130 PROFESSOR EDWARD HULL, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S., ON 



4. Third stage. {Re- elevation.) 



At the close of the Sihirian epoch tliere was a re-elevatiot5 

 of the area, and this inchided not only the Archiean, bnt the 

 Sihn-ian tracts forming the Scandinavian peninsula and the 

 adjoining regions both of land and sea. The almost complete 

 absence of formations between the Cambro-Silurian and the 

 Post-Tertiary, induces ns to conclude that throughout this 

 vast peiiod of geological time,* this northern portion of 

 Europe remained in the condition of unsubmerged land.f 

 But it was none the loss watered by rains, rivers, and 

 probably snowfalls ; and, therefore, the valleys were being 

 constantly deepened by the streams descending from the- 

 tablelands, and, as we must suppose, finding an outlet in 

 the primaeval Arctic Ocean across the floor of the present 

 North Sea. It is in this way we can account for the great 

 depth and size of the valleys at the present day, though cut 

 out of rocks of extreme hardness such as are those of which 

 the Archsean system is composed. It is impossible to viev/ 

 the lofty cliffs of the Romsdal, the Gudvangen, the Sandven. 

 and other valleys, rising from 2,000 to 4,000 feet on either 

 hand, without being impressed with the fact that the erosion 

 of such channels must have taken an enormous lapse of 

 geological time for the streams to accomplish, even after 

 allowance has been made for the effects of glacial action at a 

 later period. Nowhere is the process of erosion more clearly 

 exhibited than in some of these valleys where huge slabs and 

 blocks, breaking off along joint planes, are continually Maden- 

 ing the sides of the valleys, while the torrential action 

 accompaoied by magnificent cascades is cutting back and 

 deepening the channels. These natural operations are 

 grandly displayed at the profound gorge of Stalheim,+ which 



* Embracing the Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic,. 

 Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary periods. 



+ According to L)r. Reuscli, Devonian beds occur amongst the islands 

 north of Bergen ; but are quite exceptional. 



I Thus vividly described in Stanford's Guide to Norway, page 39 : 

 " On the left is the vast mass of the Jordalsnut rising 3,600 feet sheer 

 out of the valley ; on the right, the Kalda Fjeld and the Axeln rise in 

 terrific precipices, down which in summer avalanches of stone frequently 

 fall, and often sweep away the road. Close by, on the right hand and on 

 the left, are two very beautiful waterfalls ; that on the left is the 

 Sevlefos, a fall which, though not one of the most famous in Norway, is 

 certainly one of the most lovely to be found in any country ; the dark 

 rocks forming a wonderful background for the white masses of foam ; 

 and on the right the Stalheimfos." . The quotation is slightly curtailed. 



