56 VOYAGE TO SPITZBERGEN. 



its glacier, some of which vie with the moun- 

 tains in height. They are occasionally hollow, 

 and immense cascades of water are precipitated 

 from them. 



The magnificence of this scene it is impossible 

 to describe. The gloomy silence of the surround- 

 ing country, the hoarse noise of the water dashing 

 from an immense height, and the magnificent ef- 

 fect produced by the reflection of the solar rays, 

 form a tout ensemble which can only be faintly con- 

 ceived. 



Though the mountains of Spitzbergen consist 

 generally of rocks of primary formation, it is not 

 altogether destitute of those of a later origin. 

 Captain Phipps discovered several species of mar- 

 ble, which dissolved readily in muriatic acid. 

 On the east side of the country, potters' clay 

 and gypsum have been found, and different 

 specimens of talc, mica, and lapis olearis, are to 

 be met with. Phipps did not perceive any me- 

 tallic ores in this country, nor, as far as I know, 

 have other voyagers discovered any. The inte- 

 rior of the country, however, has been very little, 

 if at all, explored, and it would therefore be wrong 

 to conclude against their existence from this cir- 

 cumstance, more especially as they are said to be 

 found in Greenland. 



