ri*nl93 



to 



ALPS. 



m M*M which from H ba* to it* .ummH is formed of them, 



thrown over in irh a way that they 

 the northern tone of limestone, white 

 Although the** rations stratified rocks 



Jtat *- Parallel to the central ax* 



i ar* often thruet up, or rolled over, out of their general 

 in iiiaMsiiiinifii of the rarious disturbance* to which 

 , h, T been anbjeetod. 



The granite of UM Alps at least that compound of the usual 

 minarab not occurring inteotratlned with the gneia* and mica-date, 

 but, on th* contrary, often cutting through them is by no means that 

 very common rock one* supposed. At Baveno, and other place* near 

 th* lakv Majrgiore, Lugano, and Orta, than are considerable masse* 

 of granite; and the quarteiftrou. porphyrie* of the same district are 

 probably of th* mate date. Oranite veins traversing gneis* and mica- 

 *bte can b. well wen, among other place*, in the VaUee-de-Vallorrine, 

 in th* district of Mont-Blanc. The granite of these veins sometime* 

 p***e> into porphyry, and where it cut* through the gneis*, it renders 

 the latter more granitoidal. There can be little doubt that the mass 

 of granite, thus partly risible, has much influenced the direction of the 

 stratified rock* in th* same district In the Vallorsine conglomerate, 

 BO fragment* of thi* granite hare been found, though it abounds with 

 those of the other rocks now in contact with it; whence it has 

 been suspected that the granite was thrown up after the formation 

 of the conglomerate, and consequently, if we admit the date of the 

 oaBflnnxirttii to hare been correctly determined, the granite is not 

 older than the red-sandstone series. 



Granite rest* upon limestone at the Montagnes de 1'Oisans, in the 

 Preach Alps. The granite U described a* cutting through the calca- 

 reous bed*, rising like a wall, and lapping over them. At Prodazzo 

 vrmuitic rocks rest on beds of the Alpine limestone*, and dolomite 

 {range* beneath the granite at an angle of 60* or 60*. In the Swiss 

 Alps, gneiss repoees on beds of the great northern calcareous zone, at 

 the Botxberg, Ac. ; and the celebrated Jungfrau is formed of on inter- 

 mixture of gneiss and Alpine limestone, though, as masses, the former 

 constitute* the southern side of thi* mountain, the latter the northern 

 lank. In both thew n*ns, and in others observable in the same 

 district, the present appearance* may be due to the disturbance of 

 UM whole mam, amounting sometime* to a complete overthrow. 



A very extensive district in the Tyrol, between Botzen and Trent, 

 more particularly to the left of the Adige, is occupied by porphyry, 

 which has greatly disturbed the stratified rocks of the district The 

 dolomite of the Tyrol is (opposed to be a rock altered by its contact 

 with the igneous matter which has broken in upon it Another district, 

 the shores of the Lake of Lugano, particularly Monte-San-Salvadore, 

 aTord* an intnce of the limestone of the mountain becoming dolomitic 

 i i it* approach to the augitic porphyry of M elide. 



Among the other igneous rocks of the Alp*, we may notice those in 

 th* VaUee-de-F****, where they are singularly mixed with dolomites and 

 lini*tniMS, and hare supplied a great variety < ( minerals. Respecting 

 tSe Alpine wrpentin* and diallage rock, it U difficult to say, in the 

 a'aeno* of food data, whether they should, like the mass of that in 

 t'w Apmnmea, b* considered of igneous origin, shot up among the 

 ratified rock*, or as having been originally produced among the 

 /stem of gnei**, mica-elate, and other* of that character. These 

 rjcks ar* found in th* large** mutt* at the Monte-Rosa, Mont Cerviu, 

 to. At th* Pa*so-o"OUnt, on th* southern flank of the former, the 

 mam composed of them i* more than two league* in extent 



Scattered on either side of the Alpa, and down the principal 

 valley*, we find huge Mock* of rock evidently detached from th,> 

 great central range, and frequently accumulated in ...;...!. nt.:. 

 number*. TVee erratic blocks, a* they hare been termed, h:. 

 SBfjH the attention of geologute, and K ha* been found that by 

 tracing them up the principal valley* which they either face or occur 

 in, the parent rock* from which they hare been detach,*! will 1.. 

 detected. Number* of them are found on the flank* of the Jura 

 facing MM Alp*. The ate* of UM block* vane* materially : there is 

 one, among others, on UM Vigneule, new Bienn*, which la 12 feet 

 high, M fcet l<g in on* direction, 24 in another, and 18 in a third. 

 TkVbloofc* detached from UM height* of the Mont-Hbao district, and 

 born* down UM valley of UM Arre, are found upon the Ralevc (new 

 < Jensra). to UM height of 2T0 feet. Number* of erratic blocks are 

 accumulated upon th* shores and th* hull round th* Lake of Genera. 

 On* of larg* OUM, now known a* the Pierre a Niton (once M Ara 

 Keptuoi. being dedicated to Neptune), occur* in the lake new Genera. 

 The Pierre a Martin, on the hill of Bold, i* tt feet high, 18 feet wide, 

 and fs*t long. Th* erratic blocks are abu abundant on the southern 

 ( the Alp*. They cover by thousand* the northern face of the 

 -- ", a mountain facint UM HU 

 ... 



