720 



SWITZERLAND. 



ines them. Granitic rocks, of a date posterior to the formation of organized beings, make up 

 the chain connected with Mont Blanc. Different calcareous ramifications of the same chain 

 extend a long way northwards, and rise to a great height, while the granitic rocks on the south 

 descend to the confines of l^aiy. 



8. Jfatural Productions. Forests of larch, pine, and fir, intermixed with yew, mountain 

 ash, and birch, clothe the sides of the Swiss Alps ; the oak, elm, ash, beech, hme, and chest 

 nut flourish here. 



9. Minerals. The mountains abound in marble, porphyry, and alabaster. Iron, lead, cop- 

 per, zinc, crystal, cobalt, bismuth, arsenic, and antimony are found in veins and masses. Quar- 

 ries of rock-salt are met with, particularly in the Pays de Vaud. 



10. Animals. Cattle are plentiful, and form the chief wealth of the inhabitants. The tame 

 animals are those common to Europe ; among the wild ones are the ibex, the chamois, and 

 the marmot, and in the unfrequented tracts, bears, lynxes, and wolves are conmion. Birds of 



prey are not unfrequent ; among 

 which is the golden or beardea 

 vulture, or lammer-geyer, which 

 is often known to carry oti' lambs. 



1 1 . Cataracts. The falls of 

 the Rhine at Schaffhausen, are 

 the most celebrated in Europe ; 

 they consist of a violent rapid of 

 about 80 feet in descent ; the 

 whole mass of water is broken 

 into foam in the fall, and resem- 

 bles a cataract of snow ; the roar 

 and agitation surpass even Ni- 

 agara. The falls of the Staub- 

 bach are produced by a small 

 mountain torrent, which falls 800 

 feet into a rocky cleft ; the water 

 is dashed completely into vapor 

 before it reaches the bottom. There are many 

 other cascades among the mountainous parts. 



12. Face of the Country. The general sur- 

 face of Switzerland exceeds in rugged sublimi- 

 ty any other portion of Europe. Nature seems 

 here to have formed everything on her grandest 

 scale, and offers the most striking contrasts. 

 Icy peaks rise into the air, close upon the 

 borders of fertile valleys ; luxuriant cornfields 

 are surrounded by immense and dreary plains 

 of ice ; in one step, the traveler passes from 

 the everlasting snow to the freshest verdure, 

 or from glaciers of chilling coldness to valleys 

 from whose rocky sides the sunbeams are re- 

 flected with almost scorching power. 



13. Roads. Some of the Alpine passes in 

 this country are the result of immense labor 

 and ingenuity. Those of St. Gothard and the 

 Simplon are the most frequented. The Sim- 

 plon is a mountain situated in the chain of the 

 higher Alps, between the Valais and Pied 

 mont, in which is found a passage to Italy. 

 The old road being practicable ou\j for foot- 

 passengers and travelers on horseback, in 1801, 

 Bonaparte directed a magnificent road to be con- 

 structed, which was completed in 1805. Be- 

 tween Gliss, in the valley of the Rhone, where the road commences, and Domo d'Ossola, in 



Mount Simplon. 



• n I mr 



Simplon Road. 



