§ 16- THE MALVERN HILLS. 777 



above the Silurian deposits;"* as represented in Llgn. 

 176, 177. 



The Malvern Hills are situated in the south-western 

 part of Worcestershire, and consist of an uninterrupted 

 chain about nine miles long, and two wide, the highest 

 summits attaining an altitude of nearly 1,500 feet. This 

 outline, when viewed from a distance, as for example, from 

 the heights above Cheltenham, is very striking, and charac- 

 teristic of their geological structure. The three highest 

 points are the Herefordshire and Worcestershire beacons, 

 and North Hill {Lign. 176), formed by the protruded sy- 

 enitic rocks, which are the nucleus of this mountain range.t 



Eastnor Park. 



N. W. ^»<>>r5 >y>^^ ^ ///////"/ :S S.E. 



Wenlock Caradoc Trias sic 



limestone. | sandstone. | marls. 



Lign. 177. — Section of the Malvern Hills. 

 {Sil. Syst.pl. 36, part of Jig. 8.) 



In passing from Herefordshire to Worcestershire, in 

 a line from west to east (see Lign. 176), the Devonian 

 or Old Red strata first appear, and are succeeded by the 

 upper Silurian, viz. the Ludlow and Wenlock deposits : 

 next follow beds of Caradoc sandstone, and we then arrive 

 at the protruded peaks of igneous rock, and descend 

 over triassic strata to the plains of Worcestershire. The 

 relative position of the rocks and strata is shown in the 

 annexed diagrams (Ligns. 176, 177). The entire succes- 

 sion of the Silurian series, between the Syenite of the 



imperfectly noticed, illustrated by highly picturesque geological 

 sketches, and sections. 



* Silurian System, p. 410. 



+ A very interesting memoir on the mineralogy of the Malvern 

 Hills, by Leonard Horner, Esq., was published in vol. i. of the Geol. 

 Trans, p. 281. 



