(2.) MIDDLE EOCENE.--The inferior portion of the Middle Eocene
of Britain consists of marine beds, chiefly consisting of sand,
clays, and gravels, and attaining a very considerable thickness
(_Bag-shot and Bracklesham beds_). The superior portion of the
Middle Eocene of Britain, on the other hand, consists of deposits
which are almost exclusively fresh-water or brackish-water in
origin (_Headon and Osborne series_).
The chief Continental formations of Middle Eocene age are the
"Calcaire grossier" of the Paris basin, and the "Nummulitic
Limestone" of the Alps.
(3.) UPPER EOCENE.--If the Headon and Osborne beds of the Isle
of Wight be placed in the Middle Eocene, the only British
representatives of the Upper Eocene are the _Bembridge beds_.
These strata consist of limestones, clays, and marls, which have
for the most part been deposited in fresh or brackish water.
II. EOCENE BEDS OF THE PARIS BASIN.--The Eocene strata are very
well developed in the neighbourhood of Paris, where they occupy
a large area or basin scooped out of the Chalk. The beds of this
area are partly marine, partly freshwater in origin; and the
following table (after Sir Charles Lyell) shows their subdivisions
and their parallelism with the English series:--
GENERAL TABLE OF FRENCH EOCENE STRATA.
UPPER EOCENE.
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