Ward & Lock's descriptive and pictorial guide to the Isle of Man ...

S2)amsh Head. 185•will be interested in the formation of Langness, describedas "a mass of gray schist, mostly of a dark colour, intersectedwith dykes of green sandstone, and capped on itswestern side with old red conglomerate." Having got clearof Langness and all its perils, the steamer crosses the broadspan of Castletown Bay, formed by Langness Point andScarlet Point on the western side, with the black pile ofbasalt known as the Stack of Scarlet. Here a grand view ofthe whole mountain mass of the island is obtained.Spanish Headis the next prominence which attracts special attention, andthe steamer generally runs close in shore so as to afford aview of an enormous perpendicular cliff of blue Silurianschist, more than 300 feet high, and torn by some mightyconvulsion of nature into vast chasms. The old chroniclesof the island mention several earthquakes, which may haveproduced these stupendous rendings of the massive rock;there are twelve Chasms, so deep that they appear to bebottomless. It is a common practice to fire a gun at thispart of the coast, for the purpose of disturbing the immenseflocks of gulls and other sea-birds that make their home inthe cavities on the face of the precijoice.Spanish Head is so named from the circumstance that, in1588, some of the ships of the great Spanish Armada werewrecked on the rocks at this part of the coast.At this part of the coast is the Sugar Loaf FocJc, rent intofissures, and crowded with gulls and other birds ; a fine cave,or grotto, is adjacent.Beyond Spanish Head is Calf Sound, a narrow channelabout 500 yards wide, dividing the small island known asthe Calf of Man from Man itself. In the Sound near KitferlandIshs, in 1852, the brig Lily of Liverpool exploded,after it had struck on the rocks, causing the death of thirtytwosailors, in memory of whom a monument is erected inthe parish churchyard ;and Thousala Hock, on which is anecessary beacon. The currents of the channel over the rocksarc dangerous, and vessels of large tonnage seldom venturethe passage.The Calf of Manis an islet about five miles in circumference. It was formerlyconsidered to be a position of importance, and was garrisoned,but is now partly appropriated as a grazing ground for sheep ;but the great portion is a rabbit warren. It rises to a height