106 
THE DEVONIAN KOOKS OF ILFKACOMBE. 
From this spot we struck across the country to the coast, that 
\v e m 1 ^ h t see there the outcrop of the beds that I have just 
mentioned, the raised beach at Westward Ho! and the pebble 
ridge at Nortliam, all of which we saw. 
The raised beach at Westward Ho! is well worth seeing, as you 
will judge from the drawing now exhibited. (See Plate VII., Fig. 2.) 
This beach is about 16ft. above the present shore, and rests upon the 
Carboniferous rocks. It is composed of rounded pebbles, such as 
are now found in the neighbourhood, and sand. But this is not the 
only evidence of the changes that have taken place in the level 
of the land in prehistoric times that is to be seen here. A short 
distance out at sea may be seen at certain states of the tide a 
submerged forest, thus showing that the land once stood at a greater 
elevation than it now does above the sea level. Another thing that 
this submerged forest and raised beach show is this, that the land 
has undergone three changes of elevation : it was first at a much 
lower level than now ; it was then raised sufficiently high for the 
forest to flourish ; and then, thirdly, it has been lowered to its 
present elevation. 
About two miles from this spot the Northam Pebble Ridge is 
seen protecting from the billows of the Atlantic the Northam 
Burrows, an extensive tract of sand, which is covered with grass, 
and forms the finest golf links in England. This Ridge is composed 
of blocks of the grit of Hartland Point, of various sizes, from a few 
ounces in weight to lialf-a-ton, all rounded by rolling in the sea. 
This Ridge used to be about 30ft. in height, but it is now not more 
than half that, owing to the changes which are being effected by 
the action of the ocean. In fact, the whole coast-line is altering, 
though this is only apparent where the shore is composed of soft 
material. 
The Northam Burrows it must not be supposed are like those on 
the northern side of Barnstaple Bay, or, more properly speaking, of 
the estuary formed by the embouchure of the Rivers Taw and 
Torridge. These burrows, i.e., Braunton Burrows, are composed of 
May, 1893. 
