﻿THE 
  GLACIAI, 
  PERIOD 
  IN 
  NORTH. 
  BRITAIN. 
  323 
  

  

  ekirts 
  I 
  came 
  upon 
  mounds 
  of 
  gravel 
  which 
  did 
  not 
  form 
  a 
  zone 
  or 
  

   sheet 
  at 
  any 
  regular 
  level, 
  but 
  were 
  disposed 
  in 
  a 
  manner 
  I 
  could 
  

   not 
  account 
  for 
  by 
  marine 
  action 
  of 
  any 
  sort. 
  Nowhere 
  did 
  they 
  

   reach 
  to 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  400 
  or 
  even 
  300 
  feet 
  ; 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  top 
  and 
  

   sides 
  of 
  the 
  hill 
  seemed 
  completely 
  destitute 
  of 
  marine 
  deposits 
  of 
  

   any 
  kind 
  — 
  no 
  beds 
  of 
  gravel, 
  shingle, 
  sand, 
  or 
  silt 
  — 
  nothing 
  but 
  the 
  

   angular 
  stony 
  rubbish 
  of 
  the 
  gneiss, 
  quartz 
  -rock, 
  and 
  granite 
  of 
  

   which 
  the 
  hill 
  is 
  composed. 
  

  

  Mormond 
  is 
  somewhat 
  of 
  a 
  horseshoe-form, 
  by 
  reason 
  of 
  two 
  

   spurs 
  or 
  ridges 
  it 
  throws 
  out 
  towards 
  Fraserburgh, 
  which 
  enclose 
  a 
  

   hollow 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  bosom 
  of 
  the 
  hill. 
  This 
  hollow 
  contains 
  a 
  

   bed 
  of 
  peat, 
  below 
  which 
  we 
  find 
  coarse 
  grey 
  mud, 
  like 
  what 
  occurs 
  

   beneath 
  a 
  glacier, 
  full 
  of 
  stones, 
  several 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  ice-scratched. 
  

   In 
  front 
  of 
  this 
  hollow, 
  at 
  the 
  distance 
  of 
  a 
  mile 
  or 
  so 
  towards 
  

   Fraserburgh, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  transverse 
  ridge 
  of 
  gravelly 
  debris 
  (some- 
  

   what 
  like 
  a 
  kaim), 
  called 
  the 
  Sinclair 
  Hills, 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  

   not 
  more 
  than 
  50 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  sea. 
  The 
  explanation 
  of 
  the 
  matter 
  

   I 
  take 
  to 
  be 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  — 
  This 
  hill 
  was 
  no 
  doubt 
  encircled 
  by 
  the 
  

   sea, 
  or 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  completely 
  under 
  it 
  during 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  

   submergence 
  ; 
  but 
  after 
  the 
  waters 
  withdrew, 
  it 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  

   covered 
  by 
  snow 
  and 
  ice, 
  which 
  obliterated 
  all 
  trace 
  of 
  the 
  sea's 
  

   presence, 
  and 
  carried 
  down 
  the 
  gravelly 
  debris 
  to 
  its 
  outer 
  edge 
  to 
  

   form 
  the 
  mounds 
  we 
  now 
  see 
  along 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  hill. 
  The 
  hollow 
  

   in 
  its 
  northern 
  face 
  was 
  probably 
  occupied 
  by 
  a 
  glacier 
  which 
  

   stretched 
  further 
  out, 
  the 
  ridge 
  of 
  the 
  Sinclair 
  Hills 
  marking 
  its 
  

   former 
  termination. 
  Some 
  of 
  this 
  gravel 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  originally 
  

   of 
  marine 
  formation, 
  and 
  afterwards 
  remodelled 
  by 
  the 
  glacier 
  and 
  

   by 
  the 
  water 
  flowing 
  from 
  it. 
  In 
  the 
  north-eastern 
  part 
  of 
  Aber- 
  

   deenshire 
  I 
  find 
  traces 
  of 
  heavy 
  snow 
  beds, 
  or 
  small 
  glaciers 
  of 
  the 
  

   second 
  order, 
  on 
  the 
  flanks 
  of 
  hills 
  even 
  lower 
  than 
  Mormond 
  ; 
  but 
  

   in 
  most 
  districts 
  these 
  low 
  hills 
  have 
  been 
  overrun 
  by 
  ice 
  from 
  the 
  

   interior 
  of 
  the 
  country. 
  

  

  § 
  4. 
  Moraines 
  at 
  Low 
  Levels. 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  proofs 
  that 
  the 
  glacier 
  and 
  not 
  the 
  sea 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  

   last 
  occupant 
  of 
  the 
  surface 
  is 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  well-preserved 
  

   moraines 
  at 
  low 
  levels. 
  Now 
  the 
  goodness 
  of 
  the 
  evidence 
  here 
  de- 
  

   pends, 
  first, 
  upon 
  the 
  certainty 
  that 
  the 
  masses 
  in 
  question 
  are 
  really 
  

   moraines, 
  and, 
  secondly, 
  upon 
  the 
  assurance 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  never 
  

   been 
  covered 
  by 
  the 
  sea 
  since 
  they 
  were 
  formed. 
  Differences 
  of 
  

   opinion 
  will, 
  no 
  doubt, 
  exist 
  for 
  some 
  time 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  both 
  of 
  these 
  

   points. 
  

  

  When 
  Agassiz 
  visited 
  Dr. 
  Fleming 
  at 
  Aberdeen, 
  in 
  1840, 
  he 
  was 
  

   shown 
  some 
  ridges 
  of 
  gravel 
  near 
  the 
  coast, 
  a 
  little 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  of 
  

   that 
  city, 
  and 
  pronounced 
  them 
  to 
  be 
  moraines. 
  Fleming 
  dissented 
  

   from 
  this 
  opinion, 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  of 
  more 
  recent 
  

   origin 
  than 
  the 
  beds 
  of 
  fine 
  clay 
  beside 
  them, 
  which 
  contain 
  arctic 
  

   shells. 
  I 
  think 
  Agassiz 
  was 
  right 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  mounds 
  being 
  moraines, 
  

   and 
  that 
  Fleming 
  was 
  also 
  right, 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  a 
  more 
  recent 
  

  

  