On the S. W. Extension of the Clifton Fault

Abstract

On the right bank of the Avon, somewhat below the Suspension Bridge and a little beyond the Clifton station of the Bristol Port railway, the Clifton fault cuts across the strata somewhat obliquely. On the southern side of the fault is massive Mountain Limestone, forming the bold bluff of the Observatory Hill. On the northern side are much contorted red grit and limestone shales (see Map, p. 147). Viewed from the opposite side of the river, the right bank, from the Suspension Bridge for half a mile northwards, shows the following features. The eastern tower of the Suspension Bridge is built on a solid mass of limestone, the western face of which fronts the river as an almost perpendicular wall of rock. At right angles to this, and parallel with the bridge-road, there is a second face due probably to a joint plane, or a minor dislocation of the strata parallel with that caused by the Clifton fault. This vertical face forms the southern boundary of a little recess in the rocks, in which lies the Clifton station. On the northern side of the station rises the somewhat dislocated mass of limestone which forms Observatory Hill, and which, on its southern side, abuts against Millstone Grit and Upper Limestone Shales brought down by the Clifton fault. The whole appearance of the side of the ravine now changes, and in place of vertical limestone cliffs there is a wooded slope. Close to the river, however, the rocks are well seen in