 
  by 
  

   running 
  water, 
  but 
  rather 
  filled 
  up 
  through 
  its 
  action. 
  They 
  do 
  not 
  

   lie 
  in 
  synclinal 
  troughs 
  of 
  rock; 
  for 
  the 
  general 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  

   two 
  sets 
  of 
  lakes 
  is 
  directly 
  across 
  and 
  at 
  right 
  angles 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  

   strike 
  of 
  the 
  rocks. 
  No 
  one 
  could 
  suppose 
  that 
  the 
  shallow 
  basins 
  

   represented 
  in 
  these 
  diagrams 
  were 
  special 
  areas 
  of 
  depression, 
  when 
  

   the 
  contour 
  of 
  their 
  bed 
  is 
  seen 
  to 
  conform 
  so 
  closely 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  

   the 
  hills 
  on 
  either 
  side, 
  and 
  the 
  lie 
  of 
  the 
  rocks 
  shows 
  no 
  evidence 
  

   of 
  so 
  limited 
  a 
  movement. 
  Neither 
  can 
  they 
  possibly 
  be 
  regarded 
  

   as 
  resulting 
  from 
  great 
  fissures 
  having 
  taken 
  place 
  ; 
  for 
  the 
  rocks 
  

   show 
  no 
  signs 
  of 
  such 
  at 
  either 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  long 
  shallow 
  troughs, 
  or 
  

   on 
  either 
  side 
  ; 
  nor, 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  can 
  tell, 
  do 
  the 
  lakes 
  lie 
  along 
  lines 
  

   of 
  fault, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  Derwentwater, 
  which 
  is 
  bounded 
  on 
  

   the 
  east 
  side 
  by 
  a 
  fault 
  throwing 
  together 
  the 
  hard 
  Volcanic 
  Series 
  

   of 
  Borrowdale 
  and 
  the 
  soft 
  Skiddaw 
  Slates 
  (fig. 
  13). 
  

  

  These 
  lakes 
  are, 
  indeed, 
  merely 
  long 
  shallow 
  basins 
  with 
  a 
  

   hmoothed 
  and 
  well-scratched 
  inner 
  surface, 
  worn 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  Skiddaw 
  

   Slate, 
  which 
  is 
  much 
  crumpled, 
  cleaved, 
  and 
  comparatively 
  soft. 
  

   The 
  smoothing 
  and 
  the 
  scratching 
  of 
  the 
  rocks, 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  

   the 
  length 
  of 
  the 
  lakes, 
  may 
  be 
  traced 
  at 
  many 
  points 
  passing 
  under 
  

   the 
  water 
  ; 
  so 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  hollows 
  have 
  been 
  

   at 
  one 
  time 
  filled 
  with 
  glacier-ice 
  ; 
  and 
  it 
  remains 
  to 
  be 
  seen 
  how 
  far 
  

   in 
  these 
  cases 
  Professor 
  Eamsay's 
  theory 
  of 
  the 
  glacial 
  origin 
  of 
  

   lake-basins 
  will 
  hold 
  good. 
  

  

  In 
  a 
  former 
  paper, 
  on 
  " 
  The 
  Glaciation 
  of 
  the 
  Northern 
  Part 
  of 
  the 
  

   Lake 
  District"*, 
  I 
  brought 
  forward 
  details 
  to 
  prove 
  that 
  at 
  the 
  

   period 
  of 
  greatest 
  glaciation 
  the 
  large 
  glaciers 
  were 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   confluent, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  district 
  was 
  almost 
  com- 
  

   pletely 
  enveloped 
  in 
  ice. 
  In 
  the 
  longitudinal 
  sections 
  (figs. 
  1 
  & 
  3), 
  

   however, 
  I 
  have 
  made 
  the 
  thickness 
  of 
  the 
  ice 
  no 
  greater 
  than 
  the 
  

   highest 
  ice-scratches 
  pointing 
  down 
  the 
  valleys 
  clearly 
  warrant. 
  In 
  

   many 
  cases 
  ice-rounded 
  rocks 
  are 
  common 
  above 
  the 
  point 
  at 
  which 
  

   the 
  highest 
  scratches 
  are 
  seen 
  ; 
  but 
  for 
  our 
  present 
  purpose 
  we 
  will 
  

   ignore 
  this 
  further 
  evidence 
  and 
  take 
  a 
  low 
  estimate 
  of 
  the 
  thickness 
  

   of 
  the 
  old 
  glaciers. 
  At 
  the 
  very 
  outset 
  of 
  our 
  examination 
  a 
  diffi- 
  

   culty 
  will 
  present 
  itself 
  to 
  some 
  minds. 
  If 
  we 
  take 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  

   old 
  Borrowdale 
  glacier 
  and 
  mark 
  its 
  course 
  along 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  

   Derwent, 
  over 
  the 
  present 
  sites 
  of 
  Derwentwater 
  and 
  Bassenthwaite, 
  

   we 
  are 
  struck 
  by 
  the 
  great 
  flatness 
  of 
  the 
  ground 
  for 
  full 
  thirteen 
  

   miles, 
  from 
  Seathwaite 
  to 
  the 
  lower 
  end 
  of 
  Bassenthwaite 
  lake, 
  ten 
  

   miles 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  occupied 
  along 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  section 
  either 
  by 
  existing 
  

   lake 
  or 
  alluvium 
  representing 
  former 
  lake. 
  If, 
  then, 
  we 
  had 
  to 
  

   consider 
  the 
  old 
  glacier 
  a 
  line 
  of 
  ice 
  by 
  itself, 
  arising 
  in 
  the 
  part 
  

   * 
  Quart. 
  Journ. 
  Geol. 
  Soc. 
  vol. 
  xxix. 
  p. 
  422. 
  

  

  