; s, round the principal volcano; whereas -in Au- 
Sled elevations are detached, and seemed to have 
Prk ong ar ae In Italy, the ashes, scoriz, 
&c. have’ tions over an im- 
frequently approximated to each other, and that the 
of, granite detached by eruptions, are more 
or less calcined, ue, or deprived of their water of 
ization. Mr Birkbeck, one of the latest and 
most actite and observant English travellers in France, 
ts of opinion that the cones and longitudinal ridges of 
basalt in Auvergne, have been formed entirely by sub- 
sidence, and are the venerable remains of the ancient 
surface. ; 
The of the Pyrenees in some respects is in- 
emer Paella ever cre they pre- 
sent appearances, and even shells, near or 
age nye which are in the centre of 
he Abbé Palasso, in his Essay on - i 
panslogy of these mountains, gives a mineralogical 
chart inka! feoca with" Mppenet thatthe granite 
occupy one fifth of the horizontal surface on 
oning from one end of 
ite whatsoever ; 
a55 
He 
ea 
Jeo8 
: 
a few of the 
interspersed with vertical 
the latter primitive or , and 
marbles of and Antin, of beau- 
with white. The colour of the gene- 
mass is . The summit of Mount Per- 
the highest elevation of the Pyrenees, 
marine exuvie ; hence La Peyrouse infers, 
all that central and most elevated i 
of these mountains, which also include a profi 
3 
4 
z 
5 
HI 
stone, uniformly destitute of ic remains, alterna- 
eee ae abe yry, trap, -hornstone, 
petrosilex, all of the same fe , and a common 
igin ; and, 2. Limestone, containing vestiges 
animals, which is never bl with iis gignde 
different 
a 
3 
a 
z 
g 
2 
4 
Z 
inclination of the primitive beds is in a contrary direc- 
the followin 
strata. 5 
are the order and depth: 
, mud, and sand, 15 feet. 2. Earth 
FRANCE. 
consist entirely _ 
687 
pei. Pa 2 feet 6 inches. 3. Mud and sand, 3 feet. 
4. Hard marl, 2 feet. 5. Marly stone, 4 feet. 6. Pow- 
dery marl with sand, 5 feet. 7. Sand, 1 foot 6 inches. 
8. Marl and sand, 8 feet 6 inches. 9. Hard marl and 
flint, the same depth. 10. Gravel or mar] in powder, 
1 foot. 11. Eglantine, 1 foot 6 inches. 12. Marly 
gravel, the same depth. 13. Stony marl, 4 feet 6 inches. 
14. Sand and shells, 1 foot 6 inches, 15. Gravel, 2 
feet. 16. Stony marl, 3 feet 6 inches. 17. Powdered 
marl, 1 foot 6 inches. 18. Hard stone, 1 foot. 19. 
Sand and shells, 18 feet 6 inches. 20. Brown freestone, 
8 feet. 21. Sand, 22 feet 6 inches ;—in all, 100 feet. 
In the hills near Etampes, a considerable town in the 
Statistics. 
department of the Seine and the Oise, seated on the ri-. 
ver Loet, the strata are very different; exhibiting, 1. 
Vegetable earth, 4 feet. 2. Marl and turf, 135 feet. 
3. Freestone, marl, and shells, 12 feet. 4. Brown peb- 
bles, 4:feet. 5. Marl and shells, 6 inches. . 6. Sand 
and grit, 45 feet. 7. Sand and rounded pebbles, 18 
feet. 8. Sand and shells, 6 feet. 9. Sand and gravel, 
16 feet. 10. Tufa and shells, 4 feet. 11. Soft strata, 
4 feet. 12, Marly clay, 8 feet;—in all, 256 feet 6 
inches. 
Between Rouen and Louviers, the Seine has worn its 
channel through about 50 strata of chalk. The strata 
are from 18 inches to two feet in thickness, and are di- 
vided by flints. The chalk is soft and mouldering. 
These cliffs differ from the chalk cliffs of England, from 
their horizontal position, the number of their strata, and 
the thickness of the layers of flints, as well as the soft- 
ness of the chalk. To the south of Moulins, no more 
flint appears. At St Urban, near Vienne, there are 
pea pebbles in vast beds, 800 feet at least above the 
el of the Rhone. A few miles to the north of Va- 
lence, the mountains of ite give place to stratified 
rocks of sandstone and limestone. Opposite this town 
is a remarkable rock of crumbling sandstone, in hori« 
zontal strata. Between the same place and Avignon, 
the Rhone flows between mountains of stratified lime- 
stone. Avignon itself stands on a bold rock of lime- 
stone, of immense blocks, in vance nearly resem= 
pine erenie. In leaving the Pysetiies, and descend« 
ing Foix to Pamier, alluvial hills of quartzose sand, 
or of schist, assuming the character of clay, with some 
calcareous rocks, are found. At Caylus is a stratum 
of chalk between strata of limestone, which occurs in 
other of France, but is uncommon if not unknown 
in Britain. In a northerly direction from this is the 
volcanic country of Auvergne, which has been already 
noticed. 
Having given this cursory description of the geology 
and mineralogy of some of the: most interesting parts 
of France, we shall now proceed to offer some miscella~ 
neous remarks, which may serve to fill up any omis- 
sions of importance that may have occurred. 
1. With to primitive and secondary compounds. 
The principal localities of granite and gneiss have been 
already mentioned. J 
Primitive 
5 nd d- 
is found in the south of ar oa: 
France, reposing on granite. Porous porphyry, appear- pounds. 
ing as if it had undergone the action of fire, occurs in 
the mountain of Estirete in Provence, on the road from 
Frejus to Antibes. \ Primitive trap, alternating with 
nite and with gneiss, occurs near St: Maloes. 
limestone, in vast masses, irregularly rifted, in the Vi- 
varrais. The secon limestone of Mount Perdu has 
been already mention The gypsum of the quarries 
near Paris has also been noticed ; but it may be added, 
that lenticular gypsum is a curious variety, that seems 
peculiar to Montmartre; that crystallized gypsum is al- 
