FORMATION OF THE TERTI ARIES. 187 



The draining of these lakes, the thickness of 

 the deposits formed in which indicate the long 

 and tranquil period of their existence, was 

 effected without any great disturbance of their 

 beds, though considerable barriers must have 

 been destroyed. The formation of the great 

 gorge of the Dembra, the breaking up of the 

 country at the mouth of the Xanthus, and of 

 the Arycanda valley, were events probably 

 referrible to this period. This was probably 

 the epoch of the eruption of the Amygdaloid 

 in the east of Lycia. 



The great plain of Pamphylia, which bounds 

 Lycia to the east, is formed of travertine. The 

 rivers pouring out of the caverns at the base 

 of the Lycian and Isaurian ranges of the Taurus 

 come forth from their subterranean courses 

 charged with carbonate of lime, and are con- 

 tinually adding to the Pamphylian plain. They 

 build up natural aqueducts of limestone, and, 

 after flowing for a time on these elevated beds, 

 burst their walls and take a new course. Con- 

 sequently it is very difficult to reconcile the 

 accounts of this district, as transmitted to us by 

 ancient authors, with its present aspect, and the 

 distribution of the streams which water it. By 



