The Kingston formation is the oldest of the formations of old gravel and other alluvium occurring upon the plains of the Liguanea type. This is the formation upon which the city of Kingston and suburbs are built, including the strip of land known as the Palisades, and the plain extending back of Kingston to the foot of the mountains. The material consists of boulders, gravel, and pebble of varying sizes, usually very angular, and representing every known material of the Blue Mountain series. These are embedded in a matrix of dull red arenaceous clay, producing a chocolate soil and derived from the Minho beds so completely exposed _in situ_ in the mountains north of Kingston. With reference to the chart, Mr. Charlton Thompson, R.N., the harbour master, wrote in 1907 as follows: “I have always been of opinion that the Palisadoes were originally coral cays joined gradually by sand-spits. To my knowledge of Port Royal Point (thirty-one years), I am sure it had grown out about 50 feet during that time, which portion sank during the last earthquake; and the depressions or subsidences which took place then were all made-up land. There were also subsidences in the Palisadoes.” The following account of the hurricane of 1722 above referred to is from “A Voyage to Guinea, Brasil, and the West Indies; in His Majesty’s ships the _Swallow_ and _Weymouth_” by John Atkins, a naval surgeon (2nd edition, London, 1737). The present hurricane was a week after our arrival; began at eight in the morning, two days before the change of the moon, gave at least forty-eight hours notice, by a noisy breaking of the waves upon the kays, very disproportioned to the breeze, a continued swell, without reflux of the water; and the two nights preceding, prodigious lightnings and thunder; which all the old experienced men foretold would be a hurricane; or that one already had happened at no great distance. I was ashore at _Port Royal_ and found all the pilots returned from the windward part of the island, (where they customarily attend the coming down of ships,) and observing upon the unusual intumescence of the water, so great the day before, and beat so high, that our boats could not possibly put on shore at _Gun Kay_ to take the men off that were set there, to the number of twenty, for trimming up our cask; themselves making signals not to attempt it. Betimes next morning, the wind began in flurrys at N.E. and flew quickly round to S.E. and S.S.E. where it continued the stress of the storm, bringing such quantities of water, that our little island was overflowed 4 foot at least; so that what with the fierce driving of shingles (wooden staves used instead of tiling upon their houses) about our ears, and the water floating their boats, empty hogheads, and lumber about the streets, those without doors were every moment in danger of being knocked on the head, or carried away by the stream.