HIGHLANDS OF BRITAIN in 



drew from the vivid recollections of his journeys among 

 the dales and moors of the Southern Uplands. 



III. For the purposes of our present inquiry, I would 

 class together as Highlands all the higher, more rug- 

 ged, and mountainous ground, which differs on the 

 whole from the uplands, not only in its greater elevation, 

 but in the more irregular rocky forms of its surface, 

 the narrower crests of its ridges, and the more peaked 

 shapes of its summits. The geological structure of 

 these tracts of country is generally so complicated that 

 it gives rise to much greater variety of outline than 

 is to be found in either of the other types of scenery. 

 Each kind of rock yields to the weather in its own 

 characteristic way, and as the rainfall is heavier and the 

 slopes are steeper there than elsewhere, the influence 

 of the weather upon the topography is more especially 

 prominent. 



In the northern parts of Wales where a group of 

 ancient volcanic rocks has been laid bare by the 

 stupendous denudation of the surface, a small tract of 

 truly highland scenery has been carved out in Cader 

 Idris, Arenig, Snowdon, and the surrounding heights 

 in Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire. Another iso- 

 lated area of volcanic hills forms the picturesque district 

 of the Lakes. But it is in Scotland that this type is 

 displayed on the largest scale and in the most varied 

 diversity. The Scottish Highlands are built up of the 

 most ancient rocks of the British Islands, and possess 

 a geological structure of extraordinary complexity. 

 They include a vast variety of materials which, rising 

 to the highest elevations in the country, and exposed to 



