476 Notices of Memoirs — H. W. Monchton — Hardanger Fjord. 



upon prolonged exposure is less than formerly, deducecl. The 

 depression, however, increases generally with the silica-content of 

 the mineral, as previously observed. 



VIII. — On the Valleys at the Head of the Hakdanger Fjord, 

 Norway. By Horace Woollaston Monckton, F.L.S., F.G.S.^ 



ABOVE the head of the Hardanger Fjord there is a great moor- 

 land with a level of over 2,000 feet. It is an old land-surface 

 of at least pre-Glacial date, with rounded hills and wide shallow 

 valleys. The plateau upon which the snowfield Hardanger Jokul 

 lies and a few mountain tops attain a still higher level, and may, as 

 suggested by Dr. Reusch, be remains of a far older land-surface. 

 In the moorland deep narrow valleys have been cut, probably the 

 result of a rise of the laud before or at an early part of the Glacial 

 period. It is suggested that the hollow in which the Hardanger 

 Fjord lies may have been excavated at the time of this elevation. 



The author traces the course of the river Bjoreia across the pre- 

 Glacial surface to the Voringfos (waterfall), where it plunges into 

 the deep narrow valley Maabodal. He agrees with Dr. Eeusch that 

 the precise direction of this valley is due to lines of weakness, or 

 cracks in the rock, and that the valley is not a fissure valley, but 

 has been excavated by water assisted by ice. 



The author was struck by the resemblance of the head of the 

 valley at the Voringfos to a giant's cauldron, and suggests that 

 much of the excavating may have been the work of sub-Glacial 

 streams when ice covered the surface. The Maabovand, a talus- 

 dammed lake, is described. Below it the river enters the side of 

 a wide section of the valley, and possibly the head of the valley 

 was at one time at this point. A little below Tveit there appears 

 once to have been a small lake formed by moraine. At Ssebo the 

 valley unites with Hjeelmodal, and some interesting terraces are 

 described. Below is the lake Eidfjordsvand, formed by a great 

 moraine. Dr. Brogger has shown that during the early part of the 

 Ice-age the land stood much higher than now. Subsequently 

 depression took place, but towards the close of that period elevation 

 again set in, and the terraces at Ssebo and others below the Eidfjord- 

 svand are the result of this last elevation. 



IX. — Note on the Scenery of Ceylon. By A. K. CoomAraswImy, 

 B.Sc, F.L.S., F.G.S.^ 



IT is probable that Ceylon has been exposed to continuous denudation 

 since very early Palasozoic times. The foliation of the crystalline 

 rocks has had a marked influence in determining the directions of 

 the river valleys and the general configuration of the country. 

 The foliation strike is usually from north to north-west. Many 

 rivers have a similar direction, as examination of a map will show. 

 A north-and-south strike-valley runs from Wattegama to Dambulla, 



^ Abstract of a paper read at the British Association, Belfast, Sept., 1902, in 

 Section C (Geology). 



