Notebook No.192, February 1854

This black notebook contains a record of Charles Lyell’s geological travels around Madeira with Georg Hartung, in the company of Mary Lyell, and Charles and Frances Bunbury. This notebook is from February 1854 and covers Charles Lyell’s travels around the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo with specific notes on Sao Vicente, Curral das Freiras, Pico Santo, Santo António, Pico Ruivo, Funchal, Pico Grande, Câmara de Lobos, Boqueirão, Santa Cruz, Porto Novo, Pico dos Bodes, Caminho do Pico da Cruz, Machico, Antonio da Serra, Portela, and Cape Girão. This notebook primarily focuses on the geological features and formations and includes a vast number of drawings and sketches of stratigraphical and geological features, primarily concerning limestone, craters, eruption, scoria, basalt, shells, trachyte, soapstone, crystals, erosion, and alluvium. Some key aspects of Lyell’s notes include upheaval theory, volcanic theory, and the Funchal system. Two drawings of note can be seen on page 110 and 112, both depicting the coastline moving East from Funchal – possibly drawn by Lyell as he is leaving the island. The drawing on page 110 includes two forts Sao Tago [sic Tiago], and Forte de Loires [Fort dos Louros] near Lazareto.

This notebook is written in ink and pencil and does not include an index but includes a list of things taken, like some other Maderia notebooks. This notebook has been indexed in the "Index to Note Books on Geology of Maderia” reference Coll-203/A5/14 [was 16] starting on p.47-53. That index is transcribed below. Reflecting this important fieldwork, there are many geological terms and references to place names; many of which have been difficult to decipher. Lyell’s own spellings have been left, with current names added where possible.

Index as recorded in Coll-203/A5/14:
p.3 San Vincente Limestone about 1200 ft
[p. 3] Heights Curral, Pico S. Antionio, Lignite of S, Jorge – Sa Anna
p.5 How far was S. Vincente upheaval anterior by the other region & to the format[io]n of the Picas of Funchal
[p. 5] Whether the movement was partial no ancient sea beaches why
p.6 Speculat[io]n on denudation & origin of pebbles in S. Vincente limest[one]
p.9 Contempor[ary, eonous] upheaval of part of the submarine base if the overlying allimates or subaerial over placings
p.11 Perfect cones near the sea, not ever submerged -
[p.11] no beach with sea shells
p.12 Old alluvium Camara de Lobos – 50 ft thick
p.14 Old alluvium 67 ft thick. Camara de Lobos - (Qy old allu[viu]m can it be explained by without
p.22 Baromet[er]. heights
p.25 Salão [term?] – see 30
p.26 Camaeia Mr. Beans-
p.27 Salao [sic Salão] is the spheroidal what yellow tuff is to Funchal
[p.27] Gentle slopes of part of Maderia E of Camaeia. Dip 8.
p.28 Porto Novo upper bed dip of lava run steeper
p.32 Lagoa Crater S. Antonio del Serra – Sketch of crater
p.34 Barom[eter]. Height Lagoa -
p.35 - Pond 30 ft across
p.36 Lagoa crater measurements -
p.38 Barom[eter] heights of spheroidal & Sa Cruz [Santa Cruz]
p.39 Cone of Heroas [?Areeiro]
p.40 Barom[eter] heights Sa Cruz.
[p.40] Dip of lava 15 at S. Cruz
p.42 Red soil Salão
[p.42] Cavern on sea coast, arch– Queimadas [next word is crossed out]
p.44 Machico valley dip 10° of beds
p.46 View of Machico valley
p.48 Old woods in Madeira
Desertas [sic Ilhas Desertas]
[p.48] Intercolline valley of Machios [sic Machico]
[p.48] Castaquo beds dip 22° -
p.50 [Castaquo] Do.
[p.50] Union of Castaquo ridge (as a cone of S. C. of Campanarios.)
p.52 Machico valley depression inter colline - dip both ways
[p.52] Movement of dikes chiefly before the alluviation therefore will not explain dip of buttress -
p.54 Lagoa crater seen from a distance
p.56 Barom[eter] h[eight]. of Portella Pass
p.56 Portella Pass Madeira red tuff – height 1826 ft?
p.58 [Portella Pass] Lava format[ion]
p.58 [Portella Pass] Greenst[one] [hade ?] Portella Pass
p.60 [Portella Pass] 600ft below pass flint, basalt
[p. 60] Dike hade 72-
[p. 60] Ejectamante of Portilla mass
p.61 Crystalline symeit [?] of P[ortella]. [Granitification?]
[p.61] White trachyte
p.62 Barom[eter] heights P. da Cruz -
[p.62] Dikes
p.64 [Dikes] at base of Penha d’Aguia
p.67 Trachyte & spheroidal decomp[ressio]n
[Trachyte] white beds Porto da Cruz
In Ilheo Do [ditto] – pebble beds under trachyte
p.68 Pebble 3 bed – diam[eter] of pebbles 7 inch largest
p.70 Alluv[ium] 50 ft high
[p.70] Barom[eter] heights
p.71 Abelleiros trachyte
p.76 Barom[eter] height of saddle Penha d’Aguia
p.78 D[itt]o.
[p.78] Vigia 127 ft
p.79 Saddle of Penha d’Aguia - Quebrada -
[p.79] Granitifous boulders – So.ca [Santo Cruz?]
p.80 Penha d’Aguia older than claystone or trachyte
p.81 No cones or dike belonging to trachyte seen - (only a dike in [neieo hudadi?] & down).
[p.81] Baro[meter]. h[eights]. [gives observations made by C. Lyell and G. Hartung]
p.82 Soapstone
[p.82] Great plateaus all dip S. & [only?]
p.83 Modern relation up of trachyte of P. da Cruz
p.83 Bar[ometer]. heights
p.84 Abellheiras – smoke grey trachyte
[p.84] columna trachyte -
p.86 Barom[eter] h[eight]. of tuff
23 Oct.
p.87, 89} Trachyte of P. da Cruz comp[are]d to Po. Sa.
p.88, 89} Bar[ometer]. h[eights]. Of yellow tuff. 824ft
p.90 Rocket road – lava near Funchal
p. 91 Po. da Cruz from [firm?] clay in a lake (Qy washed down says Hartung)
[p. 91] Penha d’Aguia
p.92 Orthography of names of places [list of names of places, including R-da Atabua “where my bag was swamped”. P.93 refers to Jacintho d’Ornelhas, fossil plant collector].
p.94 Powder Magazine Madeira [near?] of lava
p.96 Funchal system extending to NE side of valley
p.97 Porto Santo shells. Lima most abundant
p.98 Pico da Cruz solid beds on flanks
[p.98] Barom[eter] h[eights]. Funchal
p.100 Pico da Cruz solid beds slope of 34
[p.100] Barom[eter] h[eights] of points of P. d. Cruz
p.100 P. da Cruz -
p.102 Bar[ometer] h[eights] of same
[p.102] Suiter on scoria at top of P da Cruz
[p.102 Crater of Po da Cruz Funchal
p.104 Barom[eter] h[eights]. P. da Cruz
Ropy lava
[p.104] Suppor[te]d dike or arch?
p.105 Solid lava on side of P. da Cruz
p.106 Supp[ose]d dike or breach - (if dikes follow from above)
p.108 P. da Cruz structure of & [?]
p.110 Section with Eckersberg E. of Funchal. St Jago & Lazaretti
p.112 Do. P. do Gonsalo [sic Gonçalo] & Palheiro
p.114 [Do.] P. das Nauer & Ribo de Quintela
p.116 Rosto Preto
p.118 Brazen Head