Fig. 297: Vicarya Lujani, De Verneuil.[[4]]
Wealden, Punfield.
Area of the Wealden.—In regard to the geographical extent of the Wealden, it cannot be accurately laid down, because so much of it is concealed beneath the newer marine formations. It has been traced about 320 English miles from west to east, from the coast of Dorsetshire to near Boulogne, in France; and nearly 200 miles from north-west to south-east, from Surrey and Hampshire to Vassy, in France. If the formation be continuous throughout this space, which is very doubtful, it does not follow that the whole was contemporaneous; because, in all likelihood, the physical geography of the region underwent frequent changes throughout the whole period, and the estuary may have altered its form, and even shifted its place. Dr. Dunker, of Cassel, and H. von Meyer, in an excellent monograph on the Wealdens of Hanover and Westphalia, have shown that they correspond so closely, not only in their fossils, but also in their mineral characters, with the English series, that we can scarcely hesitate to refer the whole to one great delta. Even then, the magnitude of the deposit may not exceed that of many modern rivers. Thus, the delta of the Quorra or Niger, in Africa, stretches into the interior for more than 170 miles, and occupies, it is supposed, a space of more than 300 miles along the coast, thus forming a surface of more than 25,000 square miles, or equal to about one-half of England.[[5]] Besides, we know not, in such cases, how far the fluviatile sediment and organic remains of the river and the land may be carried out from the coast, and spread over the bed of the sea. I have shown, when treating of the Mississippi, that a more ancient delta, including species of shells such as now inhabit Louisiana, has been upraised, and made to occupy a wide geographical area, while a newer delta is forming;[[6]] and the possibility of such movements and their effects must not be lost sight of when we speculate on the origin of the Wealden.
It may be asked where the continent was placed, from the ruins of which the Wealden strata were derived, and by the drainage of which a great river was fed. If the Wealden was gradually going downward 1000 feet or more perpendicularly, a large body of fresh-water would not continue to be poured into the sea at the same point. The adjoining land, if it participated in the movement, could not escape being submerged. But we may suppose such land to have been stationary, or even undergoing contemporaneous slow upheaval. There may have been an ascending movement in one region, and a descending one in a contiguous parallel zone of country. But even if that were the case, it is clear that finally an extensive depression took place in that part of Europe where the deep sea of the Cretaceous period was afterwards brought in.
Thickness of the Wealden.—In the Weald area itself, between the North and South Downs, fresh-water beds to the thickness of 1600 feet are known, the base not being reached. Probably the thickness of the whole Wealden series, as seen in Swanage Bay, cannot be estimated as less than 2000 feet.
Wealden Flora.—The flora of the Wealden is characterised by a great abundance of Coniferæ, Cycadeæ, and Ferns, and by the absence of leaves and fruits of Dicotyledonous Angiosperms. The discovery in 1855, in the Hastings beds of the Isle of Wight, of Gyrogonites, or spore-vessels of the Chara, was the first example of that genus of plants, so common in the tertiary strata, being found in a Secondary or Mesozoic rock.
[1] Judd, Speeton clay, Quart. Geol. Journ., vol. xxiv, 1868, p. 218.
[2] Judd, Quart. Geol. Journ., 1867, vol. xxiii, p. 249.
[3] Mantell, Geol. of S.E. of England, p. 244.
[4] Foss. de Utrillas.