Aust Cliff
The multicoloured geological display of Aust Cliff is a wonder. From the ferry it is red, with a band of greenish stone near the crest, and above that black earth with slabs of buffish stone. But if you follow round the cliff, the black vanishes and there are numerous variations in the colour theme. The base of the red cliff has flat layers with vertical ribs, both a few inches thick, fine and intricate veinings and blocks of a white marbleish substance. The veins are semi-translucent, like alabaster, and, since the beds are partly Rhoetic (the black earth section) and partly Keuper marl, the substance probably is alabaster. These striations may have been formed by percolation. Among the debris en the shore, the lumps are of all sizes, some veined with the red and green deposits and forming a honeycomb where the green adheres to them. Alexander Cozens, who was absorbed by the textures of hill and mountain, would have found a challenging subject in Aust Cliff.
Previous page
