﻿124 
  H. 
  R. 
  Mill 
  — 
  Glacial 
  Land-Forms 
  of 
  the 
  Alps. 
  

  

  again, 
  may 
  be 
  judged 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  it 
  fills 
  the 
  ancient 
  

   valley 
  of 
  the 
  Sill, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  modern 
  river 
  had 
  to 
  cut 
  down 
  

   through 
  more 
  than 
  300 
  feet 
  of 
  it 
  before 
  coming 
  to 
  the 
  under- 
  

   lying 
  rock, 
  into 
  which 
  the 
  river 
  bed 
  has 
  now 
  worn 
  its 
  way 
  to 
  

   some 
  depth. 
  As 
  the 
  road 
  winds 
  along 
  the 
  face 
  of 
  the 
  steep 
  

   slope 
  of 
  the 
  clay 
  gorge, 
  it 
  affords 
  a 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  railway 
  on 
  the 
  

   opposite 
  side 
  far 
  below, 
  cut 
  in 
  the 
  hard 
  rocks 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  

   river, 
  while 
  the 
  slope 
  above 
  is 
  so 
  unstable 
  that 
  it 
  remains 
  in 
  

   many 
  places 
  bare 
  of 
  vegetation, 
  and 
  wattled 
  fences 
  have 
  been 
  

   run 
  along 
  in 
  zigzags 
  to 
  bind 
  the 
  clay 
  and 
  reduce 
  the 
  risk 
  of 
  

   damage 
  to 
  the 
  roadway 
  by 
  sudden 
  falls. 
  In 
  the 
  moraine 
  mate- 
  

   rial 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  sub-aerial 
  denudation 
  has 
  produced 
  a 
  number 
  

   of 
  " 
  fairy 
  chimneys," 
  the 
  Erdpyramiden, 
  or 
  earth-pillars, 
  with 
  

   which 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  Tyrol 
  is 
  usually 
  associated 
  in 
  elementary 
  

   text-books 
  of 
  geology 
  ; 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  neither 
  so 
  large 
  nor 
  so 
  

   picturesque 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Finsterbach, 
  the 
  view 
  of 
  which 
  so 
  

   well 
  repays 
  the 
  labor 
  of 
  the 
  arduous 
  climb 
  from 
  Botzen 
  to 
  the 
  

   Ritten 
  plateau. 
  

  

  Two 
  nights 
  were 
  spent 
  at 
  Innsbruck, 
  and 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  Fri- 
  

   day 
  the 
  21st 
  was 
  devoted 
  to 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  sections 
  along 
  the 
  

   mountain 
  slope 
  of 
  the 
  left 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Inn. 
  Here 
  the 
  inter- 
  

   glacial 
  deposits 
  were 
  seen 
  in 
  their 
  most 
  impressive 
  form. 
  A 
  

   steep 
  climb 
  along 
  a 
  clay 
  slope 
  of 
  unquestionable 
  moraine, 
  

   crowded 
  with 
  highly 
  polished 
  and 
  striated 
  pebbles, 
  showed 
  an 
  

   overhanging 
  cornice 
  of 
  compact 
  breccia 
  resting 
  on 
  the 
  moraine, 
  

   and 
  itself 
  a 
  hardened 
  water-bedded 
  deposit. 
  Mayr's 
  great 
  

   quarry 
  in 
  this 
  reddish 
  breccia 
  is 
  a 
  prominent 
  object 
  as 
  seen 
  

   from 
  Innsbruck, 
  and 
  has 
  supplied 
  a 
  great 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  stone 
  

   which, 
  from 
  its 
  hardness 
  and 
  durability, 
  causes 
  the 
  newer 
  

   streets 
  of 
  that 
  town 
  to 
  recall 
  the 
  clear-cut 
  buildings 
  of 
  Aber- 
  

   deen. 
  Above 
  Mayr's 
  quarry 
  comes 
  a 
  nearly 
  level 
  plateau 
  — 
  the 
  

   top 
  of 
  the 
  terrace 
  of 
  accumulation 
  — 
  1000 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  flat 
  

   floor 
  of 
  the 
  valley, 
  and 
  similar 
  in 
  its 
  features 
  to 
  the 
  terrace 
  of 
  

   the 
  Wippthal, 
  through 
  which 
  the 
  Sill 
  cuts 
  its 
  way, 
  as 
  seen 
  

   from 
  Schonberg. 
  As 
  the 
  quarry 
  is 
  carried 
  farther 
  back 
  the 
  

   loose 
  material 
  above 
  the 
  hard 
  breccia 
  is 
  cleared 
  away 
  in 
  ad- 
  

   vance, 
  and 
  so 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  excellent 
  sections 
  of 
  the 
  upper 
  moraine 
  

   is 
  exposed. 
  The 
  intercalation 
  of 
  this 
  mass 
  of 
  breccia, 
  several 
  

   hundred 
  feet 
  thick, 
  is 
  a 
  proof 
  of 
  the 
  comparatively 
  long 
  dura- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  interglacial 
  period 
  in 
  which, 
  according 
  to 
  Penck, 
  it 
  

   was 
  formed 
  as 
  a 
  talus 
  or 
  scree 
  on 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  ancient 
  

   Inn 
  lake. 
  

  

  The 
  remarkable 
  terrace 
  which 
  breaks 
  the 
  steep 
  slope 
  of 
  the 
  

   mountains 
  on 
  both 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  Inn 
  valley 
  is 
  only 
  found 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  the 
  Oetzthal 
  and 
  the 
  Zillerthal, 
  from 
  each 
  of 
  which 
  

   glacial 
  accumulations 
  had 
  blocked 
  the 
  main 
  valley, 
  thus 
  giving 
  

   origin 
  to 
  a 
  lake 
  which, 
  invading 
  the 
  lower 
  Wippthal 
  also, 
  

  

  