60 Dr Boud on the Geography and Geology of 



rent, through which flows the Pepentz, conducts the astonished 

 traveller gradually down to the tertiary basin of Uskub. This 

 rent may be termed the Gate of Macedonia. First, There is a 

 picturesque defile, with perpendicular walls of old slaty and 

 limestone rocks, so that, for the formation of the carriage road, 

 it has been necessary to cut a very small gallery through the 

 granular limestone and white dolomite. Afterwards, for a 

 league and a half, the road winds down a woody and undulat- 

 ing deep ravine, resembling the Pass of Killiecrankie. Lower 

 down, there is only a small valley or glen in the crystalline 

 slates, which varies considerably in breadth, the narrower parts 

 being formed by the protrusion of hornblende rocks. In the 

 course of six or seven leagues, one passes from a region where 

 no vines grow, into a lower country, clothed with walnut-trees 

 and excellent vineyards, and then into the warm plain of Us- 

 kub. Yet, nevertheless, I do not think I can estimate the de- 

 scent from Kacsanik to Uskub at more than 500 or 600 feet. 



It appears, that between the plain of Pristina and that of 

 Vrana, the water-shed is also formed by very low eminences. The 

 same is the case between the basins of the White Drina and the 

 MitrovitZa. We passed from the one to the other by an imper- 

 ceptible and very slight ascent, and along a boggy smooth de- 

 file, situated to the west of Lapushnik. Even between Vrana 

 and Komanova, the Karadagh chain presents only very low 

 hills, with valleys which tend much to diminish the ascent. 

 Farther to the K, N. W., N. and N. E. of Kostendil, the hills 

 around the Radomir plain, or the Upper Strymon, are very 

 low, as we cannot allow more than 800 feet above the level of 

 the plain for the western hills, and 1500 or 1700 feet for those 

 to the east, as also for the Hill of Koniavo, to the north of Kos- 

 tendil. 



The Kostendil basin is deeper than the Radomir plain, and is 

 only separated from that of Dubnicza by hills whose elevation 

 is generally under 1000 feet ; and from that of Sophia by the 

 Wistoska, a hill whose absolute elevation may be estimated at 

 about 2500 feet. 



This inconsiderable height of the Radomir Hills, in conjunc- 

 tion with the valleys or glens, facilitates very much the passage 

 from Kostendel, Dubnicza or Radomir, into the Morawa basin. 



