588 W. J. Hamilton, Esq., on the 



evidently belong to the red sandstone formation*. These beds all dip to 

 the south nearly 80°. From this locality, as far as the village of Kodj-hissar, 

 the same red and brown sandstones and grits continue on the east side of the 

 road, approaching in some places close to the lake. Further to the eastward, 

 beds of red and white marls and sand dip under the red sandstone. 



Salt Lake of Kodj-hissar and the neighbouring District. (Sect. 2, 3, & 7.) 



The small town or village of Kodj-hissar is situated at the western foot of 

 this range of hills ; and a gently sloping alluvial plain extends westward as far 

 as the Salt Lake, a distance of five miles (Sect. 7.). The water of this lake ap- 

 pears to be perfectly saturated. Fish cannot live in it, and if the wings of a 

 bird touch it, they become instantly stiff and helpless from the saline incrusta- 

 tion ; every piece of dirt or wood which falls or is thrown into the lake, is 

 likewise almost immediately coated with salt. I was unable to ascertain the 

 exact dimensions of the lake, but I was informed by the natives, that it is about 

 thirty hours or leagues in circumference. From the spot where I examined it, 

 at A. on the map, a gulf about five miles wide extends sixteen or eighteen miles 

 to the N.N. W. ; and I understood that to the S.W., where the lake is broadest, 

 the opposite shore is eight or nine hours or about twenty-four miles distant. 



The bottom of the lake is, in most places, a very deep, soft mud, incapable 

 of supporting the slightest weight ; but where I reached the shore, which is the 

 spot whence Sultan Selim carried a causeway across the bay in an almost 

 westerly direction, the bottom consists of a thick solid crust of salt, resting 

 upon the soft mud. When I was there, the salt was covered with six or eight 

 inches of water, but I understood that in another month it would be quite 

 dry. I rode above a mile into the lake upon this salt crust, and nearly along 

 the line of the ancient causeway, which is quite ruined. A few blocks of 

 marble rising a little above the water, but thickly incrusted with salt, alone 

 mark its direction. This passage is about half a mile in width. My guide 

 pointed out a few holes in the salt through which a rider and his horse might 

 sink into the deep mud beneath. I saw also a few smaller holes from which 

 springs of water rose. They were probably fresh, as there is said to be a fresh- 

 water spring on one of the small islands, about 15 miles to the S.S.W. 



The same red and brown sandstones extend beyond Kodj-hissar to the 

 W.N.W. (see Sec. 2.) ; but the inclination of the strata is there towards the 



* I shall hereafter have an opportunity of describing the rock-salt deposits of Pontus, but I 

 will now observe, that I never found an instance of rock salt interstratified with these red sand- 



