ic«. 



, ^^^^1. the 



'^^ to 



a 



the 3; 



Sth 



' T^er 



'% .. to 

 square 



»cl oliieflv 



ita of CTeat 



"VO 



. ^ VI 



eclated 

 part these 

 :v the Sub- 



and sand- 



- iiiUance, 



our iertlaiT 

 considered, 



..atively of 



referable to 



md 2Gth of 

 ds of Z^^i^te, 



:. .^..Mlislau^ 



over 



tliro'ivD, 



(alit-n 



tli-- 



as a 



witli a 



111 



•face 



•ratioii: 



The 



an 



a 



first 

 i.c the 





,.-1' 



n) 



- iliO'"' 



mii^ 



d 



Ch. XXIX.] 



EFFECTS OF CALABRIAN EARTHQUAKE. 



n? 



moT 



rudely by some which followed. 



Some writers have asserted that the wave-like movements 

 which were propagated through the recent strata, from west 

 to east, became very violent when they reached the point of 

 jmiction with the granite, as if a reaction was produced 

 where the nndulatory movement of the soft strata was 

 suddenly arrested by the more solid rocks. But the state- 

 ment of Dolomieu on this subject is most interesting, and 

 perhaps, in a geological point of view, the most important 

 of all the observations which are recorded,^ The Apennines, 

 he says, which consist in great part of hard and solid granite, 

 with some micaceous 



and argillaceous schists, form 



bare 

 great 



At their base newer strata are seen of sand 



marine deposit containinof 



mountains with steep sides, and exhibit marks of 



degradation. 



and clay, mil 



such inoTcdients as would result from the decomposition of 



granite. 



formation 



stitutes what is called the plain of Calabria — a platform 

 which is flat and level, except w^here intersected by narrow 

 valleys or ravines, which rivers and torrents have excavated 

 sometimes to the depth of 600 feet. The sides of these 

 ravines are almost j^erpendicular ; for the superior stratum, 

 being bound together by the roots of trees, prevents the 

 formation of a sloping bank. The usual effect of the earth- 

 quake, he continues, was to disconnect all those masses 



which either had not sufficient bases 

 were supported only by lateral adhe: 

 that throughout the whole length 



which adhered to the QTanite at the base of the mountains 



mce. Hence it follows 

 of the chain, the soil 



Caulone, Esope, Sagra, and Aspramonte, slid over the solid 

 and steeply inclined nucleus, and descen ded somewhat 

 lower, leaving almost uninterruptedly from St. George to 

 beyond St. Christina, a distance of from 9 to 10 miles, a 

 chasm betw^een the solid granitic nucleus and the sandy 

 soil. Many lands slipping thus were carried to a considerable 

 distance from their former position, so as entirely to cover 



* Dissertation on the Cakbrian Earthquake, &c., transh^ted in Pinkerton's 

 Voyages and l^ayels, vol. v. 



