TRIASSIC STRATA NEAR SIDMOUTH. 27-') 



for the Sandstone which had disappeared, soon makes its appearance 

 again, having formed a synclinal curve. During the whole of this 

 distance it has been covered by the marl, which, as it advances 

 westward becomes thicker, being less denuded ; it has cappings of 

 Greensand and chalk-gravel at Peake Hill and High Peake. The 

 Sandstone continues to rise gradually to the westward ; but the Marl 

 and overlying Greensand have been cut down by atmospheric denu- 

 dation, forming Windy Gap, which separates High Peake and Peake 

 Hill — High Peake being the higher of the two, but resembling Peake 

 in every other respect. The Sandstone gradually rises until, at a 

 short distance to the west of High Peake, the Marl has been 

 entirely denuded (save in a few places where through faulting it 

 has been brought to a lower level) and it appears on the surface. 



The upper marls are variegated, and especially in the higher part, 

 east of Sidniouth, contain very thin layers of a greenish- grey sand 

 mixed with a large quantity of mica, intercalated with layers of marl, 

 varying in thickness up to two inches, but of the same light colour ; 

 they show ripple-marks, and occasionally contain pseudomorphs of 

 rock-salt. 



The marls between Weston and Branscomb Mouths contain a large 

 quantity of gypsum, which at one time was worked at Branscomb 

 Mouth. A few small veins are to be seen between Salcomb and 

 Weston Mouths. The marls also contain bands of potato-stones 

 enclosing a cavity lined with cakite. Mr. H. B. Woodward objects 

 to my giving them the name of potato-stones, as they do not con- 

 tain quartz crystals. 



The Sandstone, especially at its upper part, where it resembles 

 very much in lithological characters the upper beds of marl, contains 

 a large number of pseudomorphs of rock salt, ripple-marks, and 

 sun-cracks ; but in no case have I met with rain-marks, which we 

 might expect; neither have I met with any foot-prints. Some of the 

 upper sandstones effervesce with hydrochloric acid. Between High 

 Peake. and Otterton Point the sandstones contain spherical masses 

 sometimes almost like a cannon-ball, composed of iron pyrites ; 

 these are washed out of their matrix and lodge at the bottom of 

 the little rocky pools. 



The sandstones also contain curious irregular branching-shaped 

 masses of a harder texture, which withstand the weathering and 

 give the cliff a rugged aspect. It is worthy of notice that, at the 

 points where the Marl reaches down to the beach, there are no 

 reefs on the foreshore opposite, but a beautiful fine-grained red sand, 

 except where large blocks of chert have fallen from the Greensand 

 capping the cliffs ; but wherever the Sandstone appears above the 

 beach one sees large reefs running out to sea for nearly half a mile at 

 low tide ; it does not seem to be the sandstone itself which withstands 

 the weathering, but these curious hard masses contained in it, since 

 they occur in all the projecting points of the cliff formed by the 

 sandstone strata. 



Last autumn, while on a visit to Sidmouth for the second time, I 

 had the good fortune to find the bones of a Labyrinthodont. 



