This black notebook contains a record of Charles Lyell’s geological travels around Madeira with Georg Hartung, Charles Bunbury, Mary Horner, and Frances Horner. Military Engineer António Pedro d’Azevedo also accompanied them, whilst on the Island. This notebook starts December 22nd, 1853, in Funchal and the Southwest areas of Madeira. Specific areas of note include Cape Girão, Socorridos, Funchal, Pico de Cruz, Porta Novo, and Arrebentão. This notebook primarily focuses on the geological features and formations Lyell saw across Madeira and includes a vast number of drawings and sketches, primarily concerning basalt columnar, volcanic theory, dikes, and different types of rock. Of note, on page 60, is his drawing of a Phoenix dactylifera (Date Palm). During this notebook, Lyell refers to work from previous geologists on Madeira, the Canaries and volcanoes, such as Philip Barker Webb, Sabin Berthelot and especially Élie de Beaumont and his work on Etna for example Recherches sur la structure et sur l'origine du mont Etna 1836. Lyell also mentions a formation called ‘Loo Rock’ by the British, off the coast of Funchal (also called Pontinha) and considers its relation to lava.

There is a part index, found in the Index Notebook reference Coll-203/A5/16. What follows is a detailed summary, featuring key people, topics and projects. Local knowledge and expertise has been called on to assist in deciphering Lyell’s handwriting and phonetical spelling – please contact us if corrections can be made.

p.0 Madeira – Thursday December 22 with Mr. Hartung from Funchal to Caldera, Cabo Girão (cliff face)
p.0 drawing: Pica Da Cruz & Pico San Martino
p.2 Pico Dos Pinheiros – geology, eruptions in the
p.3 Beach of the Socorridos, river, canals of lava
p.4 River Socorridos and valley geology: basalt
p.6 Pico da Cruz [Ponto da Cruz in Maderia], Cape Girão, height, geology, lava, basalt
p.8 Cape Girão – dikes in center as in bridge head, pebble, basalt
p.9 Lobos Island Canaries – Volcanic
p.9 Delta - movement since the volcanoes, upheaval
p.10 Pico de Cruz drawing – Praia Formosa west of Pico da Cruz
p.11 San [Sao] Vincent Lameiros uplift, buried beaches between lava
p.12 N.B, right side of Ribeira da Janela two craters on the north side of Paul da Serra
p.12 [António Pedro d’Azevedo] Azevedo, Webb and Berthollet say that at Porto da Cruz on north
p.12 pebbles of granite north of island in ravines of Faial and Porto da Cruz also at Machico
p.13 mem e.g., measure dikes, slopes of older and newer part of Madeira
p.14 distances – Madeira
p.15 Élie de Beaumont
p.15 geology, terminology and Etna – Madeira geology e.g., lava, muddy shale
p.16 E. de. Beaumont p.102 on Etna
p.16 go to Arrebentão and see the beds on right bank of River – São Roque and Sa Lucia [Santa Lucia], the slopes
p.18 Levada a test of level – upper incline land around Funchal and the lower platform seem to indicate, antiquity of the forum
p.19 San Vincente [Vicente] Dr [Martin] Lister- Dente shell, Corals
Friday 23rd December
p.20 Trachyte – Etna compared to Madeira – De Beaumont Quote on origins (p.97) [Elie de Beaumont. 1836. Recherches sur la structure et sur l'origine du mont Etna]
p.21 mem from page 13 – Funchal, layers of pummia [pumice] in the straight just below Hartung’s House, uplift, old cliff
p.22 sketch - Thickness 120 ft of basalt columns – Basalt 120 ft in center then thinning off – Loo Rock on Fortress
p.23 interior of a crater, dikes
p.24 Fort do Ilhéu, 70 ft heigh Loo rock, lava, with dike, draining
p.26 Qy [Query]. lava Baixa Larga
p.28 At fort of Pico de Cruz – lava, upper and lower – red basalt columnar
p.29 lava stream movement
