1848.]| ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 287 
the Weever on the south, as has been before shown when describing 
the course of that river. To the north they cross the Mersey into 
Lancashire, as is seen near Warrington and Runcorn. The further 
extension to the west of the new red sandstone in South Lancashire 
and in Wirral will not now be noticed. The district of Wirral is 
separated from the rest of Cheshire by the anticlinal fault throwing | 
up the coals at Neston, and can be more properly noticed in connexion 
with Flintshire than with the district which has been here described. 
Thus in the foregoing pages it has been attempted to trace an out- 
line of the chief geological features of Cheshire. We see it bounded 
on the eastern side by the high range of hills forming a portion of 
the Lancashire, Cheshire, and the Pottery or North Staffordshire 
coal-fields. From Forest Chapel, or Shutlingslow, as the central 
point, dislocations extend in almost every direction, the chief of these 
being an anticlinal line extending thence in a northerly direction to 
Ludworth, a broken anticlinal line (being a continuation of the same) 
extending thence southerly towards Leek, and an anticlinal line pass- 
ing by Mow Cop and the borders of Cheshire to Madley. Connected 
with these, a synclinal line has been shown to extend from Ludworth 
to near Leek, parallel to and to the east of the first- and second-men- 
tioned anticlinal lines. A synclinal line has also been shown to range 
parallel to and to the south-east of the anticlinal line passing by Mow. 
In this same district it is seen that a narrow band of the Bunter 
sandstein of an average width of one mile occupies the valley from 
Leek to Cloud, End, bounded on both sides by millstone or limestone 
shale. From Bosley, where this last red sandstone fault emerges 
imto the plain of Cheshire, it has been stated that the same is most 
probably continued across Chester to Rosthern, between Lymm and 
Warburton, forming the north-eastern boundary of the Cheshire 
salt-field. Thus it has been shown that dislocations affecting both 
the North Staffordshire coal-field, the chief Cheshire coal-field, and 
a considerable part of Cheshire, centre in or near Shutlingslow. The 
salt of Cheshire, with a few exceptions, has been shown to be situated 
in a broad valley or trough between the western side of the anticlinal 
line rangmg by Mow Cop and the ranges of the Peckforton and De- 
lamere Hills. Along these last ranges a dislocation passes from 
south-west to north-east, boundimg the Northwich salt on the west, 
and thence continuing by Rosthern. The origin of the insulated 
brine-springs at Aldersey, Millbank, Woolstone and Woolden has 
been here ascribed to dislocations bringmg the brine into those 
districts from other parts, as dislocations pass from the salt-districts 
by or near to those respective places at which no traces of salt- 
rock had been found. With respect to the brine and the gypseous 
beds on the Weever, below Northwich, these appear to be the re- 
mains of the saliferous beds now confined to a narrow valley, the 
underlying Bunter sandstein and waterstone beds being thrown up 
on the north and south sides thereof. 
The existence of rock-salt in the south of Cheshire has not been 
proved, but may be inferred from the sinkings of the ground in 
those brine districts, similar to the sinkings which take place from 
