History, §c. in the European Provinces of Turkey. 413 



5th, A chain extending through the centre of Turkey, and 

 dividing Wallachia from Servia, being a continuation of the 

 hills of the Bannat. 



6t/i, There is another chain separating Servia from Bosnia, 

 and a third traversing the centre of the province. These 

 three chains all meet in Servia, forming the boundary be- 

 tween it and High Mcesia. 



The highest mountains are those of the western chain in 

 Bosnia, which is another Switzerland in the configuration of 

 the country ; and next are the mountains of Thrace, called 

 Despotodagh. Those of Schar and of the Balkan come next 

 in point of elevation. Between these chains lie several rich 

 valleys, as those of Wallachia, of Servia, of Macedonia, and 

 of Thrace. 



The directions of the chains are in general such as to afford 

 greater facilities for travelling from north to south than from 

 west to east ; accordingly, it is found much more easy to con- 

 struct a road from Belgrade to Constantinople, than from 

 Trieste across to the Black Sea. 



Geognosy of Turkey. 



The geological structure of European Turkey is more simple 

 than that of the western portions of Europe. There seems 

 to be no trace in it of the coal formation, or of any rocks in- 

 termediate between this and the cretaceous deposits. Gneiss, 

 mica, and clay-slate constitute the high ground of Despoto- 

 dagh, Rhodope, the Balkan, and the greater part of the prin- 

 cipal chains above enumerated. Subordinate to gneiss are 

 rocks consisting of whitestone, hornblende rocks, garnet rock, 

 and granular limestone. Subordinate to the mica and clay- 

 slates we meet with talc and chlorite slates, quartz rock, com- 

 pact and granular limestones, dolomites, and, more rarely, slates 

 impregnated with hornblende. The inclination of the beds 

 is very various, depending on the different directions in which 

 the volcanic forces appear to have operated upon them. Both 

 the gneiss and the other slates seem to pass into certain con- 

 glomerates, which may be regarded as greywackc, as is the 

 case in High Mcesia. The latter rocks pass into sandstone, 

 grit, and calcareous breccia. The fossils which these rocks. 



VOL. XXX. NO. LX. APUIL 1841. D d 