Como, where H branch** off into the minor lake and the Lake of 

 1*000. Behind thai mountain also, they are almndant They are 

 oWrred curiou*ly perched upon the flank <>f the Monte-Sui-Mauriirio 

 aboreCotno. Many theoric* har* been framed to account f . > H,. 

 pr*HOt situation of UMS* block*. H was formerly supposed that 

 they were water borne, and that sub**queaUy to their deposit: 

 sites on which they are found were upbeared. The general opinion 

 in recent times seems to b* that they hare been deposited by glacier., 



ALPS. 



or, according to the theories of Agassii and Porbea, by one great sheet 

 of ice extending from the Alps to the Jura ; but Murchiiion believes 

 that the "great granitic blocks of Mont-Blanc were translated to the 

 Jura when the intermediate country wa* under water," a view which 

 nearly coincide* with that of Lyell and Darwin. 



In all discussions on this subject it should be remembered, that 

 the present glaciers are covered by huge blocks which fall from the 

 height* upon them, and that if these glacier* were carried down 

 through the valleys open to them, the blocks might become scattered 

 as we now find them. 



We conclude thi* examination of the geology of the Alps, with a 

 summary of the views of the inont eminent geologist*, Lyell and 

 others, who hare recently published their impressions on the subject 



Polished surface*, domes, stria*, caldrons, and perched rucks are 

 observed in the Alps at great height* above the present glaciers, and 

 far below their actual extremities ; also in the great valley of Switzer- 

 land, 50 miles broad ; and almost everywhere on the Jura, a chain 

 which lies to the north of this valley, and which everywhere shows 

 marks of former glaciers though it has none now. 



In the Eastern Alp* altered primary foaniliferous Htrata as well as 

 the oldest secondary formation* occur ; but in the Central Alp* these 

 disappear (probably from having been converted into crystalline 

 schist), and the cretaceous, oolitic, liassic, and at some points even 

 the eocene strata, graduate insensibly into the metamorphic rocks, 

 namely, granular limestone, talc-schist, talcose-gneiss, mica-schist, &c. 



The changes were wrought at very different times, plutonic action 

 continuing evidently down to a late period even after the deposit of 

 the older eocene formation. 



Dense masses of secondary and even tertiary strata occur in 

 various parts of the Alps, which have assumed the semi-crystalline 

 texture called transition, Granite and other plutonic rocks appear 

 rarely at the surface ; but in some ports, as in Vallonrinc (alluded to 

 above), granite and granitic veins are observable piercing through 

 tolcoee-gneiss, which passes insensibly upwards into secondary strata. 

 Signs of the intense development of plutonic action present themselves 

 in various parts of the Alps, and stupendous monument* of mechanical 

 violence exist, by which strata thousands of feet in dimensions have 

 been bent, folded, and overturned. 



These views are shared more or less by Messrs. Do Beaumont, Stu.l. T. 

 Necker, Boat, and Murchison. Messrs. Studer and Hugi conceive tint 

 they have established the fact of " complete alternations on a large 

 scale of secondary strata containing fossils with gneiss and other rocks 

 of a perfectly metamorphic structure." In the Roththal a mass of 

 gneiss, 1000 feet thick and 15,000 feet long, lies between strata con- 

 taining oolitic fossiU, probably by great solid wedges of intrusive 

 gneiss being forced in laterally between unconformable strata. On 

 the Sattel at the base of the Geshillihorn above Rnzen, intercalations 

 of gneiss between fossiliferous strata are ascribed to mechanical 

 derangement 



Animalt of the Aljti. The rich pastures with which tin- Alps 

 abound are frequented from May to October by countless numbers of 

 milk-cows, sheep, and goats, driven up liitln-r from the low-lands on 

 either side of the great chain. The shepherds reside in a rude log -hut 

 made of the trunks of pines, and containing little else than the milk- 

 vessels and the utensils necessary for making butter and cheese. 

 These chalets are in parte exceedingly numerous. In some of the 

 Alpine pastures hay is mode and stored till the winter, when it is 

 conveyed down to the valleys on sledges. Other porticiJars of tins 

 annual nomadic emigration will bo found under the heads of Au'Es, 

 BASSES; ALPES, HAUTKS; JURA (Department); and s\vr 



The ibex and white hare are found on the highest part of the Alps, 

 and the chamois descends at times as low as the wooded region, but 

 it- 1 the plains. In the wooded region are bears, marmots, and 

 mole* ; lower down, wolves, foxes, lynxes, and wild cats are numerous, 

 and keep the vigilance of the shepherd and neatherd in constant 

 . 



Among tin- winged animals are eagles, the lammergeyer, or great 

 vultuiv "f the Alps, and ..tln-r bird* "f prey. Just below the line of 

 perpetual congelation great flocks of white partridge* shelter them- 

 selves an.ong the tuft* of the dwarf willow. Bustards abound in the 



excellent trout, but in a few no fiith U found, the t -nip, 

 so cold as to extinguish the source of life. The insect tribes exist ia 

 great variety as far as vegetation extends, and aome of the winged 

 varieties ascend oven into the region of perpetual congelation, where 

 UM- y have been found under shelve* of rock that are always covered 



Vtyrtalion of Ike /i/j.. The vegetation of the Alps differs in many 



respect* from that >{ the plains beneath. KV.TV tr.m 11,-r who has 



crossed into Italy knows that the beauty of the meadow* and of the 



f increase* as he ascends the mountains ; and gardeners have a 



'law of Alpine plant*. Some idea of the nature of Alpim- 



vegetation has already been given under the head of ^?TSA. We shall 



in thi* place make a few general observations upon the subject 



As we quit the base of the Alps and rise intu the higher regions, 

 we find the temperature gradually diminish, and thin phenomenon in 



