Ch. VII.] LAVAS AND BRECCIAS OF THE VAL DEL BOVE. 



93 



From no point of view are the dikes more conspicuous than 

 from the summit of the highest cone of Etna ; a view of some 

 of them are given in the annexed drawing*. 



View from the summit of Etna into the Val del Bove. 



The small cone and crater immediately below were among those formed during the 

 eruptions of 1810 and 1811. 



Lavas and breccias. In regard to the volcanic masses which 

 are intersected by dikes in the Val del Bove, they consist, 

 in great part, of graystone lavas, of an intermediate character 

 between basalt and trachyte, and partly of the trachytic vari- 

 eties of lava. Beds of scoriae and sand, also, are very nume- 

 rous, alternating with breccias formed of angular blocks of 

 igneous rock. It is possible that some of the breccias may be 

 referred to aqueous causes, as we have before seen that great 



* This drawing is part of a panoramic sketch which I made from the summit 

 of the cone, December 1st, 1828, when every part of Etna was free from clouds 

 except the Val del Bove. 



