1846.3 MURCHISON ON THE GEOLOGY OF G.OTHLAND. 21 



clear at certain points only, the most remarkable of these being at 

 Hog Klint, Klinte Berg, and from Grotlingbo to Mount Hoburg. 



To the south of Hog Klint and along its inland continuation, called 

 Tofta, the surface of the ground, z.e. the limestone (/) (much obscured 

 by northern drift and local calcareous detritus), declines gradually to 

 the south into the depressions of Sandviken or Vestergarn and the 

 bay of Klinte. At the latter place, the low country extends for some 

 distance eastwards and E.N.E. into the island, and by numerous 

 wells sunk for water, as well as by the heavy surface-soil, the sub- 

 stratum of this valley is known to be a greenish grey shale, very 

 similar to the shale both above and below the Wenlock limestone in 

 England. 



This central Gothland shale (^ of section) more resembles the 

 Lower Ludlow rock than the Wenlock shale ; since by certain sink- 

 ings it has been found to contain argillaceous flagstones. These 

 shale-beds are distinctly overlaid by a bold ledge of limestone, Klinte 

 Berg, which presents an escarpment sixty or seventy feet high above 

 the plain, and trending from W.S.W. to E.N.E. At Djupviken on 

 the coast, where the shale crops out from beneath the limestone, it 

 is found to contain the Calymene Blumenbachii and several very 

 minute Trilobites, with Terebratula prisca, Leptcena depressa^ Del- 

 thyris cardiospermiformis, Delthyris or Spirifer crispus, Atrypa tu- 

 mida^ and Orthoceratites. 



The overlying limestone (h of section, fig. 11) (and we examined 

 its summit and sides transversely for two or three English miles) is 

 at least sixty feet thick, and contains in its central and massive parts 

 abundance of Pentameri (the Gypidia conchidium of Hisinger), 

 associated with Terebratula Wilsoni, Terebratula prisca or affinis, 

 and numerous corals, including Catenipora escharoides and others, of 

 which the Favosites Gothlandica and ihePorites pyriformis constitute 

 entire reefs. The uppermost stage of this limestone is a perfect con- 

 geries of Encrinites, the large stems of which are occasionally very 

 striking. This succession presents, then, a decided distinction be- 

 tween the beds of Klinte and those of Wisby and Hog Klint, where 

 the encrinite band specially occupies the lower part of the limestone 

 (see fig. 9). 



As a local distinction between the limestones of Wisby and Klin- 

 teberg it may be noted, that the uppermost ledge of the latter is 

 made up of Encrinites in flagstones, whilst in the sections near Wisby 

 (fig. 9) these fossils abound in the lowest strata of the limestone. 



Although the strata are here what would be called horizontal, 

 they appeared to me to hang slightly to the S.S.E., and the form 

 of the escarpment, which runs E.N.E., transversely to the longitu- 

 dinal axis of the island, together with the gentle slope of the land 

 southwards from the summit of this escarpment, favour this view. 



We had not time at our disposal to visit the adjacent islands of 

 the Great and Little Charles (Stora and Lilla Karlso), which lie off 

 this western shore of Gothland ; but we saw their bluff escarpments 

 sufficiently well in a bright autumnal day, to perceive that each of 

 their summits consisted of tabular limestone reposing on shale like 

 the rocks of Klinteberg on the main island. 



