596 
The masses of ice may be observed in 
motion for a little time before they de- 
tach themselves, and when they fall 
upon the rocks below, the noise resem- 
bles the distant discharge of heavy ar- 
tillery, followed by a succession of 
echoes. When the ice was once in 
motion, it would fall in a continued 
stream fora cousiderahle time, which, 
seen at a distance, resembled a cata- 
ract: with the ice were intermixed large 
blocks of stone, which had long lain 
upon the glacier. ~I counted several 
seconds between the first motion of the 
ice and the time when it struck against 
the rocks, and some seconds more be- 
fore the sound reached the ear. I could 
have waited for hours to observe these 
avalanches, but as the sun declined they 
were less frequent, and ceased before 
evening. 
Beyond the Glacier de Bois, there are 
two other considerable glaciers; the 
first, that of Argentiere, has a large 
cavern at the bottom; the other is called 
the Glacier de Tour. 'The little village 
of Argentiére, with its church and glit- 
tering spire, and the two lofty Aiguilles 
above it, form a most pleasing and sub- 
limely picturesque scene. ‘The cheerful 
appearance of cultivation, with a village 
and village-church, is always gratifying 
amidst lofty precipices and snow-capped 
mountains. 
GENERAL PROSPECT. 
Having ascended the summit of the 
Col de Balme, we saw on the castern 
side below us the upper valley of the 
Rhone, and the mountains which border 
it, as faras St. Gotbard; but the outline 
was not well defined, owing to a slight 
degree of haziness in the eastern horizon, 
though the atmosphere was uncom- 
monly transparent on the western side 
of the Col de Balme. We descended a 
little below the summit to be screened 
from the wind, while we took our din- 
ners on the grass; there was a mass of 
snow immediately “beneatir us, though 
the mountain is below the estimated 
Jine of perpetual snow. Lovking to the 
west, Mont Blane is seen in profile, 
from its sommit to its base, and its dif 
ferent parts rise: above each other in 
their just proportions. The summits of 
the principal Aiguilles, those of Char- 
mos, the Aiguille Vert, the Aiguille de 
Dru, @ Argentiére, and de Tour, are 
seen nearer, and in the same range. 
These peaks rise from eleven to thir- 
teen thousand feet above the level of 
the sea, and would in any other posi- 
tion be regarded with astonishment, but 
Bs 
6. 
Bakewell’s Travels.in the Tarentaise, &c. 
the effect of their amazing height is 
diminished by the superior elevation 
and magnitude of Mont: Blane. On 
the north side of the valley are’seen a 
lower range of mountains, whieh, from 
their red colour, are called the Aiguilles 
Rouges ; beyond these is Mont Breven, 
and nearer, on the north-west, rise the 
mountains of the Valorsine. ‘The val- 
ley of Chamouny appears deep and 
narrow, and is scen from one end to the 
other, with the Arve winding along it. 
The Col de Balme on which we stood 
closes the eastern end of the valley, and 
a mountain called the Vaudange closes 
the western extremity. The lengthof the 
valley is about fifteen miles: when view- 
ed from hence, there can be little doubt 
of its having once formed a lake, before 
the waters of the Arve escaped, as at 
present, through a lateral chasm'to Pont 
Pelissier. The occurrence of‘ valleys 
closed in at both ends is not unfrequent 
in Sayoy. I bave before remarked that 
such valleys could not have been formed 
by submarine currents, or by rivers run+ 
ning through them; this is evident from 
their present structure. 
FORMATION. : 
The base of the mountain ofthe Col 
de Balme is gravitic, but the north and 
the north-west side of the mountain are 
composed of nearly vertical: beds of 
sandstone, puddingstone, micaceous 
sandstone, nearly resembling mica-slate, 
dark soft schist, schisty grey limestone, 
and slate. The sandstone, puddingstone, 
and micaceous sandstone alternate ; they 
range nearly north-east by north. Stand- 
ing dn the summit of the Col de BaJme, 
one of these beds, of vast thickness, is 
seen plunging down into the valley to 
the north-west, and is nearly vertical and 
uncovered by any other bed, to the depth 
of fifteen hundred or two thousand feet. 
Were any decomposition, or erosion of the 
lower part to take place, the whole bed 
must fall into the valley. . 
The beds of which I obtained speci- 
mens, are greyish or reddish schist; with 
rather a fine paste, and containing par- 
ticles of mica, and would, in the Wer- 
nerian nomenclature, be donominated a 
grey-wacke schist. In the paste are 
imbedded numerous bolders and frag- 
ments of, gneiss, mica+slate, and quartz, 
varying in size from that of a pea, or 
smaller, to seven or eight inches in di- 
ameter; some are perfectly rounded, 
others are angular, and some have a 
rhomboidal form, derived from the cleav- 
age of the rocks, from whence they were 
originally broken. Many of these beds 
are 
