590 ME. E. D. TEEXOX OX THE GEOLOGY AXD [DeC. I9I2, 



ridge from ISTuneaton to Atherstone, which rises to 500 feet 

 above sea-level. Within the basin the Carboniferous and Permian 

 formations, consisting of alternating beds of soft marl and hard 

 sandstone, give rise to a low, much dissected plateau, which, how- 

 ever, north of Meriden, on the line of the watershed that divides 

 the basins of the Trent and Severn, rises to a height of 600 feet 

 above the sea. Finallj^ the whole inlier of Palaeozoic rocks is 

 surrounded by the Trias, which gives rise to a third type of scenery, 

 the broad undulating country forming the eastern part of the 

 Midland plain. 



Although this paper is concerned chiefly with the Carboniferous 

 rocks, it is necessary to mention briefly the other formations, both 

 above and below, which occur in the immediate neighbourhood. 

 The following table embodies a synopsis of the various formations 

 and groups of rocks, according to the new classification which it 

 is proposed to establish on the evidence detailed in a later portion 

 of this paper : — 



Table of Formations. 



a cj .-n ^ ^ i. rM ' ^ r Alluvium and peat. 



g I ^Recent and post-Glacial - | Ri^^er-g.-avels. 



2 § J 



g ft K,, T . 11 r Boulder-clays, sands, and ffravels. 



&^ IGlaeiaP | with erratic blocks. 



r Red marls with thin sandstones 



:^ I p . r Red sandstones, marlsand breccias. 



I ^ir-ermian | Corley Conglomerates at the base. 



PhJ [Keele Beds. — Red sandstones 



I and marls with three beds of 

 I Spirorbis Limestone. 

 , -,-r /-, 1 ir ! Hannchwood Sandstones. — 



( Upper Coal Measures | ^^^^^ sandstones, marls, and 



' T -r, °^/-, 1 Tir ■ shales with iSoMwiw Limestones. 



Red Barren Coal Measures | j^r^^^aton Clays.-Red marls 



1 and clays containing Espley 

 j Socks, local breccias, and a bed of 

 1^ Sinrorbis Limestone. 



^ fXeuper 

 H [Bunter, 



Soft red and white flags and marls. 

 Sandstones and conglomerates. 



< Middle Coal Measures [' Grej- shales, sandstones and under- 



I or \ clays with numerous seams of 



\^ Productive Coal Measures 1 coal and beds of ironstone. 



■^ r Stockingford Shales Shales (with intrusive diorite). 



Hartshill Quartzite Quartzite (with intrusive diorite). 



o 



'^\r^^^J.^^ I Sheets of breccia, tuffs, and grits 



« ^Caldecote Rocks | of volcanic origin. 



^ The drift deposits are of no great thickness, except near Xenilworth'and 

 also south of Exhall, where clay, sand, and gravel occur up to 70 feet in 

 thickness. 



