BAVAEIA. 



229 



quarries, seen from afar, presenting the appearance of a glaring white town built 

 in the midst of a forest.* Amongst the fossils found in the strata of Solingen is 

 the Archœopteryx, an animal half bird, half reptile. The Franconian Jura abounds 

 in caverns, most of them yielding the bones of hyenas, bears, and other extinct 

 animals, and sometimes also human remains. The cavern of Gailenreuth is that 

 which is best known to geologists, but thousands of others yet remain to be 

 explored. The entrance to these caverns is for the most part through sinks, 

 locally known as Schauerlachcr or Wettedocher, and popularly supposed to have 

 been caused by thunderbolts. 



Although the Alps occupy but a small portion of Bavaria, their débris can be 



Fig. 131. — A Region of Moraines in Upper Bavaria. 

 Scale 1 : 300,000. 



9" E.of Paris 



5 Miles. 



traced for nearly 100 miles from their northern foot, even to the other side 

 of the Danube. Nearly one-half of Bavaria is covered with soil resulting from the 

 disintegration of the mountains. The blocks of rock, the gravel, sand, and clay 

 which cover the plateau of Bavaria to an unknown depth can all be traced to the 

 Alps. 



The plain does not extend to the foot of the Bavarian Alps, but is separated 

 from them by a region of hills, torrents, lakes, and swamps. These hills are 

 nothing but ancient moraines which the glaciers carried down on their backs, and 

 deposited outside the valleys. Still farther to the north, and opposite the mouths 



* On an average 13,100 cubic yards of stone are quarried annually, at a cost of £200,000. They sell 

 for .£'2,000,000. 



