134 GEOLOGICAL FEATURE. 



contrast between the main and the islands lying 

 off it; which, although steep, have smooth, 

 rounded surfaces ; upon several of which the snow 

 remains throughout the year. 



Spitzbergen appears to follow the rule which 

 prevails in many parts of our globe, in having 

 its culminating points towards the western 

 limit of its territory ; so far at least as our 

 knowledge of its formation extends. On pass- 

 ing to the eastward the descent is very per- 

 ceptible, the sharp peaks disappear, and a 

 more gentle undulation may be traced as far as 

 the coast has as yet been explored. This alter- 

 ation of external appearance is accompanied by 

 a change in the geological character of the beds. 

 To the westward we have almost Exclusively 

 the primitive rock, forming both the islands, and 

 the lateral ridges which jome down to the coast 

 line ; and, no doubt, the ffigher chain from which 

 they diverge is of thej^same character. As we 

 proceed to the eastwarl, at Red Bay for instance, 

 which is characterized by its table land, we 

 find secondary formations, then tertiary, and so 

 on until we have, as Professor Jameson has 

 remarked, no less than five of the great classes 

 comprised within the limits occupied by Spitz- 

 bergen and its islands. The order in which 

 these formations occur upon the surface is, how- 



