178 PROFESSOR EDWARD HULL, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., ON 



which the preceding observations seemed a necessary introduc- 

 tion. All the deposits above described belong to the prehistoric^ 

 probably the prehuman period. 



I have thought it necessary for the sake of perspective to 

 pass in review these deposits of Post-Tertiary apre and the 

 oscillations of land, before entering upon the description of 

 those which more immediately concern us, in order that the 

 reader may gather how considerable have been these oscilla- 

 tions during , the period immediately preceding that of the 

 human race in our islands ; and having done so we are now in 

 a position to consider the deposits and terrestrial movements of a 

 time during which man himself has been a witness of the scene. 



Part IL 



Raised heaches. — The general uprise of the land at the close 

 of the Post-Pliocene or glacial period appears to have been 

 accompanied by pauses giving rise to the formation of marginal 

 terraces at several successive levels. These terraces are of 

 frequent occurrence along the Norwegian fjords, rising to a. 

 maximum level of 700 feet in the latitude of Molde. 



To what extent these hioher terraces of Scandinavia 

 represent (if at all) the " Interglacial gravel " of the British 

 area it is impossible to say ; but we are safe in considering that 

 the lower terraces of the former are representative of those in 

 Scotland, England, and Ireland. And as regards these latter, there 

 are at least two in Scotland, the higher having a general level of 

 about 70 feet, the lower, of 25 to 30 feet above the present 

 surface of the sea. At both these levels there were prolonged 

 pauses in the process of elevation ; but owing to the longer 

 period at which the upper terrace has been exposed to 

 atmospheric erosion, and also to the fact that during the 

 elevatory process the terrace itself was subject to attack from 

 the sea waves, it is not so clearly defined and continuous as is. 

 the case with the 25-feet terrace which lies at much lower leveL 

 This terrace is therefore of more recent origin, nor (as far as my 

 information extends) does the upper terrace present us with 

 those works of human art which are so abundant in the strata 

 of the lower level. If this view be correct then it would appear 

 that, between the formation of the upper terrace and of the 

 lower, there was a considerable lapse of time. 



The 2b-feet hraeh of Scotland. — This is the most conspicuous 

 and latest of all the terraces of Central Scotland, and is some- 

 times called " the 30-feet beach," as its margin occasionally 



