io6 Sheppard : The Making of East Yorkshire. 



a consideration of the g-eological history of this county an 

 utterly impossible task for a sing-le paper. In the following- 

 notes, therefore, it is proposed to review the chang-es which have 

 taken place in East Yorkshire only, which, fortunately for the 

 purpose of these notes, includes representatives of the more 

 recent rocks only, althoug-h even amongst these recent strata 

 there are important gaps. 



Of the four great divisions of the earth's crust which 

 geologfists have made for convenience of classification, there 

 is represented in East Yorkshire only the beds of the 

 Secondary or Mesozoic rocks, and the Quarternary or Recent 

 rocks ; of the great Tertiary system, so admirably developed in 

 the south-east of England and in France, we have practically no 

 trace whatever. There is no doubt that at some time East 

 Yorkshire was covered by some portions of the Tertiary deposits, 

 but they have been entirely swept away. 



Confining- ourselves to the beds of sandstone, limestone, and 

 shale, formed during the secondary epoch, and to the sand, 

 gravel, and clay deposited in comparatively recent times, we 

 find that if read aright they reveal many interesting- facts in the 

 history of this section of our county. We have no ' everlasting 

 hills ' here. In East Yorkshire at any rate it may be truly 

 said — 



The hills are shadows, and they flow 

 From form to form, and nothing- stands ; 

 They melt like mists, the solid lands, 

 Like clouds they shape themselves and gfo. 



The deposits within easy access of Hull give absolute 

 evidence of many changes having taken place. We can see 

 them to-day on a small scale. Our cliffs for 30 miles are being 

 eroded at 7 ft. per annum. The historian tells us of villages 

 and towns once situated on the coast and in the Humber, which 

 have gone. The river Humber itself, as navigators know to 

 their cost, is by no means constant in its course. Large areas 

 are silted up — -Sunk Island, Reed's Island, and Broomfleet 

 Island, and land elsewhere is being reclaimed, which makes up 

 for the deficiency of that lost on the coast. Our rivers are 

 constantly carrying detritus into the Humber and the sea. The 

 rain, frost, and wind are slowly but surely affecting our 

 wolds, dales, and cliffs. Occasionally a water-spout or other 

 unusual phenomenon reminds us of the great power of the 

 ' elements ' when they have full play. A large gully in the side 

 of the dale at Langtoft, near Driffield, is evidence of one of 



Naturalist, 



