STRATA of the GRAMPIANS. s 



ing there impeded, in its eaftern direction, by fome of the hills 

 forming the bafis of that mountain, it then changes its courfe, 

 almoft at a right angle, and from thence flows in a due fouth di- 

 rection. In this laft direction, it opens a way for itfelf through 

 the fouth lateral range, and enters the plains of Kincardine, and 

 Forfar (hires, where it immediately becomes the line of divifion 

 of thofe two counties. It leaves thofe plains by a hollow betwixt 

 the two low hills of Garvoke and Pert, and after a courfe of near- 

 ly thirty miles from its fource, it joins the fea fomewhat to the 

 eaftward of the town of Montrofe. It is in the bed of this river 

 that I have examined the ftrata of the Grampians of which I am 

 now to give a defcription. The fection extends about fix miles, 

 from the horizontal grit or fandftone in the plain, to the granite 

 of Mount Battoc, which is one of the mountains in the central 

 range, and one of the higheft of the chain in that part of the 

 country. My direction, in this examination, is about due north, 

 piercing through, almoft at right angles, the ftrata of the moun- 

 tains, which are here nearly in a vertical pofition. 



In this fhort ftretch of fix miles, a great deal of matter highly 

 interefting to geology prefents itfelf. In it, we pafs from the fe- 

 condary horizontal ftrata of the neweft formation, to the verti- 

 cal, contorted, primary ftrata of the oldeft date, and terminate 

 with granite, the primitive rock in the conception of many geo- 

 logifts. Thus, it embraces a complete range of the foflil objects, 

 which in this part of Scotland intervene between that which is 

 deemed the oldeft and what is accounted the moft recent in point 

 of formation. From the various ftrata (landing in a pofition 

 vertical, or nearly fo, and the river North Elk, cutting acrofs 

 thefe ftrata, at right angles, the fuccefhon is uncommonly 

 well exhibited to view, and a fair difplay of the ftructure of 

 this country, and of the materials compofing it to a great 

 depth, is open to the attentive obferver. In addition to this fine 

 difplay of the fuccefhon of ftrata, the arrangement of them will 



be 



