1* 



[c» 



r^o^ 





'^^^ tv. 



tf 



Uat 





tr^c^. 



I 



"< 





AV1,J1. 



11 



•■^•tim and?. 

 liu. < every ..... 



■r its hu\^ 

 Iv region. B^ 



^ 90 imposing^ 

 be (L.^nedtil' 



reui^i^ 



^ii- 



out 



f those secoB^ 

 uvea's liiap^: 



ait 



fhf*' 



II 



^[, .lite 



>L. 



in ^ ^., r 



rs 



c!^^' 



Ch. XXVI.] 



LATEKAL CONES— OELITEEATION OF. 



3 



regioiij these minor volcanos present us with, one of the most 

 delightful and characteristic scenes in Europe. They afford 

 every variety of height and size^. and are arranged in beautiful 

 and picturesque groups. However uniform they may appear 



when seen from 



more diversified than their shape when we look from above 

 into their craters^ one side of which is generally broken down. 

 There are^ indeed^ few objects in nature more picturesque 

 than a wooded volcanic crater. The cones situated in the 

 higher parts of the forest zone are chiefly clothed with lofty 

 pines 5 while those at a lower elevation are adorned with 



^vJiich tennisj' cliestnuts, oaks, and beecli trees. 

 •li r^.s the 



/ 



cones. — The history of the 



eruptions of Etna, imperfect and interrupted as it is, affords 

 us, nevertheless, much insight into the manner in which a 

 large part of the mountain has successively attained its 

 present magnitude and internal structure. The cone from 



more 



than once been destroyed either by explosion or engulph- 

 ment, and has been as often reproduced. The great platform 



(No. 2, Plate V. 



a 



h, c 



fig. 



79) seems to have resulted 



from the truncation of the ancient conical mountain, the 

 uppermost part of which has disappeared during a suc- 



le modern 

 number o: 



compar 



79, and from lateral openings in the desert 

 region. When hills are thrown up lower doAvn or in the middle 

 zone, and project beyond the general level, they gradually 

 lose their height during subsequent eruptions ; for when lava 



"1 Tj • rt — 



■om the upper parts of the mountain 



them 



so as to elevate the gently sloping grounds from which they 



rise. 



manner 



more, from 



at once of 

 •ht. Thus, 



one 01 tiie minor cones, called Monte Peluso, was diminished 

 m altitude by a great lava stream which encircled it in 1 844 : 

 and another current has recently taken the same course 

 yet this hill still remains 400 or 500 feet hidi. 



B 2 



