6 Biography of Baron Leopold von Bach. 



the name of trachyte. Upon a view of the basalts which 

 here, at the foot of the trachytic cone, break out in distinct 

 lava streams, the notion of the volcanic origin of the basalt 

 of this district ripened with him into conviction ; but this 

 view he did not yet venture to extend to the German basalts. 

 The faithful disciple and reverer of Werner had no light 

 struggle to undergo before adopting so extensive an altera- 

 tion on his creed ; but by degrees he assumed the volcanic 

 origin of basalt in its most universal acceptation. The re- 

 sults of his extensive observations, with the valuable conclu- 

 sions which he drew from them, were given to the world 

 in his u Geognostischen Beobachtungen auf Reisen durch 

 Deutchsland und Italien, 2 Bande 1802 and 1809." 



Buch now turned his steps to Scandinavia, through which 

 he travelled during two full years, — from July 1806 to Oc- 

 tober 1808 : he penetrated to the extreme northern point of 

 Europe : in the North Cape, upon the island of Mager-Oe, 

 he made, in rapid succession, the greatest discoveries in re- 

 gard to the structure of the earth's crust ; and we can only 

 regret that, within the limits at our disposal, it is impossible 

 to follow his steps. Climatology and the Geography of 

 Plants obtained the most valuable additions ; and he was the 

 first to develop and settle the very important fact, which 

 afterwards received the most perfect confirmation, that Swe- 

 den, from Frederickshall to Abo, or perhaps till towards 

 Petersburgh, was in the course of a very slow but continuous 

 elevation above the level of the sea. The whole treasure of 

 those contributions to science is contained in the "Reise 

 durch Norwegen und Lappland, 2 Bande, Berlin, 1810. * 



After this, his German fatherland formed the principal 

 object of his wanderings and investigations ; but it was es- 

 pecially to the gigantic Alps (which he also subsequently tra- 

 velled over and studied in every direction) that he devoted 

 his valuable leisure. 



The grand phenomena of the volcanic reaction of the inte- 

 rior of the earth upon its surface in the Canary Islands, the 



* An English translation of this valuable work was published in London, 

 with numerous annotations and illustrations, by Professor Jameson of Kdin- 

 burcrh. 



