LOWER CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE FIFESHIRE COAST. 389 
from iron tinges some of the limestones, and especially the bed L, which at Pitten- 
weem is dark gray. At Roome beyond Crail the synclinal axis is reached: the 
beds again show a descending series till they fold over an anticlinal close to Fife 
Ness. That point forms a splendid display of powerful yellow sandstone, dipping 
with gentle slope towards the ocean whose stormy waves it has flung back for ages. 
Away to the north, and on as far as St Andrews, my examination of the coast 
was more rapid. In the section as it approaches Crail, and goes north of Fife 
Ness, I do not attempt to show the effect of the faults, but the general features of 
the strata will be found given with sufficient accuracy. Passing Balcomie, the 
lower series of rocks is well displayed ; but especially from Cambo Point, on beyond 
Kingsbarns and down to the lowest beds at Babbet Ness, all is singularly com- 
plete and clear. At the latter point, the lowest strata of the whole coast from 
Burntisland to St Andrews are reached, lying considerably beneath the level of 
Anstruther. Passing Pitmilly Burn, the section exhibits the various bendings of 
these strata, till the limestone L is found on the shore near the Rock and Spindle. 
On to St Andrews the foldings seen in the cliffs form a striking feature of the 
coast, till at the Witch Lake, with its deep shale beds, the limestone L again 
comes into view. 
The general aspect of the coast thus described will best be understood by a 
_ glance at the accompanying section. Omitting the minor foldings of the strata there 
are, east of the Ochills and on to Fife Ness, four great anticlinals, with their ac- 
companying basins on either shore. The first of these basins on the coast of the 
Firth (not shown in this section) reaches from Alloa and Dunfermline to Aberdour. 
It corresponds to that on the east, in which St Andrews is situated, and whose 
southern margin touches the Babbet Ness. The second stretches from Aberdour 
to a point beyond Elie, where the axis, though obscure, is really present ; and so on 
to Fife Ness, every anticlinal and basin on the west has its corresponding feature 
on the east, though not always in the same relative proportions. One marked 
difference, however, will be observed. Along the German Ocean the beds have 
been lifted to a far higher level, as is shown by the dotted line which represents 
the supposed level of the bed L. High above the ground on the eastern side, it 
is often from one to two thousand feet beneath it on the shores of the Firth. 
II. Toe Trap Rocks. 
These I did not attempt to study, but one or two points may be mentioned 
which came under my notice. 
First, A large portion of these traps can have had nothing to do with the 
elevation of the other strata. On the one hand, they are so interstratified that on 
looking to the details one can hardly resist the inference that they were contem- 
poraneously formed ; and on the other, they have themselves been acted on much 
VOL. XXII. PART II. 5H 
