MASSIVE MOUNTAINS 



421 



and outline, and although pleasing features in the land- 

 scape, are a bit monotonous. Massive mountains, on the 

 contrary, are varied in form, lofty in height and are among 

 the grandest and most inspiring of Nature's marvels. 



In all ages mountains have been an inspiration to man's 

 nobler thoughts and higher aspirations. With their heads 

 piercing the azure vault of heaven and towering with 



MASSIVE MOUNTAINS. 

 The high Sierras. 



gigantic mass above the lower world, they force man to 

 look up, and in the contemplation of their nobility to for- 

 get his meaner self. Like everything else which holds 

 enduring admiration, these are the result of strain and 

 stress and never ceasing battle with the forces of destruc- 

 tion. 



The structure of massive mountains is complex in the 

 extreme. Rock layers are often folded, twisted and con- 

 torted (Fig. 120) beyond all recognition of their initial 



