Lofty Regions of the Globe 9 



width of 120 kilometers, have a large number of peaks which, al- 

 though they do not have the imposing mass or the height of the 

 Alpine groups, are nevertheless important for our purpose. In the 

 eastern Pyrenees there are first the Canigou (2785 meters) , then 

 the Puigmal (2910 meters) and the Corlitte (2920 meters), domi- 

 nating on each side the pass of the Perche (1620 meters) ; finally 

 from this pass to the valley of Aran, on a very lofty crest, a series 

 of peaks reach a height of 2800 meters, the highest of which is the 

 Montcalm (3090 meters). 



Beyond the valley, the western Pyrenees begin with the group 

 of the Maladetta, which contains their highest point, the peak of 

 Nethou (3405 meters). This is the center of the Pyrenees group, 

 which in a length of some hundred kilometers contains a great 

 number of summits rising above 3000 meters: the peak of Perdi- 

 ghera (3220 meters) , the cylinder of Marbore (3330 meters) , Mount 

 Perdu (3350 meters), Vignemale (3300 meters), Marmure (2950 

 meters) , the southern peak of Ossau (2885 meters) ; and to the 

 north of the principal chain, the peak Campvieil (3175 meters), 

 and the southern peak of Bigorre (2880 meters) , on which a mete- 

 orological observatory has just been established. The passes or 

 ports of this region also attain a considerable height: port of Viella 

 (2455 meters) , port of Venasque (2420 meters) ; the lowest is the 

 port of Gavarnie (2280 meters) , the highest is the Portillon (3045 

 meters) . 



Towards the west, the chain drops rapidly; then, the Pyrenees 

 proper give way to the Cantabric Mountains, which extend to the 

 end of Galicia. In this whole extent, only a few summits rise above 

 2000 meters. In the rest of Spain, the Sierra Guadarrama and the 

 Sierra de Gredos, which dominate Madrid and pour upon it the 

 dreaded wind of the mountains, rise at certain points to more than 

 3000 meters; finally along the sea, at the highest point of the Sierra 

 Nevada, the twin summits of the peak of Veleta (3470 meters) and 

 the Cerro de Mulhacen (3555 meters) surpass the highest of the 

 Pyrenees. 



In the rest of Europe, there are no mountains which can attract 

 our attention. Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British 

 Isles, is only 1330 meters high; in Iceland, Orafa Jokul is 1950 

 meters; in the Scandinavian Alps, the highest mountains are Snee- 

 hatten (2300 meters), Skagstolstinder (2450 meters), and Ymes- 

 Feldj (2600 meters) ; in the Ural Mountains, there are no peaks 

 reaching the height of 2000 meters; the highest, T611-pos-Is, is only 

 1680 meters. 



