the ridges and intervening hollows all coinciding in direction with the
general trend of the great strath, which is south-west and north-east;
but turning gradually round to east, as we approach the lower reaches
of the Tweed.
Passing round the north-eastern extremity of the Cheviot range into
Northumberland, we observe that the same series of ridges and hollows
continues to follow an easterly direction until we near the sea-board,
when the trend gradually swings round to the south-east, as in the
neighbourhood of Belford and Bamborough, where the ridges run parallel
with the coast-line.
The ridges and hollows are most conspicuous in the low-grounds of
Roxburghshire and Berwickshire, especially in the regions between
Kelso and Smailholm, and between Duns and Coldstream. The dwellers
along the banks of the Tweed are quite familiar with the fact that the
roads which run parallel with the river are smooth and level, for they
coincide with the trend of the ridges and hollows; whilst those that
cross the country at right angles to this direction must of course
traverse ridge after ridge, and are therefore exceedingly uneven. In
this low-lying district most of the ridges are composed of superficial
deposits of stony and gravelly clay and sand, and the same is the case
with those that sweep round the north-eastern spurs of the Cheviots
by Coldstream and Ancroft. Some ridges, however, consist either of
solid rock alone, as near Stichill, or of rock and overlying masses
of clay and stones. In the hilly regions, again, nearly all the ridges
are of rock alone, especially in the districts lying between Melrose
and Selkirk and between Selkirk and Hawick. Indeed, the hills drained
by the upper reaches of the Teviot and its tributaries are more or
less fluted and channelled, as it were--many long parallel narrow
hollows having been driven out along their slopes and even frequently
across their broad tops. This scolloped and ridged aspect of the
hills, however, disappears as we approach the upper reaches of the
hill-valleys. From Skelfhill Pen (1745 feet) by Windburgh Hill (1662
feet), on through the ridge of the Cheviot watershed, none of the hills
shows any appearance of a uniformly-wrinkled surface.
[Illustration: Fig. 10.--Rounded Rocks, with superficial deposits, _t_
_t_ _t_, heaped up against steep faces. The arrows indicate direction
followed by the smoothing agent.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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