828 J. GEIKIE ON THE GLACIAL PHENOMENA 



Caunter, however, had in the course of time made another collection 

 of shells, which he showed to Dr. Carpenter and Professor Wyville 

 Thomson when they visited Lewis some years ago. He was then 

 informed that the shells were all of recent species, still found living 

 round the shores of Lewis, which of course might quite well he the 

 case, and yet at the same time the shells might be of interglacial or 

 late glacial age. Not knowing this, but judging the shells to be no 

 longer of any scientific value, Mr. Caunter unfortunately threw 

 them away. He has, however, been good enough to supply me with 

 a number of specimens of the clay and its associated deposits, which 

 have been carefully washed by Mr. James Bennie, with the result 

 of yielding a number of Eoraminifera and Entomostraca. These, 

 however, will be described in a future paper, when I hope to con- 

 clude my observations on the glacial phenomena of the Long Island. 

 It ought to be mentioned that occasional loose boulders of hard 

 Cambrian grit and sandstone are met with in the Eye Peninsula, 

 which are of precisely the same character as the similar boulders of 

 the same rocks that occur in the west of Lewis, at Barabhais, and 

 in the neighbourhood of the Butt. These can hardly have been 

 derived from any part of the Cambrian strata which are now ex- 

 posed in the neighbourhood of Stornoway. The latter are composed 

 of conglomerate and somewhat incoherent grit and shaly sandstone, 

 which is soft and crumbling. The erratics, however, are exceed- 

 ingly hard ; and I agree with Mr. Caunter that they have in all pro- 

 bability been derived from the Cambrian of the mainland, as at 

 Ullapool. 



III. Haeeis. 



1. Physical Features. — Harris, which with Lewis forms one island, 

 is about 20 miles in length, and, like most of the islands of the 

 Outer Hebrides, has a most irregular coast-line. It attains its 

 greatest breadth (18 miles) between Loch Resort and Scalpa Sound, 

 and narrows at Tairbeart (Tarbert) to such an extent that the east 

 and west lochs of that name nearly meet, the distance between them 

 not being more than half a mile. South of the Tarbert the island 

 attains an average breadth of 7 miles or so. Harris is almost 

 wholly mountainous, the only level land consisting of a few insigni- 

 ficant patches of alluvium and raised beach. In North Harris occur 

 some of the boldest mountains in the Long Island, among which 

 some of the most prominent are An Cliseam (the Clisham), 2622 

 feet ; An Langa, 2438 feet ; and Leoisabhal, 1351 feet. 



The hills of South Harris do not reach an elevation of 1700 feet, 

 the highest points being An Tarcul (1654 feet) and Beinn Losgcinntir 

 (1529 feet) in the north, and Roinebhal (1506 feet) in the south. 



The barren aspect presented by the hillier portions of Lewis is re- 

 peated over all Harris. The whole country looks as if it had been 

 scraped and bared, any soil it may once have possessed having been 

 swept off the hill-tops and hill-sides, and only a thin sprinkling left 

 in valleys and sheltered hollows. In North Harris and the 

 northern part of South Harris the mountains often show precipitous 



