352 



MINERALOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 



CHAPTER 

 XXVTIL 



Uralian 

 mountains. 



Gold and 

 platiua. 



Gema 



IVI. Ehrenberg, the celebrated naturalist, and Gustavua 

 Rose, no less famed as a chemist, he embarked at Nijnei- 

 Nov-gorod, on the Volga, and descended to Kasan and the 

 Tartar ruins of Bolgari. Thence they went by Perm to 

 Ekatherinenberg, on the Asiatic side of the Uralian 

 Mountains, a vast chain composed of se\eral ranges run- 

 ning nearly parallel to each other, of which the higliest 

 summits scarcely attain an elevation of 4593 or 49-2C 

 feet, but which, like the Andes, follows the direction of 

 a meridian, from the tertiai^' deposites in the neighbour- 

 hood of Lake Aral to the greenstone rocks in the vicinity 

 of the Frozen Sea. A month was occupied in visiting 

 the central and northern parts of these mountains, which 

 abound in alluvial beds containing gold and platina, the 

 malachite mines of Goumeschevskoi, the great magnetic 

 ridge of Blagodad, and the celebrated deposites at Mour- 

 zinsk, in which topaz and beryl are found. Their miner- 

 alogical investigations were rewarded with results of the 

 gi-eatest practical value. Besides the precious metals 

 and gems already mentioned, they found the zircon, 

 ruby, garnet, anatase, and ceylanite. Near Nijnei-Ta- 

 gilsk, a country which may be compared to Choco in 

 South America, a mass of platina has been found weigh- 

 ing nearly 22 pounds troy. The osmiuret of iridium has 

 also been discovered ; and though they did not jierson- 

 ally disinter the diamond, yet their observations have 

 since led to its discovery. " In 1826, Professor Engel- 

 Wamonds in hardt predicted that diamonds would be found in the 



thti Urals. 



alluvium on the Urals, which strikingly resemlded that 

 of Brazil, containing diamonds. Humboldt saw the same 

 similarity between the Ural and Brazilian mountains, 

 but though the sand washed for gold was examined in 

 his presence, no diamonds were found. Count Polier 

 however, after separating from the Baron, repaired to 

 the possessions of his lady, on the western side of the 

 Urals, and discovered the first Ural diamond. Other 

 diamonds were afterwards found, equal in beauty to 

 those of Brazil." 



