104 Dr. Du Riehe Preller — Ice- Avalanche, Gemmi Pass. 



Aare and Khone divide by the Kander valley and the Baths of 

 Loueche. 



As is seen from the plan, Fig. 1, three glaciers descend from the 

 summit of Altels, 3G36 m. (11,926 ft.) above sea-level— one in 

 a northerly, another in a south-westerly, and a third, the middle 

 one, in a north-westerly direction. It is this last, a so-called 

 suspended or overhanging glacier, which, about 5 a.m. on the 11th 

 of September, detached itself from the upper end at an altitude of 

 3300m. (10,823ft.), or about 1000ft. below the summit, swept 

 down a declivity 1400 metres in vertical depth, was thrown up 

 400 m. (1300 ft.) to the summit level of the precipitous mountain 

 ridge on the opposite side of the valley, and thence rebounding, 

 fell on, and spread in fan-shape over a rich and extensive pasture 





4000 m 

 \mhorn 



Gelli horn. 



2SOo 



tooo 



known as the Spitalmatte, which is now buried under ice and rock 

 debris over an area of two square kilometres (nearly one square 

 mile) to an average depth of two metres or 6 - 6 ft. The disaster 

 involves, besides the ruin of the valuable Alpine pasture and the 

 destruction of several chalets, the loss of six lives and upwards of 

 150 head of cattle. 



The cross-section of the valley (Fig. 2) prepared by the writer 

 from the Swiss Ordnance Contour Map, 1 in 50,000, shows the 

 course of the avalanche, the entire distance covered by the latter, 

 including the rebound, being about five kilometres or three miles. 

 As is seen from the same section, the angle of inclination of the 

 glacier itself was about 30 degrees, that of the declivity immediately 

 below it is 42 degrees, while the upward slope of the Spitalmatte 

 is 9 degrees, and the inclination of the Weissfluh and Gellihorn 

 ridge is no less than 58 degrees. The line of rupture of the glacier 

 below the summit of Altels is distinctly visible in the shape of an 

 ice- wall about 40 m. (130 ft.) in depth, having the form of a concave 



