LAPLAND. 



, generally about 12 milt's in breadth, except 

 t > the north-east of F.nontekis, where it is about 40, 

 produce? the birch, bat none of the pines, and is called 

 the subalpine region. The fourth, immediately behind 

 the third, and nearly of the same breadth, and still 

 higher than any of the preceding, produces only the 

 Sain glauca, a species of willow peculiar to very cold 

 climates, and is named the lower alpine region. ' The 

 firth, the farthest from the Gulf of Bothnia, extending 

 along the north side of Lapland, and vary ing in breadth 

 according as it is indented by the sea, is the most ele- 

 vated tract of the whole, the greater part of it being 

 above the line of perpetual congelation, and covered 

 with eternal snows, pro-luce* no trees, and scarcely any 

 vegetation whatever, except a few hardy plants where 

 the snow has been ineited, is denominated the higher 

 alpine region. The whole of woody Lapland is so le- 

 vel, that scarcely one of the mountains rises higher 

 than 2 1 3 feet above the neighbouring plains; and in 

 none of the three first zones is the height above the le- 

 vel of the tea considerable. In those lower districts, 

 however, are several mountains considerably elevated ; 

 and one particularly named Quickjock, in latitude 67, 

 i - 1 1 K> feet above the level of the sea. The church of 

 I itekis is U29 feet above the level of the sea, and 

 thence to the top of the Lapland Alps the ground ri- 

 te* constantly, but o gradually, that it M practicable 

 to go in a boat to the lake Kielesj*rvi, which is in so 

 elevated a situation, that the birch tree is scarcely to be 

 found in its neighbourhood. The Lapland Alp-, pass- 

 ing through the southern part of the country as high 

 as the lake of Tornco, retain nearly the same elevation 

 through the whole of their extent, and no part is con- 

 sidered to be lower than Vl.S-> feet above the level of 

 the tea ; bat the mo*t elevated mountains occur in the 

 southern part* of Lulea Lapmark ; and one of them 

 named Sulitelma, which is the highest mountain of Lap- 

 land, is 4<X>3. and at its northern point, 6178 feet 

 above the level of the sea. This immense glacier i* 

 situated in 67* North Latitude, ami 1 ' < I '.ait Longi- 

 tude from Greenwich. Another named Olmajalos, a 

 little to the north of Sulitelma, i* 5543 feet in height ; 

 and Tulpajegna, a very extensive glacier, is 405U feet. 

 These mountains are more than 2700 feet above the line 

 of perpetual congelation, and are the coldest regions of 

 LapUnd. Those of Getsetjark, 1'erniij.ick, and Itidat- 

 jack, lying to the north of the last mentioned, are sup- 

 posed to l>c little inferior in height ; but, from 68^" of 

 North Latitude, the alpine range, which continues with 

 little interruption nil it terminate* at the North Cape, 

 in the Frozen Ocean, diminlihcs in height ; and, though 

 covered with snow, is free from glaciers. Of the ma- 

 ritime Alps, which occupy the western and northern 

 part of Lapland, the principal chain, extending from the 

 insular promontory of Loffodcn, and the western side of 

 the gull' of Alien, contains many mountains, which rise 

 above the line of perpetual congelation, and bear gla- 

 ciers immediately over the sea. The highest of these 

 arc the Alp* of Lyngen, which rite to an elevation of 

 4464 feet. The rest of the coast of Lapland is very 

 rocky ; but, excepting the promontory of Kunnen, 

 scarcely contains any high mountains. The promon- 

 tories of eastern Finmark, do not exceed an elevation of 

 2132 feet above the level of the sea ; and those on its 

 north coast are only 1279 feet in height 



" It ia extremely entertaining," says Baron Von Buch, 

 " to climb great and rapidly ascending heights in tin - 

 climates." The vegetation, with which we are familiar 

 in the Tallies, gradually disappears under our feet. The 



Lapland. 



587 



Scotch fir soon leaves us ; then the birches become 

 shrivelled ; now they wholly disappear ; and between 

 the bushes of mountain willows, and dwarf birches, the 

 innumerable clusters of berry-bearing herbs have room 

 to spread, blae-berries on the dry heights, and moun- 

 tain brambles on the marshy ground. We at last rise 

 above them ; the blae-berries no longer bear ; they ap- 

 pear singly, with few leaves, and no longer in a bushy 

 form. At last they disappear, and they are soon fol- 

 lowed by the mountain willows. The dwarf birch alone 

 braves the height and the cold ; but at last it also yields 

 before reaching the limit of perpetual snow ; and'there 

 is a broad border before reaching this limit, on which, 

 besides mosses, a few plants only subsist with great 

 difficulty. Even the reindeer moss, which rises in the 

 woods with the blae-berry in luxuriance of growth, is 

 very unfrequent on such heights. On the top of the 

 mountains, which is almost a table-land, there is no ice, 

 it is true, nor glaciers ; but the snow never leaves 

 these heights ; and a few single points and spots above 

 the level, are alone clear of snow fora few weeks." " It 

 is a melancholy prospect ; nothing in life is any longer 

 to be seen, except perhaps occasionally an eagle in his 

 flight over the mountains from one. fiord to another." 

 On Akka Solki, one of these mountains on the west- 

 ern coast, which is about 3392 English feet in height, 

 the following limits of the different productions were 

 accurately marked : 



Eng. Feet. 



Limit of snow in latitude 70", 3514 



lit tula naiin, or dwarf birch, 2742 



SWu myriiiiitis, or whortle-leaved willow, . 2 1 50 

 Satix lanala, or downy willow, rises above 

 the lielula nana, and approaches the per- 

 petual limit of snow. 



I'accinium myrtillui, or blae-berry, .... 2031 



lictula alba, or birch tree, 1579 



Of the mineralogical structure of the mountains of Minerals, 

 I.apl.ind, little accurate information has yet been col- 

 lected ; but the following facts are enumerated by Pro- 

 fessor Jameson, as the most important of those which 

 have been ascertained by the observations of recent tra- 

 vellers. 1. The mountains of Norway and Lapland, 

 are principally composed of primitive and transition 

 rocks ; flcetz rocks occur very rarely ; and alluvial 

 rocks are uncommon. 2. Granite, contrary to the ge- 

 neral belief of mineralogists, is a rare rock in Norway 

 and Lapland ; it even occurs but seldom in Sweden, 

 and is to be considered as one of the least frequent of 

 the primitive rocks in Scandinavia. 3. The granite 

 frequently alternates with gneiss. 4-. A newer granite 

 sometimes occurs resting on mica slate, as at Forvig ; 

 or connected with clay slate and diallagc rock, as in the 

 island of Mageroe. 5. Besides the gneiss, which is as- 

 sociated with the oldest granite, there is another of 

 newer formation, which rests upon mica slate. 6. Gneiss 

 appears to be by far the most frequent and abundant 

 rock in Scandinavia, all the other primitive rocks ap- 

 pearing in some degree subordinate to it. 7. In the 

 island of Mageroe, and in other quarters of Norway, 

 UK iv appears a species of simple aggregated mountain 

 rock, composed of compound felspar and diallage. This 

 rock is the gabbro of the Italians, and appears in Nor- 

 way to be connected with clay slate. 8. All the mag- 

 netic iron-stone of Scandinavia occurs in beds of gneiss, 

 and not in veins, as has often been maintained by mi- 

 neralogists. 9. The class of transition rocks in Nor- 



