This brown leather notebook contains two different handwriting styles, one definitively Lyell's. On p. 65 is "The Landing of the Pilgrims fathers in New England" dated 13 July 1851, handwriting differs from Lyell's; largely notes in pencil, subjects include Captain Cook on Mercia earthquake, volcanic activity, Sandwich island. The front cover reads "June 1831", the back page is missing, and the index is pasted to the back cover.

The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own "Index", found at the beginning and end of the notebook, transcribed from digital surrogates using the platform Transkribus. When known, Lyell's abbreviations and contractions have been expanded using brackets []. When writing is unclear, and transcription is not possible, this is denoted using [...]. Quotation marks are Lyell's own notation for ditto, as is the abbreviation "d'o". The inclusion of [sic] indicates the misspelling of a word is deliberate and taken from the notebook.

p. 3, Capt[ain] Cook on Murcia earthquake
p. 4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12 [et cetera] to p. 17 Cutch earthq[uake]
p. 7, Smyrna d[itt]o
p. 18, Eggs of Branchipas stagnalis
p. 18, Gravesond, bed of shells
p. 24, Margate, yellow earth crag?
p. 25, Byron on Earthq[uake]
p. 25, Madeira, coral [...]upraised
p. 28, Erupt[ion] of Galungong
p. 28, Earthq[uake] of Lima 1748?
p. 30, I[sle] of San Lorenzo n[ear] Callao
p. 30, Sandwich island, crater
p. 32, Valparaiso Lieut[enant] Keeper on fissures at.
p. 34, Lieut[enant] Keeper on Coral reefs
p. 34, Lieut[enant] Keeper supposes houses at Callas to have sunk
p. 36, Rhine bet[ween] Meninguen + Gorinchem
p. 38, Godesberg, extint volc[ano]
p. 38, Lava under 40 f[ee]t of marle
p. 40, Rhine bet[ween] Dusseldorf + Cologne
p. 42, Rolansdeck, sect[ion]
p. 44, Oberkohl [section]
p. 46, [Oberkohl] section of dikes
p. 50, Godesberg section
p. 50, Plain of the Rhone
p. 54, Eifel volc[ano] drawing
p. 56, Drachenfels [...]
p. 58, Lignite of Friesdurf
p. 60, Bonn height above sea
p. 62, Bonn museum
p. 62, Fossil wood of Suben[...]
p. 65, Mrs Hemans' poem
p. 69, St. Petersberg to Drachenfels
p. 70, Roderkerg section
p. 70, Rhine has been stopped up by basalt
p. 72, Rolandeck sect[ion]
p. 72, Unkel [section]
p. 73, Campbell quoted
p. 74, Loes [sic] cut thro' by Rhine
p. 76, Primary sometimes all gone except a small patch
p. 76, Shivertenberg Castle 70 feet of trap
p. 78, Trass, large talus produced by small rills
p. 80, [Trass] of the Brohl valley
p. 84,80, Ober Manick, sect[ion]
p. 81, Closter Laach crater
p. 82, Buda to Hochstein, sect[ion]
p. 85, Kruft drawing
p. 86, Hunionerich, view of hill
p. 86, Koret, section
p. 88, Andernach, sect[ion] near
p. 88, Rhine has been stopped up at Forwich
p. 90, Marienforst, section on hill behind
p. 91, Faults in brauenkohl of 3,4 + 10 feet