PALEOLITHIC RACES 335 



above it, the surface of the second terrace (r), is seen ; one of the 

 characteristic farmhouses of Upper Austria stands upon it. Imme- 

 diately behind this follows the third terrace (/«)» an d above this 

 again the highest terrace (g), which forms a plateau of consider- 

 able extent. Such terraces are not confined to the valley of 

 the Steyr ; they are common to many of the great valleys of the 

 Eastern Alps, and are to be found in the Western Alps also, and 

 indeed very generally over Europe, and in all the glaciated 

 regions of the globe. 



These terraces can be traced down the valley of the Steyr 

 into the valley of the Enns, and then onwards towards the 

 Danube ; two of them, indeed, the uppermost and lowermost, 

 actually reach the bank of this stream. They can also be traced 

 upwards towards the mountains, extending, with considerable 

 interruptions, over a course of forty or fifty miles. The pits, 

 like our gravel pits at home, which are dug into them here and 

 there, afford an insight into their structure and composition. 

 Entering one of these, we observe beds very much resembling- 

 gravel, very coarse, and cleanly washed, made up of pebbles 

 varying from about 2 in. to 6 in. in diameter. On the whole 

 they are rather evenly bedded, sometimes they form oblique 

 layers (false bedding), and they include occasionally lenticular 

 patches of sand or loam. To these deposits the Germans give 

 the name of "shotter," a term we shall find it convenient to 

 adopt. The shotter have evidently been deposited by swiftly 

 running water ; they mark the course of a rapid river. 



We may now follow the terraces up the valley, and this 

 time we will select the valley of the Iller. The terraces broaden 

 out to wide sheets, and then become replaced by features of a 

 totally different character. We are now introduced to an 

 irregular assemblage of hills, which extend, not like the terraces, 

 along the valley parallel with its length, but transversely across 

 it, running in a gentle curve convex downwards. They may 

 be overgrown by forests of firs or covered with soft green turf, 

 but natural or artificial sections will somewhere expose their 

 structure. This is very different from that of the river terraces ; 

 instead of rounded pebbles we find angular fragments of rock 

 and an occasional striated boulder, the stones are of all sizes, 

 and of very diverse kinds, fine sand and mud are intermingled 

 with them, and all are thrown together in confusion, with no 

 trace of order or arrangement. These are the characters of a 



