S54 M. Hoffmann on Vullcijii of Elcvatmi. 



Besides the valuable remarks of M. Leopold de Buch * on the 



salt springs of Nauheim, and the acidulous springs of Wettera- 

 via, we have still to direct attention to the remarkable observa- 

 tions of M. StifFt, which prove that, in the Duchy of Nassau, 

 the numerous mineral springs, so rich in carbonic acid, issue 

 almost always in places where the strata manifest remarkable 

 changes in their direction and inclination, and in the places where 

 in particular there are remarked saddle-shaped elevations, and 

 also frequently rents on the summit of the saddle f . We have, 

 therefore, here the same appearances as those which have been 

 described above in Westphalia ; and it would be difficult to find 

 stronger proofs of the connexion of the lines of direction of our 

 chains, and of the position of their beds, with the effects of still 

 existing subterranean forces. 



What we above deduced from observations on the formation 

 of the circular valleys of elevation in the north of Germany, we 

 find again proved by Mr Buckland's researches as to the origin 

 of many valleys in the south of England. That distinguished 

 geologist has represented these valleys, at the western extremity 

 of the London basin, which he names the valleys of Kingsclcrc, 

 Ham, and Pewsy, and which are, in the midst of the chalk and 

 green sand formation, a perfect representation of the valleys of 

 Pyrmont and Driburg. In the valley of Kingsclere, the south 

 escarpement has been raised to double the height of the northern 

 one, and the chalk of England here attains its maximum of ele- 

 vation in the mountain of Inkpenhill, which rises to an absolute 

 height of 1011 English feet. 



As Mr Buckland attributes the formation of several less cir- 

 cumscribed valleys to raisings and breakings of the strata, we 

 might place in this latter class the very wide valleys of Quedlin- 

 burg, Huyseburg, and Reitlinge near Elmvvald. We recom- 

 mend the inferences drawn from these observations to the geolo- 

 gists of the mountains of the north of Germany, who are little 

 accustomed to consider, in a general point of view, the appear- 

 ances of the position of the strata. It would, in like manner, be 

 advantageous to compare the phenomena of this order which pre- 

 sent themselves in these countries with those which might come 

 to us from distant regions. 



• PoggendorfF's Annalen der Physik, xii. 



-f- See AViesbaden und seine Heilquellen, 1823, by lluUmani. 



