NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. 61 



the gallery, as it is called, where a mafs bigger than any caftle in 

 the whole world appears to have fallen from the rock; the pieces 

 are, fome of the bulk of a houfe, fome lefs, but all as pointed 

 as if millions of pieces of broken glafs lay there. The river 

 roars prodigioufly as it paries through thefe ftupendous ruins, over 

 which, however, a way has been laid with infinite labour, but 

 certainly one more difficult is not to be met with throughout the 

 world. 



When fuch a Bergrap falls into a creek, or any deep water, the 

 fragments indeed are out of fight, but their fubmerfion caufes fuch 

 an agitation of the water, as to overflow and carry away the adjacent 

 houfes, and even churches; of which, on the 8 th of January 173 1, 

 there was a remarkable inftance in the parifh of Oerflcoug, and in 

 the annexed parifh of Strand, on Sundmoer, where a mafs, or pro- 

 montory, called Rammersfield, hanging over Nordal- creek, being 

 undermined by the water, fuddenly fell down, whereby the water, 

 for the fpace of two miles, fwelled with fuch force, that the 

 church of Strand (which has fince been rebuilt on a higher ipot) 

 though a direct half league on the other fide of the bank, was en- 

 tirely overflowed, feveral barks carried up the country, many 

 houfes deftroyed, and fome people drowned; yet the creek was fo 

 far from being filled up, that the fifhermen fay, they find no differ- 

 ence in the bottom, which, thereabouts, is no lefs than 900 fa- 

 thoms deep*. And in the beginning of the prefent century, fome- 

 thing fimiiar happened to a mountain in Julfter, which falling into 

 a lake occasioned an inundation, whereby the neighbourhood fuf- 



tained great damages. 



SECT. X. 



From thefe inconveniencies and difafters to which Norway and Convenien 

 all mountainous countries are expofed, I proceed, on the other y-tagt &. 



ing from them 

 to the inhabi- 



M. Hans Hiort, fupermtendant at Sundmoer, in his letter to me of the ,oth 'ants! accord- 

 or ISovember 1750, ts of opimon, that this was chiefly occafioned by the de- in S t0 the 

 flux,ons of water from a fpring on the fummit of the rock, through its clefts and C "T?'' S ?£ 

 fibres, and it bemg then a hard froft, the ice widened the clefts and forced hem dl" 

 afunder. I clofe with t h s r^fnn onrl fi n ^ ;<. MB c. j i- **■ ~ , V ZT " lcm aengn. 



hand, 



