overlaid by conglomerates and red pebbly sandstones, passing upwards
into a thin zone of andesite lavas, indicating contemporaneous
volcanic action. West of the Tynet Burn and Spey sections there is no
trace of the members of the Orcadian division till we reach the Muckle
Burn and Lethen Bar in Nairnshire, save the coarse conglomerate
filling the ancient hollow of the valley of Rothes which may belong to
the middle series. In that direction they are overlapped by the Upper
Old Red Sandstone, which in the river Lossie, in the Lochty Burn and
the Findhorn rest directly on the metamorphic rocks. Even to the south
of the main boundary of the upper division there are small outliers of
that series resting on the crystalline schists. Hence there must be a
discordance between the Middle and Upper Old Red Sandstone in this
county. The strata of the upper division consist of red, grey and
yellow false-bedded sandstones with conglomeratic bands, which are
well seen in the Findhorn between Sluie and Cothall, where they are
associated with a bed of cornstone, all dipping to the N.N.W. at
gentle angles. South of Elgin they are exposed in the Lossie and at
Scaat Craig, while to the north of that town they extend along the
ridge from Bishopmill to Alves. By means of the fish remains, which
occur at Scaat Craig, in the Bishopmill quarries, at Alves, in the
Findhorn cliffs and in the Whitemyre quarry on the Muckle Burn, the
Upper Old Red Sandstone in this county is arranged in two groups, the
Alves and Rosebrae. In the area lying to the north of the Upper Old
Red Sandstone ridge at Bishopmill and Quarrywood, the strata of
Triassic age occur, where they consist of pale grey and yellow
sandstones and a peculiar cherty and calcareous band, known as the
cherty rock of Stotfield. The sandstones are visible in quarries on
the north slope of Quarry Wood, at Findrassie, at Spynie and along the
ridge and sea-shore between Burghead and Lossiemouth. They are
invested with special interest on account of the remarkable series of
reptilian remains obtained from them, comprising _Stagonolepis_, a
crocodile allied to the modern caiman in form; _Telerpeton_ and
_Hyperodapedon_, species of lizards; _Dicynodonts_ (_Gordonia_ and
_Geikia_) and a horned reptile, _Elginia mirabilis_ (see SCOTLAND:
_Geology_). The palaeontological evidence points to the conclusion
that these reptiliferous sandstones must belong in part to the Trias,
indeed it is possible that the lower portion may be of Permian age. In
the Cutties Hillock quarry west of Elgin these reptiliferous beds rest
directly on the sandstones containing _Holoptychius_ of Upper Old Red
Sandstone age, so that the apparent conformability must be entirely
deceptive. Within the area occupied by the Trias west of Stotfield,
flagstones appear, charged with fish scales of Upper Old Red age,
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