to the Lion^s-Head, near Castleton of Bracmar. 275 



slate with portions of granite. In several places veins and 

 imbedded masses of granite are observed mingled Avith the other 

 strata, and again portions or fragments of these strata in the 

 granite. 



LiorCs-Head. — This hill occurs on the road between the Castle- 

 ton and the bridge over the Dee, near Invercauld. At the 

 bridge the strata of gneiss and hornblende rock in the bed of 

 the river are traversed by veins of granite ; and, both above and 

 below the bridge, the slaty rocks in the bed of the river exhibit 

 interesting displays of the granite veins traversing them. The 

 base of the Lion's-Head exhibits an alternation of granite and 

 quartz. A road cut in the hill winds round it, and leads 

 down into a valley which brings us again to the Castleton Inn. 

 In the direction of this road, the structure and materials of the 

 hill are well seen : they are alternating beds of granite, quartz- 

 rock, gneiss, and limestone. The beds of quartz are frequently 

 several yards thick : they exhibit, by their intermixture with 

 mica and felspar, a gradual transition into granite, and fre- 

 quently are traversed by contemporaneous veins of red fel- 

 spar and of red granite. The granite, which alternates in 

 beds with the quartz-rock, is either red or grey, and is 

 composed of felspar, quartz, and mica. It is sometimes so 

 intermixed with the quartz-rock, that it is difficult to say 

 which is the predominating rock. Veins of it shoot through 

 and across the quartz, and also the gneiss. The gneiss alter- 

 nates with the quartz and the granite, is often intermixed with 

 them, and veins of both traverse it. Portions of gneiss occur 

 imbedded in the granite, and of granite in the gneiss. The 

 limestone is bluish-grey in colour, composed of large and small 

 granular concretions, and occurs in beds several feet in thick- 

 ness, that alternate with the granite, gneiss, and quartz rocks. 

 In the road leading through and down the glen to the inn, the 

 same rocks and arrangements occur. 



Locfi-na-gar. Lake of the Precipice. — On a delightful morn- 

 ing in August, we started early from the Castleton, for the top 

 of this mountain. After a long and fatiguing ascent through a 

 3 



