The Geology of Barbados. Part II. The Oceanic Deposits

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Abstract
In a former paper we described the raised coral-reefs of Barbados; we now offer an account of the important series of raised oceanic deposits which form part of the solid framework of the island, beneath its comparatively superficial coating of coral-limestone. 1. General Descriptions of the Deposits. (a) Geological Position.-The Oceanic Deposits form a group or series of beds which is clearly marked off from the Scotland Series below and the Coral Limestones above. They do not, however, appear as a continuous band between the other two formations, because the elevation of the island from oceanic depths was accompanied by a considerable amount of faulting, and tracts of the Oceanic Deposits were dropped down between blocks of the older Scotland Series. Waves and currents then formed a surface of erosion across the faulted mass before the corals began to grow, and consequently the reefs rest, not only on various parts of the Oceanic Series, but in many places directly on the Scotland Beds. The unconformity between the Oceanic Deposits and the Scotland Series on which they rest is as clear as the lithological contrast between the two formations is great. The older series has been thrown into a succession of folds and flexures which in many places amount to plications and contortions, and all this compression was accomplished before the formation of the Oceanic Deposits, which often rest on the edges of highly-inclined or vertical strata. In respect of colour and lithological composition there could hardly be a greater contrast

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