V.—The Lead-Bearing Districts of the North of England

Extract

The district to which attention is directed is situated in the centre and the most elevated part of Great Britain, which is thickly inhabited by an industrial population, many of whom are occupied in the working of Lead-mines. The Agent's house of the Beaumont Mines is at an elevation of 1400 feet above the sea, Kilhope Law rises 2206, while Crossfell (capped by Millstone Grit) attains a height of 2901 feet; Dufton Pike 1575 feet, and the Cheviots 2676 feet, the three counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Durham meeting at Rampgill Head; Durham, Yorkshire, and Westmoreland at Cauldron Snout. This elevated district, bounded on the east by the Tyne and Wear Coal-field, and on the west by the Whitehaven field, chiefly consists of the Carboniferous rocks, and presents varied physical features. The Penine chain, of which Crossfell is a part, extends from the borders of Scotland to Derbyshire, and from its westerly trend it forms the watershed, whence on the east side fall the waters of the Tyne, Wear, and the Tees. The country presents a varied aspect; to the east are broad low plains, succeeded by rolling hills and dreary elevated moors, followed by a more hilly and more rugged district, rising gradually on the east side of the Penine chain, and descending more steeply on the western side. These, together with the character of the rocks, influence the vegetation of the country, as shown by the “basset” of the Great Limestone, which forms almost the boundary of cultivated land and human habitations. Above it (as Mr. Sopwith observes) are more or less brown and dreary moors, and below it the hill-sides present a green surface and flowery meadows. The counties of Northumberland and Durham occupy about 2905 square miles, three quarters of which belong to the Carboniferous strata.