678 



ENGLAND. 



Rydal-hcad 3076 feet. 



Honyfcll, York 308+ 



U hcrnside, do > TJ 



Southern 

 rfiriaoo at 

 the north- 

 rrn range. 



Malvern 



hilK 



< otswold 

 and Stroud- 



The Wie- 

 kin. 



Ingieborough is nearly the same height as Win rn-ui.-. 

 Croasfcll, in Cumberland, which border? on tin- county 

 of Durham, according to Donaldson, is S.SJK) feet; and 

 according to Mr Railey, (in his .Igricullurnl Report of 

 Cumberland,) S4OO feet" The height of Saddleback, ac- 

 cording to the latter author, i- n i s feet. 



The southern division of the northern range, is di- 

 vided from the northern division, by the valley of tin- 

 Kibble, Craven, and the valley of the Ayre: its west- 

 ern boundary is formed by the lower, or vale lands of 

 Lancashire and Ch. >!iiiv : its eastern, by the manufac- 

 turing districts of Yorkshire ; and its southern, by the 

 upper grounds of Derbyshire and Staffordshire ; the 

 extent of these hills is above 60 miles : their width is 

 extremely irregular, being upwards of 20 miles 1'roiu 

 the feet of the Cheshire hills, to the hills near Sheffield, 

 whereas between Blackstone-edge and Huddersfield, 

 they merely form a ridge. The highest hills in Derby- 

 shire, are Kinderscout, near Hayticld, Axe Edge near 

 Buxton, and Whinhill and Mam Tor near Castleton ; 

 but they are much lower than the mountains of Cum- 

 berland, the highest part of Derbyshire not being more 

 than 2100 feet above the sea. 



As we approach the Alpine districts on the west of 

 England, we meet with some hills, which it may be 

 proper to notice, before we proceed to the consideration 

 of the Cambrian range. The Malvern hills, which are 

 situated partly in Gloucestershire, but principally in 

 Herefordshire ami Worcestershire, are from 1100 to 

 1300 feet high: the highest parts are those distinguish- 

 ed by the names of Herefordshire and Worcestershire 

 beacons ; the former rising near 1 260, and the latter 

 1300 feet above the level of the plain; the Malvern 

 hills extend for ten miles, rising on the eastern side, from 

 the flat country, which forms the vale of the Severn ; 

 they are connected on the western side with a range 

 of lower hills, which extend several miles into Here- 

 fordshire. 



The Cotswold and the Stroudwater hills, in Glouces- 

 tershire, are by some regarded as a continuation of the 

 central chain, proceeding south from Derbyshire, and 

 passing through Gloucestershire into Wiltshire, there 

 swelling into the Salisbury downs, and afterwards run- 

 ning west towards the Land's End in Cornwall. If 

 viewed in this light, they may be regarded as connect- 

 ing the northern with the Devonian range. The ex- 

 tent of the- Cotswold hills, from Broadway hill to near 

 Tetbury, is 30 miles; their area, about 200,000 acres ; 

 their surface is billowy, and their climature, if the na- 

 tural elevation of the land is considered, unusually 

 mild. Tlu! sides of the hills abound with springs, 

 " and almost every dip has its rill, and every valley its 

 brook." The Stroudwalcr hills partake, in some 

 parts, of the character and features of the Cotswold 

 hills, ami in other parts, they partake of the vale cha- 

 racter. 



The Wrekin hill in Shropshire is so much higher 

 than the surrounding hills, tliat it appears to rise alone 

 from the middle of tin- plain. It is craggy at the top. 

 it* form is that of a long oval, pointing nearly north 

 and xouth ; it has been supposed very exactly to re- 

 semble a whale asleep on the surface of the sea. The 

 roost precipitous side of this mountain, is the eastern ; 

 iti height is reckoned about 1200 feet. The Wrekin 

 may be considered M the northern extremity of a ridgr, 



lying in the same line with it, and consisting of the l 

 hill* of IT...UI, \, C.iradoc. \-c.: each of these, has the 

 long diameter from north to south. They are craggy 

 at top, and ascend from the plain of Salop very abrupt- 

 ly, at an angle of abcmt 



The Cambrian range of mountains is considerably Cambrian 

 more elevated in North than in South Wales, extending ra g- 

 through Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire, and de- 

 clining in height as they pass through Cardiganshire. 

 The direction of this range in Caernarvonshire is north- 

 easterly, from Bardsey Island to a promontory in tin- 

 bay of Conway. The mountains composing it" are the 

 highest of any in Wales, and gradually ascend from 

 each extremity of the range towards the centre, which 

 is formed and occupied by Snowdon, the loftiest of all. 

 the altitude of the highest point of this celebrated 

 mountain is about OtiOO feet from the high-water mark 

 on Caernarvon quay. It is composed of various cliH's, 

 rising one above another; and that particular peak, to 

 which the name of Snowdon is given, scarcely ex< 

 in height several of the summits that surround it on all 

 sides. 



From Snowdon, a line of mountains extends by the Cadet Idri 

 sea to 1'linl innnon. a boundary of North Wales ; of 

 these mountains, the most lofty and the most celebrated 

 is Cader Idris. In height it is the second in V. 

 It rises on the sea-shore about a mile above Torvyn. Its 

 ascent is gradual, first in a northerly direction for about. 

 three miles, then for about 10 miles east-north-cast. 

 From its summit, a branch spreads out in a south-west 

 direction, nearly three miles long, which is parallel to 

 the main ridge. On all sides it is steep and cragiry, but 

 the southern side is almost perpendicular. It i- about 

 3540 feet above the level of the sea. which is 80 yards 

 higher than any of the mountains in Cumberland. On 

 the east of North Wales, the hills do not attain nearly 

 such great elevation, gradually declining to the hills of 

 Shropshire, which have been already noticed. In South 

 Wales, a chain proceeds to near Cardiff; its direction is 

 nearly south, a small branch diverging to the west : 

 this chain is of far inferior elevation. On the east of 

 South Wales, are the hills of Herefordshire. 



The Devonian range of mountains passes through Devonian 

 part of Somersetshire, through Devonshire and Corn- range, 

 wall, and terminates at the Land's End. The highest 

 part of this range is formed by the mountains of Dart- 

 moor in Devonshire, the altitudes of the principal emi- 

 nences being from 1500 to 1800 feet. On approaching 

 this tract from the south and south-cast, the eye is be- 

 wildered by an extensive vale, exhibiting gigantic tors, 

 large .surfaces covered with vast masses of scattered 

 granite, and immense rocks. Dartmoor, and the waste 

 called the Forest of Dartmoor, occupy the greatest por- 

 tion of the western district, and include between !iOO,000 

 and 300,000 acres of uncultivated land; of these Dart- 

 moor alone is supposed to comprize upwards of 80,000. 

 In the highest parts to the north and west are vast 

 tracts of wet swampy ground, which supply the inha- 

 bitants with peat for fuel. From Dartmoor the chain 

 extends to the extremity of Cornwall : the only other 

 hills in this range are the Mendip hills ; they are situa- 

 ted in Somersetshire, stretching from Whately near 

 Fromc, Selwood on the east, to Axbridge on the west, 

 and from Redminster on the north, to Glastonbury on 

 the south. 



It has already been mentioned, that the breadth of Ran _ e ^ 

 the island may be supposed to be determined in the mountain* 

 .southern and eastern parts by two ranges of hills, across the 

 considerably lower than that range, which determines island. 



