Rambles among the Channel Islands / by a Naturalist.

Date:
[1855?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Rambles among the Channel Islands / by a Naturalist. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of them still having green sward reposing on their now isolated summits, on which it is not unusual to detect portions of ancient pottery and stone mullers. Again, the mielles of Herm speak the same tale to the geolo- gist,—and the silt, although somewhat higher, exhibits the same covering as the western shore of Guernsey. The bay of Herm, with its numerous rocks, offers evident proofs of the foregoing observations ; and the sedimentary beds of clay and sand extend from its shore to nearly a mile tow'ards that of Guernsey. Jethou, with its range of rocks on the south, might probably have been separated from Herm at the same period, and it may be assumed that this island and shore might have formed the eastern arm of a wide bay, w'hich was protected on the west by the heights of St. Martin’s and those near the town of St. Peter-Port. Brehon would then have formed a high cairn over- looking the centre of this semidune, and its ancient name perhaps designates an important station we do not at this time value. The island of Sark—beiug a table-land, bounded on all its sides by abrupt cliffs—-has no shelving shores to admit of a similar edging of vegetable matter. Having traced the broad outline of this probable low forest land, from the west of Guernsey to the opening of the great south bay near the town, it will only be necessary to say a few words relative to the common opinion entertained by many here, viz. that the low lands to the north and west are the effects of subsi- dence ! a simple statement unsupported by geological observation. The elevated portion of Guernsey is of gneiss and its intruding series of rocks. The whole of this range of land stands on the granitic base, which is the formation of the Valle and low lands, and consequently in exact geological relation with each other, It is upon this C C