Europe : — a popular Physical Sketch. 393 



themselves are so steep, that communication, even between 

 neighbours is kept up by water. 



As a natural consequence from the quite different angle 

 of inclination of the two sides of the mountain chain, it follows 

 that the eastern side presents large and extensive rivers 

 (Tornea, Kalix, Lulea, Pitea, Umea, Angerman, Indal, 

 Liusna, and Dal, pouring their waters into the gulph of 

 Bothnia ; — Clara into the Wenner lake, and Glommen and 

 Louven into the North sea :) whereas the western side offers 

 small and short rivers only. The occasionally even surface 

 of the chain frequently causes two rivers to communicate ; 

 thus for instance in Lapland the Tornea joins the Kalix 

 river. — Lassbvarkvand, a lake between Dovre and Lang- 

 field, sends rivers to both sides of the chain, and whenever 

 Glommen happens to have a surplus of water, part of it is 

 discharged at Kongsvinger through the Wrangs-river into 

 Wenner lake. On the mountain plain itself, and particu- 

 larly at the eastern foot of the chain, are found a number of 

 very large lakes, among the former, are the mountain-lakes 

 of Torneatrask, Lomijauhr, Oresund, Tamund, and Mios- 

 vandet ; among the latter, Enaretrask, Lulea, Wattnen, 

 Storsion, Miosen, and the above mentioned four large Swe- 

 dish lakes. The western side possesses no such lakes. The 

 Scandinavian mountain chain abounds with huge waterfalls, 

 among the highest of which are Rjukan-Fossen (i. e. the 

 smoking waterfall,) whose waters fall perpendicularly to a 

 depth of 853 feet,* and Borring Fossen, of 960 feet. 



Taken altogether, the chain is loftier towards the southern 

 extremity ; the greatest heights are found in the Hardanger, 

 and Sognefielde, where an elevation of 4800 feet above 



* Here, as throughout, the heights were left by Dr. Cantor as given 

 by Schouw in Parisian feet, but we have reduced them to English.— A 

 work of considerable trouble, but which we trust will render the paper 

 more useful to the English reader, particularly as the list includes all 

 the principal altitudes in Europe. — Ed. Cal. Jour. Nat. Hist. 



