130 Physical Geography. 
geographical situation, their extent, their direction, their elevation, 
their slopes and inclinations, their summits, the vallies which they 
form, the rivers which flow from them, the lakes which they em- 
bosom, their geognostic formation, their climate and temperature, 
the height and limit of perpetual snow, the plants and animals which 
they nourish, and the races of men which inhabit them. Each of 
these points constitutes the subject of an article, replete with interest- 
ing facts; and it will be easily perceived that such a sketeh is not 
susceptible of being extracted. We shall confine ourselves to the 
summary with which the author concludes this judicious comparison. 
e Scandinavian mountains occupy 13° of latitude, the Alps 
44°, the Pyrenees 1°. 
“2. The Scandinavian mountains belong to a region altogether 
maritime ; those of the Pyrenees less so, and those of the Alps not 
- at all. 
3. The Scandinavian mountains are of greater extent than the 
Alps, and the latter greater than the Pyrenees. 
“4, The Alps and the Pyrenees pursue a direction approaching 
that of the equator ; the direction of the Scandinavian chain is rather 
that of the meridian. 
“5. ‘The Alps have the greatest elevation, next the Pyrenees and 
last the Scandinavian mountains. The most elevated summits are, 
in the Alps from fourteen to fifteen thousand feet, (French?) in the 
Pyrenees from ten to eleven thousand, and in the Scandinavian chait 
from seven to eight thousand. The mean height of the ‘most eleva- 
ted part is, in the Alps from ten to twelve thousand, in the Pyrene®s 
from seven to eight thousand, and in the Scandinavian chain from” 
four to five thousand. 
“6. The chains undergo a very considerable depression in the 
passages of the Alps; but much less so in the two other groups 
“7, The inclination of the slopes is very various in Scandinavia; 
itis much less so in the Alps and Pyrenees. In these latter chais 
the southern declivity is the most rapid, in the first it is the wester™ 
“8. In Scandinavia the summits are almost flat; in the Alps; the 
ridges are not sharp; those of the Pyrenees approach more nearly © 
that condition. 
“9. The longitudinal vallies are great and numerous in the Alps) 
they are almost nothing in the Pyrenees and Scandinavian mountall® 
Transverse vallies exist on both sides of the Alps and Pyrenees 5 they 
i found more particularly on the western slope of the Scandinavia” 
ciain, Zz. 
