various parts of Scotland. 395 



proachin^ them on any side they exhibit high columnar precipices, 

 surmounted by grassy irregular plains, and surrounded by rocky 

 shores of dijfficult access, which are whitened by a rapid and ge- 

 nerally turbulent sea. It is easy to perceive that they are all of a 

 trap formation, and with that general knowledge of two of them, 

 Eilanakily and Eilan Wirrey, I was obliged to remain content, as a 

 gale of v/ind with thick weather coming on soon after I landed on 

 Gariveilan prevented me from extending my examination further, 

 without endangering the boat and her crew. I trust that some 

 future mineralogist, with better fortune, may complete the investi- 

 gation which I was obliged to leave undone, and fill up the blanks 

 which will be found in my brief account of this very picturesque 

 and interesting spot. 



The boat landed in a bay on the north side of Gariveilan, where 

 a noble facade of columnar trap descends perpendicularly and 

 without a break into the sea, rising to an elevation, as I should 

 guess, of 200 feet. In picturesque effect, and in continuous pro- 

 fundity of shade, it excels even the celebrated cliffs of Staffa. The 

 columns are however neither so regular nor so perpendicular as 

 those of that island, but rather resemble the obscurely formed ones 

 which occur on the shores of Ulva. A few here and there present 

 nearly the same degree of regularity as those well-known specimens 

 on the south side of Arthur's seat. This colonnade extends along 

 a great part of the northern shore, plunging under the water to the 

 eastward, while towards the west it is so elevated as to allow an 

 examination of several strata, which lie beneath it. At the south 

 side of the island the ground slopes so as nearly to meet the sea. 

 It is on this south side, and at the eastern end, that these different 

 strata come into view. The lowermost bed is a dark purple horn- 

 stone, of which the thickness cannot be determined, as nothing is 



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