KAMTSCHATKA. 21)o 



lower than St. George. Only small hills rise in 

 the interior, one of which is in the form of a very 

 truncated cone. The shores gently slope towards 

 the sea, and form several capes and peninsulas. 

 Some reefs extend from the island and from a rock 

 (the Bober Island), into the sea, and are not with- 

 out danger for ships. The peninsula, on which 

 the settlement lies, is formed partly of heaped 

 volcanic scoriae, and partly of a porous lava, re- 

 sembling scoriae of iron ; tlie irregular surface of 

 which, not being yet grown over in several places, 

 sets it beyond all doubt, that it was once fluid. 

 Has this current, (of lava), risen from the sea, or 

 has it been thrown out by a mountain, which fell 

 into itself? Tt can hardly have rolled on, in the 

 present state of the island, from the distant and 

 low hills of the interior, on an almost horizontal 

 plane to the shores. A profile, near the landing- 

 place, clearly shows horizontal strata. 



Fire has been several times seen from St. George 

 and St. Paul, burning at sea ; and people have 

 imagined, in clear weather, that they could distin- 

 guish land to the south-west of St. Paul. Our 

 examinations have proved that this latter appear- 

 ance was only a deception : the fire might have 

 been volcanic. 



We had only a cursory view of these islands, 

 which lie nearly in the latitude of Riga ; it is re- 

 markable how much more wintry nature appears 

 on them, than at Oonalashka. Covered valleys 



u 3 



