On the Glaciers of the Himalaya. 118 



gradually increasing in size, that collects the drainage of the 

 open part of the valley, and of the outer slopes of the moraine. 

 The lower part of this slope is a mass of loose stones and 

 earthy gravel, which rolls down from above, as the face of 

 ice, which is visible in the upper 50 or 60 feet of the slope, 

 melts and recedes. This process is seen constantly going on. 

 On the inner side, the top of the moraine is 40 or 30 feet above 

 the level of the clear ice of the glacier. 



Besides these lateral moraines is a medial one, which, simi- 

 lar to several described by Professor Forbes, is first seen as 

 a dirty stripe among the white ice-cliffs of the fall at the head 

 of the north glacier. As it comes down the level ice, it gra- 

 dually begins to assume the decided appearance of a moraine, 

 and, increasing by degrees, at last becomes very large. It 

 continues in a well-defined form for some short distance beyond 

 where the western moraine is dispersed ; but there it is also 

 scattered over the ice, and the two become blended together, 

 and ultimately extend to meet the debi'is which is similarly 

 dispersed by the eastern moraine from the opposite side of 

 the glacier. 



The whole of the moraines in the middle of the length of 

 the glacier, whei'e it is most regular, are very considerably 

 raised above the general surface of the ice, which in some 

 parts is, I should think, as much as 100 feet below the tops 

 of the western and medial moraines. It is not to be supposed 

 that this great elevation is caused to any considerable extent 

 by the mere mass of rocks and rubbish collected in the mo- 

 raine ; it results from the ice below the mass being protected 

 by it from external melting influences, whicli constantly de- 

 press the level of the clear ice beyond the moraine. On the 

 very tops of the moraines pure ice was often seen hardly 

 covered by the stones. 



The protection given to the ice by the great lateral mo- 

 raines, raises the sides of the glacier so much, that a very 

 considei'ablo hollow is caused in its middle, which is a strik- 

 ing feature in the first appearance of its lower extremity. 



The ice of which the glacier is composed, agrees most ex- 

 actly in its nature with the Alpine glacier ice, as described by 

 Professor Forbes. It is perfectly pure and cleai*, but where 



VOL. XLIV. NO. LXXXVII. — JAN. 1848. U 



