o58 PROCEEDIN^aS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Jime 17- 



the surface in many parts of that region, it is nowhere to be met 

 with in the ravines or valleys, or even in the lower parts of the 

 valleys, but either at or near the top of the rocky heights, thus going 

 far toward proving, first, that the deposit reached originally a height 

 throughout equal at least to that of the highest of these at the present 

 day, and, secondly, that these isolated eminences owe their rela- 

 tively superior elevation indirectly to the indurating influence of the 

 igneous rock, which rendered these parts more invulnerable to the 

 action of the denuding forces which swept away the softer portions 

 around them. 



The following are among the most remarkable places where the 

 basalt comes to the surface : — 



1. The Schneeberg, 2200 feet; the volcanic rock protrudes at both 

 sides of the rocky crest of this mountain, at a height of 1817 feet. 



2. The Larger Zschirnstein, 1720 feet; blocks of dolerite are 

 found at the very top of this mountain, coming through the Quader. 



3. The Larger Winterberg, sandstone up to 1550 feet, surrounded 

 by a basaltic crest reaching to 1716 feet; fragments of granite have 

 been found imbedded in the basalt of this place. 



4. The Lesser Winterberg, 1520 feet. 



5. The Eosenberg, sandstone up to 1550 feet, crowned by a peak 

 of basalt 1910 feet. (The measures are all in French feet.) 



The strata are quite horizontal and undisturbed up to within a 

 very short distance of the igneous rock — a fact which would seem to 

 favour the hypothesis that the eruption of the latter must have taken 

 place prior to the complete induration of the sandstone. Another 

 circumstance seems also to favour this view ; and that is, that the 

 lines of fissure which extend throughout the region generally are 

 not found to run up to the basalt, the Quader in its vicinity losing 

 the tendency to break up into cubical blocks, and offering a fracture 

 more similar to that of granite. 



A remarkable peculiarity in the sandstone occurs at the eastern 

 foot of the Gorischstein. Here the basalt comes to the surface at a 

 height of about 1230 feet, and is quarried for road-making ; in its 

 immediate vicinity the sandstone is found in small regular prismatic 

 blocks, from ^ inch up to 2 inches in diameter, with four or five sides, 

 and about 6 or 8 inches long ; at the distance of 100 yards the 

 main rock offers no signs of ha\ing been disturbed, or subjected to 

 the action of heat. 



