Mr. Bakewell on the Thermal Waters of the Alps. 15 



abundantly gushing out at the feet of the primary mountains, 

 near the junction of the mica-slate, or the dark schist passing 

 into mica-slate with the lowest calcareous beds of that vast 

 series of limestone strata, which forms the outer ranges of the 

 Alps. Numerous as these hot springs are on the northern 

 side of the Alps, and not un frequent on the southern side also, 

 it appeared to me remarkable, that they had hitherto been re- 

 garded as isolated phenomena ; and their geological position 

 had not been noticed. It is true, some of the warm springs in 

 the Valais and in Savoy had been long known and visited, 

 but the greater number have been discovered since Saussure 

 published his Voyages dans lesAlpes; and it appears probable, 

 that they would every where be found near the junction of the 

 primary and secondary rocks, were it not for eboulements that 

 have covered them with a heap of ruins, or that torrents from 

 the glaciers have mixed with them, and reduced their tem- 

 perature. Since I visited Savoy in 1821 and 1822, another 

 considerable warm spring has been discovered near the village 

 of Chamouni, at the foot of a glacier; and in 1820 several 

 thermal springs were discovered in that branch of the Alps 

 which extends to Grenoble. 



I shall here briefly enumerate the principal known thermal 

 waters in the Pennine Alps, and add some observations and 

 inferences, which I trust will be acceptable to several of your 

 readers. 



Naters in theHaut Valais. — The warm spring rises under 

 a rock of mica-slate on the north side of the Rhone. The tem- 

 perature when I visited the place was 86° Fahrenheit, but it 

 is variable from the intermixture with surface-water. At the 

 time of the great earthquake of Lisbon in 1755, the mountain 

 above the spring, I was informed, opened and threw out a con- 

 siderable quantity of hot water. 



Leuk in the Haut Valais^ — situated in a deep gorge on the 

 northern side of the Rhone. There are twelve springs, varying 

 in temperature from 1 1 7° to 1 26°. These springs have been 

 long known, and are visited by patients from various parts of 

 Europe. 



The Valley of Bagnes in the Bas Valais. — The warm 

 springs in this valley were buried under a heap of debris from 

 the fall of part of a mountain, which destroyed the baths, the 

 village of Bagnes and one hundred and twenty inhabitants in 

 the year 1545. The name of the valley is obviously derived 

 from the baths. The temperature of the water unknown. 



Chamouni. — The thermal waters at this place have been 

 discovered since I visited Chamouni in 1821. I have received 

 no account of the temperature; baths have recently been 



erected. 



