450 EETUEX TO TIFLIS. 



Enormous cornices of ice are frequent, and sometimes 

 crown the higliest peaks, presenting an insuperable 

 obstacle to the climber. The mountain-sides, owing- to 

 their precipitous chai'acter, afford precarious resting-places 

 to the winter-snow, and avalanches, which choke the upper 

 glens to an extent rarely seen in Switzerland, are conse- 

 quently of frequent occurrence. 



Another peculiarity of the Caucasus is the constant 

 appearance of red snow, which in the Alps is often heard 

 of, but seldom seen. Here it is met with every day, and 

 the effect produced is as if the whole surface of the slope 

 had been sprinkled with brickdust. We did not suffi- 

 ciently explore the glaciers to be able to form a conclu- 

 sive judgment as to their extent ; but there can be little 

 or no doubt that the number of square miles covered 

 by snow and ice is less than in the Alps, though there are 

 many glaciers worthy of comparison with any Swiss rivals. 

 Owing to the steepness of the chain, the icefalls are loftier, 

 and in every respect finer, than those of the Alps, and 

 they are rendered more attractive to the eye by the general 

 purity of their surface. 



So little having been known up to the last few years of 

 the existing glaciers of the Caucasus, it is not surprising 

 that we have as yet scanty information as to the traces of 

 the glacial epoch in this region. So recently as 1858, 

 Herr Abich declared that the Caucasian chain showed no 

 marks of its influence ; since that date, however, the 

 learned traveller has seen reason to change his opinion, 

 and has himself borne witness to the existence of traces of 

 vast glaciers in the upper valleys of the Ardon and the 

 Ingur. Mons. E. Favre of Geneva, who was in the country 

 at the same time as ourselves, and to whose kindness I 

 am indebted for the following details, recognised marks of 

 glacial action on an extended scale on the Krestowaja 

 Gora and in the Dariel gorge. In the neighbourhood of 



