33 THE FOKMS OF WATER IN 



§12. The Source of the Arveiron. Ice Pinnacles, Towern s 



and Chasms of the Glacier des Bois. Passage 



to the Montanvert. 



105. Our preparatory studies are for the present 

 ended, and thus informed, let us approach the Alps. 

 Through the village of Chamouni, in Savoy, a river 

 rushes which is called the Arve. Let us trace this 

 river backwards from Chamouni. At a little distance 

 from the village the river forks ; one of its branches still 

 continues to be called the Arve, the other is the Arvei- 

 ron. Following this latter we come to what is called 

 the c source of the Arveiron ' — a short hour's walk from 

 Chamouni. Here, as in the case of the Rhone already 

 referred to, yon are fronted by a huge mass of ice, the 

 end of a glacier, and from an arch in the ice the Ar- 

 veiron issues. Do not trust the arch in summer. Its 

 roof falls at intervals with a startling crash, and would 

 infallibly crush any person on whom it might fall. 



106. We must now be observant. Looking about us 

 here, we find in front of the ice curious heaps and ridges 

 of debris, which are more or less concentric. These are 

 the terminal moraines of the glacier. We shall examine 

 them subsequently. 



107. We now turn to the left, and ascend the slope 

 beside the glacier. As we ascend we get a better view, 

 arid find that the ice here fills a narrow valley. We 



