THE FERRIERES ROCKS.

69

Except towards Herm, the sides of Jethou are precipitous, and without a landing-place. This island is higher than Herm, and looks conical, but the summit is table land, and cultivated. It has a creux corresponding to that on Herm, and the cliffs are fine and bold.

The islets near Jethou, both of which are surmounted by white sea-marks, are not very large, but are, from some points of view, remarkably symmetrical. At certain times of tide they are cut off by water from the central islands. The one towards Guernsey is the larger, and is called Crevichon. It has some vegetable growth upon it, but is too small to be inhabited. There is an old quarry on it, which forms a picturesque object at a little distance.

To the south of Jethou, a number of rocks rise out of comparatively deep water in sharp, jagged, and dangerous pinnacles. These are called the Ferriéres, and are seen in greater or less number, according to the height of the tide, for a distance of about two miles. Between these rocks are dangerous passages. The space they occupy narrows gradually towards the south ; and the depth of water around, and often that immediately outside them, is generally nearly twenty fathoms, on the side towards

SECTION OF SEA-BOTTOM AND ISLANDS FROM GUERNSEY TO SARK.

Sark. On the west side, there are few places in the Little Russel where there is more than fifteen fathoms water, but the

rocks are more thickly grouped. The southernmost rock of this group, called the Sardriére, rises out of water upwards of 120 feet deep on three sides, and is curiously connected with the isle of Brechou, close to Sark, by two pinnacles of rock rising in the same way,—one to within thirty, and the other to within fifty feet of the surface,-from water 180 feet deep, the distance (about three miles) being divided into three parts by these rocks. On the other side there is an important bank, less than a mile from Guernsey, intervening between this same rock and the Guernsey high land. The diagram in the last page will give an idea of the state of the sea-bottom at this part of the Channel.

SARK.

With the exception of the two dangerous rocks just alluded to, Sark is separated from the Herm group of islands and rocks by a tolerably wide and open passage, with from twenty-five to thirty fathoms of water, called the Great Russel. Although, however, it is usual to speak of Sark as one island, it is like the others, a group of islands, islets, and rocks, of which the number is very considerable. In describing it here, we allude first to the group, and afterwards to the largest and most important member of it.

Great Sark and Little Sark form one connected island, the connecting link being a natural causeway, at an elevation of nearly 300 feet above the sea. Beyond Great Sark to the north, and Little Sark to the south, are a number of islets, which we may regard as recently detached, and several islets and rocks, separated at a more ancient date, and much lower and smaller.

On both the east and west sides are other and much more important pieces of land; one, the island of Brechou,* looking

* Brechou, or Brek'hou; the islet of the gap or breach (bréche, Swiss French. or breke, old Dutch).

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

71

towards Guernsey; the other, the "Burons," a number of islets on the east side. The relative importance of these will be seen by a reference to the diagram in page 69. Rocks appear at intervals nearly three miles beyond the Sark coast on the east, after which there is a clear space, the depth being at first thirty fathoms, and then gradually shoaling to the French coast. The distance of Sark from France is about twenty-four miles.

Great Sark is rather more than two miles (4,100 yards) in length, from north to south, and Little Sark rather less than a mile. Including both islands, and the rocks beyond, the total length of the group is about five miles. The greatest width of land in the principal island is about 3,000 yards; but, including Brechou and the Burons, it amounts to fully three miles.

From St. Martin's Point in Guernsey, the distance to Little Sark is about seven miles, and from Belgrave Bay to the detached rock at the northern extremity of Great Sark, is about eight miles. The whole island somewhat resembles the figure 8; but the upper part of the figure should be much larger than the lower part. Its outline is, in fact, a double loop; the two loops of different sizes, connected by a short line.

Both Great and Little Sark are table lands, and their elevation above the sea is upwards of 350 feet.* The ground sinks towards the south, but is everywhere surrounded by lofty per-. pendicular cliffs.

The island of Brechou is about 1,200 yards in length from east to west, and about 250 yards wide. It rises at least 150 feet above the sea. The Burons are much smaller, and lower. The coasts of Sark, both Great and Little, and of the island of Brechou, are broken into numerous small coves, with sandy, shingly, or rocky beaches. Not one of these, however, in either island, communicates naturally and conveniently with the table land above, and not one is approachable by boats, except

By recent measurements the highest point of Sark is determined to be 365 feet above mean tide.

when the weather is favourable. No boat can put off from any part of either island during the severe gales that are so frequent in these seas.

The wild scenery of the vertical wall of rock which surrounds Sark, is wonderfully enhanced in beauty and picturesque effect by the caverns with which it is everywhere penetrated, and the huge isolated masses of rock, often pierced with large natural vaults or tunnels, that form a kind of advanced guard in every direction, appearing to repel for a time the action of the waves, but really only serving as proofs of the destruction thus caused. Nowhere can the destroying power of the sea be better studied than in the grand scenes presented at every point round this remarkable island. Detached portions of the main island, others nearly detached, and only connected by natural bridges or narrow necks of land, huge vaults through which the sea dashes at all times, or into which it penetrates only at high water, fragments of rock of all dimensions, some jagged and recently broken, some—and these the hardest and toughestrounded and smooth, vast piles of smaller rocks heaped around: all these offer abundant illustrations of nature's course when the elements meet on the battle field of an exposed coast, the tidal wave undermining and tearing asunder even the hardest porphyries and granites, however they may seem to present a bold front, and bear the reputation of being indestructible.

The small bays, detached rocks, and pierced rocks and caverns, are the chief objects of interest in Sark; and they are so not only to the lover of the picturesque, and to the artist who dares undertake to represent what many will deem unnatural, but also to the naturalist in all departments. The geologist will here find many interesting studies in the alternation of almost stratified granite with masses of greenstone, serpentine and actynolite, traversed by numerous veins and fissures, filled with soft clay, coloured by iron and manganesc, or occupied by some of the infinite varieties of the rock once called trap.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

73

Many beautiful and interesting minerals may also be obtained, and much may be learnt as to the way in which these minerals were formed. The botanist will not, perhaps, discover many new plants; but there are known kinds under peculiar conditions of growth, for the climate is singularly favourable to certain kinds of vegetation, owing to its average temperature and constant moisture, without much cold. But chiefly will the lover of marine zoology be rewarded for the trouble of visiting this spot. Nowhere in Europe, under the most favourable circumstances, can so great a wealth of animal life be found within a small space as in some of the Sark caverns. These are as remarkable for their extraordinary grandeur and beauty, as for the singular multitude and variety of the zoophytes they contain. A detailed account of the animal productions belongs to another chapter, and the exact spot of their occurrence will presently be described; but no account of Sark could be in any way complete without a reference to this source of interesting investigation.

The ordinary and best landing-place in Sark is called the Creux; but before attempting a description of it, let us first attempt to give the reader a general idea of the coast scenery of the whole island. Approaching the island from the south, we first reach and pass a small island called Le Tas,* near which are some fine detached rocks on the shore, and a large cave. Beyond this, to the east, small recesses are seen in the vertical cliff; one of them clothed with green to the water's edge, at a point where a narrow opening conducts to a kind of large open funnel, called the Pot. With some little difficulty this can be descended from the top, and the fringe of ferns and other plants around it, with the curious appearance of the opening seen from

This name is often written, both in books and charts, "l'Etat." There can, however, be no doubt that it alludes to the form of the rock, viz. :-Tas, a heap, such as is made with hay or corn. There are many rocks so called among the islands.