“There where the long street roars hath been
The stillness of the central sea.”
Elevated Sea-beds.—
A striking illustration in proof of this emergence of the land from the sea is the occurrence of marine shells similar to those now found living in the sea, in sea-cliffs sometimes many hundreds of feet above sea-level. When these upraised beds consist of shingle or sand with shore-loving shells, as limpets and mussels, they are spoken of as Raised Beaches. Elevated beaches are often found maintaining the same level along coast-lines for many miles, like those recorded by Darwin at Chili and Peru, or in the south of England ([Fig. 5]). They also occur intermittently along the Victorian coast, especially around the indents, where they have survived the wear and tear of tides along the coast line ([Fig. 6]). They are also a common feature, as a capping, on many coral islands which have undergone elevation.
Fig. 5—A Raised Beach at Black Rock, Brighton, England.
(Original).
