The Westleton Series of East Anglia: its Age, Distribution, and Relations

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Abstract
I. Introduction On the Geological Survey maps of the country to the south-east of the Chalk escarpment, numerous areas, extending almost continuously from Norfolk to Berkshire, are shown coloured in various shades of pink and described somewhat non-committally as “Glacial Sand”. It is clear that several deposits of various origins have been included under this heading, but as yet no intensive attempt has been made to distinguish between them over more than a very limited area. The task is, indeed, in the absence of fossils, a matter of great difficulty. Some workers have drawn criteria from the pebble content of the gravels, but these criteria have sometimes led them astray, and in any case are not applicable to the sandy deposits. My own method has been to make use of the heavy mineral assemblages, which are obviously of great value in investigating the “directional” deposits formed from ice-borne material, and which are applicable equally to sands and gravels. The results obtained are in partial agreement with those of many previous workers, notably Prestwich, S. V. Wood, H. B. Woodward, A. E. Salter, and R. L. Sherlock. The fresh evidence obtained during the present investigation helps also to resolve many of the mutual contradictions inherent in their conclusions. II. Historical Summary It would be useless and tedious to attempt a summary of all the older work on the subject; I have therefore limited myself to the important publications, and especially to those which express the latest views of their authors. Searles