, the river Alde entered the sea at Aldborough, until
its ancient outlet was barred up and at length transferred to a point no
less than ten miles distant to the southwest. In this case, ridges of
sand and shingle, like those of Lowestoff Ness, which will be described
by and by, have been thrown up between the river and the sea; and an
ancient sea-cliff is to be seen now inland.

It may be asked why the rivers on our east coast are always deflected
southwards, although the tidal current flows alternately from the south
and north? The cause is to be found in the superior force of what is
commonly called "the flood tide from the north," a tidal wave derived
from the Atlantic, a small part of which passes eastward up the English
Channel, and through the Straits of Dover and then northwards, while the
principal body of water, moving much more rapidly in a more open sea, on
the western side of Britain, first passes the Orkneys, and then turning,
flows down between Norway and Scotland, and sweeps with great velocity
along our eastern coast. It is well known that the highest tides on this
coast are occasioned by a powerful northwest wind, which raises the
eastern part of the Atlantic, and causes it to pour a greater volume of
water into the German Ocean. This circumstance of a violent _off-shore_
wind being attended with a rise of the waters, instead of a general
retreat of the sea, naturally excites the wonder of the inhabitants of
our coast. In many districts they look with confidence for a rich
harvest of that valuable manure, the sea-weed, when the north-westerly
gales prevail, and are rarely disappointed.

[Illustration: Fig. 32.

Map of Lowestoff Ness, Suffolk.[408]

_a_, _a_. The dotted lines express a series of sand and shingle, forming
the extremity of the triangular space called the Ness.

_b_, _b_, _b_. The dark line represents the inland cliff on which the
town of Lowestoff stands, between which and the sea is the Ness.]

_Coast of Suffolk._--The cliffs of Suffolk, to which we next proceed,
are somewhat less elevated than those of Norfolk, but composed of
similar alternations of clay, sand, and gravel. From Gorleston in
Suffolk, to within a few miles north of Lowestoff, the cliffs are slowly
undermined. Near the last-mentioned town, there is an inland cliff about
sixty feet high, the sloping talus of which is covered with turf and
heath. Between the cliff and the sea is a low flat tract of sand called
the Nes