A HISTORY OF DEVONSHIRE 



concludes that the shells afford evidence of a different contour, of shelv- 

 ing shores and abundance of sand, whilst species such as Trophon trunca- 

 tus indicate colder conditions ; Torbay being then, if hollowed out, not 

 deeply indented. Raised beach materials, generally shelly, occur at lo 

 to 20 feet above high water in places on the Brixham coast. 



Near Sharkham Point, the raised beach materials have been mixed 

 with rubble from a haematite mine ; they consist of small flint, slate and 

 quartz pebbles, comminuted shells and sand. 



On the north coast there are traces of raised beach at 8 to 1 5 feet 

 above high water mark, between Morthoe and Woolacombe, and at 

 the south end of Woolacombe beach, the pebbles being mostly of local 

 derivation, but small well worn flint are present and a few of grani- 

 toid rocks. 



From the south side of Baggy Point to Braunton Burrows for 

 about 2 miles raised beach materials are more or less continuously 

 visible resting irregularly, at from 2 to 15 feet above high water mark, 

 on a platform cut in Upper Devonian slates, and overlain by a variable 

 thickness of Head (said by Pengelly to be in places 100 feet). Toward 

 Baggy Point, Sedgwick and Murchison ' state that the coarser shingles, 

 in parts 19 feet thick, rise rapidly to the north to a height of 60 or 70 

 feet above high water mark. The upper part of the deposit consists as 

 a rule of laminated consolidated sand upon coarse shelly concrete with 

 pebbles, occasionally of flint. On the south side of Saunton promontory 

 about 50 feet of laminated brownish sandstone, overlain by 8 feet of 

 Head, rests on horizontal layers of cemented grit and quartz pebbles 

 with shells, about 10 feet thick, welded in the interstices of the slate 

 reefs at about 10 feet above high water mark. Toward Northam Bur- 

 rows, south of Croyde, a cave worn in the consolidated beach discloses 

 a large boulder of slaty rock behind which the red granite boulder is 

 seen partly cemented in more or less consolidated beach material, false 

 bedded in places, and containing pebbles. The boulders rest on the rock 

 reef at 2 or 3 feet above high water mark. 



There are traces of raised beach containing occasional flint pebbles 

 between Appledore and Westward Ho, 5 to 10 feet above high water 

 mark. From Westward Ho pier for half a mile the raised beach is 

 more or less continuously visible ; it consists of Culm grit pebbles, 

 similar to those of the modern beach but rather smaller, associated 

 with sand, from 6 to 20 feet thick and from 8 to 25 feet above high 

 water mark. 



North of Fremington old gravels, from 10 to 25 feet thick, occur 

 at from 8 to 1 5 feet above high water mark, and extend eastward 

 through Muddlebridge and Hele to the Taw valley north of Tawstock Park 

 on higher land which is flanked on the south by a flattish tract of clay. 

 At Roundswell, in this tract, 100 feet above the sea. Maw* describes a 

 well section in which 78 feet of smooth tough brown homogeneous clay, 



' Trans. Geol. Soc. ser. 2, vol. v. p. 281. 

 * ^art. Journ. Geol. Sec. vol. xx. p. 447. 

 42 



