676 E. L. JACK AND J. HORNE ON" GLACIAL DRIFT 



waters of the Theiss, but along the whole course of the Carpathians 

 to Presburg. Owing to their comparatively soft and yielding 

 character, in the eastern districts at least, the beds are not well 

 adapted for preserving the ordinary effects of glacial action. Not 

 only arc the beds easily disintegrated by atmospheric agents, but 

 the stones derived from them would not readily preserve ice- 

 markings, if ever they were impressed with them. In consequence 

 of such extensive areas being covered by these deposits, one looks 

 in vain for those characteristic mamillated surfaces which are 

 striking features in well-glaciated countries. But in addition to 

 these rock-groups, there still remains to be noted the great develop- 

 ment of trachyte and andesitc lavas with their associated tuffs, of 

 Tertiary age, which fringe the inner margin of the chain, and which 

 are traceable at intervals westwards to the old volcano of Schem- 

 nitz. These are well seen round the outskirts of the head-waters of 

 the Theiss, the terraced appearance of the volcanic masses being 

 easily descried from the neighbourhood of Szigeth. 



The town of Nagy Szigeth commands the entrance to the head- 

 waters of the Theiss. Situated at the confluence of the Iza with 

 the main river, it is about 45 miles distant from the crest of the 

 chain, and about 40 miles from the point where the Theiss may be 

 said to enter the great Hungarian plains. Prom this standpoint an 

 extensive view is obtained of the crescent-shaped mass of mountains 

 encircling the sources of the river, the chief elevations being the 

 Czerna Gora, 6581 feet, and the Husky Berg, 6732 feet ; while the 

 height of Nagy Szigeth itself, by aneroid measurement, is about 

 1800 feet. As seen from this elevation, the range seems to be 

 traversed by a series of long, narrow, pine-clad valleys, cutting more 

 or less obliquely across the strike of the strata. Our course was to 

 follow on foot the windings of the river as far as Korosmezo, within 

 a few miles of the crest, thence crossing the col and descending the 

 valley of the Pruth to Kolomea, a distance of about 90 miles. 



D. Desertion of Drift-sections in the Theiss Valley. 



Before commencing the ascent, we retraced our steps to Kabala- 

 patak, a village about three miles below Szigeth, for the purpose of 

 examining some sections exposed in the line of railway. The 

 cutting referred to extends from the village to the bridge across the 

 Iza, and runs in an east-and-west direction. At right angles thereto, 

 a fresh cutting has been made close by the stream which skirts the 

 village. Both sections expose a true moraine prof onde. The rail- 

 way-cutting is about 20 ft. deep, and passes through a deposit of 

 stiff gritty clay, the matrix of Avhich is in a large measure composed 

 of sandstone and trappean detritus. Near the base of the section 

 occurs a lenticular patch of gravel about 3 ft. long by 1 ft. broad ; 

 but, with this exception, the deposit had no trace of stratification. 

 The stones are scattered irregularly throughout the mass, and with- 

 out any regard to their size. They consist mostly of fine-grained 

 porphyry, which weathers with a rough surface, while next in order 



