Aprii , 1904 ] 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



r.^ 



The next feature to be noticed is the general slope of 

 the repon. Towards the Mare Iinhriiun on the cast, 

 the face presented by the Apennines is exceedingly bold 

 and steep; towards the Mare Serenitatis an<l Mare 

 \'ap)orum on the west and south the highlands sink 

 down iiradmllv. 



Pijf. I.— Morning. 



The result of such a formation upon the earth would 

 be obvious. There would be a deposition of moisture 

 over the whole highland region, either in the form of 

 snow or water, and this moisture would move downwards 

 towards the plains either as streams or glaciers. lUit it 

 would move with very different speed and different effects 

 upon the two faces. On the steep escarpment facing east 



Fijf. 2. — Forenoon. 



neither water, snow, nor ice could rest. The moisture 

 would be quickly thrown off, descending in waterfalls or 

 avalanches down to the plains, and wearing away the 

 cliff face into a great number of narrow gorges or gullies. 

 The liebris would be deposited at the foot of the cliffs, 

 and the torrents would car\e their way some distance 

 into the plain, as a rule in a direction at right angles to 



the range, smoothing out and covering all irregularities 

 which ran parallel thereto. What we actually see upon 

 the photograph is as unlike this as could well be imagined. 

 The liase of the range in the Mare Imbrium is confronted 

 by a line of low hills, wrinkles as it were on the surface 

 of the plain, suggesting by their parallelism to the range 



rijf. .?. Noon. J 



that no effecti\e amount of moisture, either as rain or 

 snow, had been deposited on the eastern slopes nf the 

 Apennines since the Mare Imbrium was formed. 



r)iit the main drainage of the region would be in the 

 opposite direction, because the chief catchment area would 

 be the broad gentle slope towards the west and south. 

 Here the tendeury would lie for the moisture, whether it 



ri^. 4.— AUf rnoon. 



was in the form of ice or water, to unite small streams 

 together to form larger ones. Important risers or glaciers 

 would have their origin in this region, and would work 

 their way downwards excavating broad valleys. The 

 erosive effects, if not so rapid as on the east face, would, 

 from the better presentment to us, be even more con- 

 spicuous, and there should be no difficulty in detecting 



