There are three chief hostile considerations in Mr. Milne's paper.
First, the Glen [shelf?], not coinciding in height with the upper one
[outlet?], from observations giving 12 feet, 15 feet, 29 feet, 23 feet:
if the latter are correct the terrace must be quite independent, and the
case is hostile; but Mr. Milne shows that there is one in Glen Roy 14
feet below the upper one, and a second one again (which I observed)
beneath this, and then we come to the proper second shelf. Hence there
is no great improbability in an independent shelf having been found in
Glen Gluoy.
This leads me to Mr. Milne's second class of facts (obvious to every
one), namely the non-extension of the three shelves beyond Glen Roy; but
I abide by what I have written on that point, and repeat that if in Glen
Roy, where circumstances have been so favourable for the preservation
or formation of the terraces, a terrace could be formed quite plain for
three-quarters of a mile with hardly a trace elsewhere, we cannot argue,
from the non-existence of shelves, that water did not stand at the same
levels in other valleys. Feeling absolutely convinced that there was no
barrier of detritus at the mouth of Glen Roy, and pretty well convinced
that there was none of ice, the manner in which the terraces die out
when entering Glen Spean, which must have been a tideway, shows on
what small circumstances the formation of these shelves depended. With
respect to the non-existence of shelves in other parts of Scotland, Mr.
Milne shows that many others do exist, and their heights above the sea
have not yet been carefully measured, nor have even those of Glen
Roy, which I suspect are all 100 feet too high. Moreover, according to
Bravais (522/8. "On the Lines of Ancient Level of the Sea in Finmark."
By A. Bravais, Member of the Scientific Commission of the North. "Quart.
Journ. Geol. Soc." Volume I., page 534, 1845 (a translation).), we
must not feel sure that either the absolute height or the intermediate
heights between the terraces would be at all the same at distant points.
In levelling the terraces in Lochaber, all, I believe, have been taken
in Glen Roy, nearly N. and S. There should be levels taken at right
angles to this line and to the Great Glen of Scotland or chief line of
elevation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account