p.30 East end of Praia Formosa lava, 100ft thick om the lower 60 ft of somewhat solid like Torre del Greco
p.31 the upper part of the lower lava, solid, columnar, Pontinha
p.32 120 ft high west end of Praia Formosa – tuff, lava
p.32 Valley of Socorridos – red yellow, tuff, lava
p.34 East of right bank of Socorridos, base of Cape Girão, 150 ft, tuff, lava
p.36 drawing- 6ft wide, sea, lava, A to B 400 ft
p.38 Dikes, mass of basalt, layer of solid like rest
p.40 drawing – Cape Girão, 600 ft, 100 ft
p.42 drawing – Cape Girão, dikes
p.43 Cape Girão - at top of Eiro when the cascade falls down the cliff we see 50 or 40 ft basalt when the f[…] is 1000 ft, columnar basalt below the [p…] capping– Dikes Girão
p.44 drawing- Cape Girão, 800 ft
p.45 dikes, heights, lava, tuffs, [George] Hartung on Madeira
p.46 West end of Praia Formosa, cliff 100ft high cross strait of tuff and wedge masses of lava, yellow tuff, aqueous origins
p.47 Queries e.g., length of sections of Cape Girão
p.48 Porto Santo shells in [António Pedro d’Azevedo] Azevedo’s collection
p.50 species list – shells
Monday December
p.52 Funchal – Araucaria, Palheiro has two peaks, eruption, pumice, [George] Hartung
p.53 Sheets of Basalt parallel
p.54 Pico of Caniço like Pico de Cruz
p.55 Ravines between Funchal and Cruz and Cape Girão
p.56 Drawing – Porto Novo
p.57 Santa Cruz, lava, pebbles, gravels
p.58 Drawing - Porta Novo
p.60 Drawing - Phoenix dactylifera [Date Palm]
p. 61 Santa Cruz – shells, aloe
p.62 Drawing – Ravine of Santa Cruz, lava – Torrent of Santa Cruz 50-80 ft
p.63 Basalto [sic Portuguese name for Basalt]
p.64 Drawing - Bed of Basalt, Ravine of Santa Cruz – species
p.65 Santa Cruz, basalt, eruption
p.65 no rivers Etna
p.66 Drawing - Hills sloping, towards the sea at Santa Cruz - Ravine
p.68 Drawing - Bridge of Gomes – columnar
p.70 Drawing - Porto Novo showing arching of lava, basalt
p.71 Lava of Porto Novo
p.72 Drawing – Peak of Caniço, columnar basalt
p.73 Etna, eruption – Pico da Cruz, lava 50 ft thick
p.74 mem, qy’s - Lava Stream
p.75 queries
p.76 species lists – [George] Scrope Letters
p.77 Limestone of Porto Santo– mem – torrent of rain
p.78 Drawing – East
p.80 Drawing – West, lava, pumice, tuff, red tuff, basalt
p.82 Drawing – section looking east
p.83 Drawing - Pontinha rock connected with lava
December 30th 1853
p.84 Drawing – Basalt from Bridge of Sao Joao, Pico de Forte [São João do Pico Fortress, Funchal], St Joao peak, old fort
p.86 Drawing - Sao Joao continued
p.87 Sao Joao, dikes, eruption
p.88 Drawing - Pico do Infante view from S. Joao
p.90 Pico da Cruz, summit of Pico S Joan
p.92 Drawing – slopes of ridges continued – Pico do Cardo
p.93 Dikes, Pico do Cardo – red clay
p.94 View from Santo António
p.95 Drawing - San Pico Pinheiro
p.96 Drawing - Ponta do Sol, 12 miles W of Funchal
p.98 Geology, layers - fossils shells species
p.100 Drawing – basalt, Funchal
p.101 Yellow tuff, Socorridos
p.102 drawing – section of platform of San Martinho and Socorridos
p.103 platform, San Martinho – riverbed Socorridos
p.104 Socorridos riverbed – Drawing
p.105 Cape Girão
p.106 Drawing - layers of area
p.108 Drawing - Pico Piniero [? Possible reference to The Palheiro] lava, columnar
p.110 Drawing – Socorridos section, stratigraphy
December 31st
p.112 Drawing – Pico Grande, Pico dos Bodes – Canary birds - rain
p.113 coffee, bread, butter, sugar, dip of bed of tuff like basalt?
p.114 Drawings - Casa [Martinho?], Lazzanells [Lazareto?]
p.115 Drawings – stratigraphy, Lazzanells [Lazareto?]
p.116 solid lava
p.118- 119 Drawings – Ponta da Oliveira, Machico, San Pedro
Uncounted page – sloping foundation of tuff and lava