WÛETTEMBEEG AND HOHENZOLLERN. 



219 



Fig;. 126. 



Heilbeonn and the " Loops " of 

 Lauffen. 

 Scale 1 : 163,000. 



|c.„.^^fcH ^,^^,=::âP^^ I L^ROWi; 



more to tlie north, divides the central plateau of the Rauhe Alp from that of the 



Albach. A third river gorge separates the Albach from the Hardtfeld ; and the 



Bavarian Wernitz divides the Swabian from the Franconian Jura. These breaches, 



or gorges, offer peculiar facilities for the construction of roads and railways. 



The limestone mountains of Swabia are as replete with fossils as are those of 



Switzerland. The Boll, to the south of Stuttgart, has acquired some fame on 



account of the skeletons of fossil reptiles which have been found there. Steinheim, 



between the Albach and the Hardtfeld, presents the curious spectacle of a huge 



atoll, similar in all respects to the atolls built by zoophytes in the Pacific. 



The Klosterberg, in the centre of the atoll, with its nineteen distinct varieties of a 



species of Planorbis, is one of the great 



battle-grounds of palaeontologists. The 



marls of that district are soaked with oil, 



apparently consisting of a mixture of 



mineral substances with the fat of the 



animals buried there. Every square mile 



of the bituminous slate of the Swabian 



Jura contains, according to Quenstedt, 



about 515,000 tons of oil, resulting 



from the decomposition of small marine 



animals. That portion of Wiirttemberg 



which lies between the Jura and the Lake 



of Constanz belongs to the plateau of 



Bavaria. 



Nearly all the rivers to the north of 

 the Jura flow into the Neckar, the only 

 exceptions being the Kinzig and the Murg, 

 which flow direct to the Rhine, and the 

 Tauber, which is tributary to the Main. 

 The Neckar rises in a swampy depres- 

 sion to the west of the plateau of the Baar, 

 at an elevation of 2,290 feet above the 

 sea. Reinforced by numerous streams 

 descending from the Black Forest and 

 Jura, it soon becomes large enough to float timber. Below Cannstadt the river 

 is navigable for barges. For a considerable portion of its course the Neckar is 

 bounded by steep cliffs, the country on either side of it often lying as much as 

 500 feet above the surface of the river. These gorges, however, alternate with 

 wide basins, where the Neckar winds about amongst verdant hills. The scenery 

 along the tributaries of the Neckar is equally varied. These tributaries are the 

 Enz, on the left ; the Fils, Rems, Kocher, and Jagst, on the right. Gentle hills, 

 contrasting with bolder contours and even cliffs, impart much graceful beauty to 

 the country. Notwithstanding the absence of lakes and of a background of snow- 

 clad mountains, Wiirttemberg resembles in a remarkable manner the plateau of 



Miles. 



