250 
CHAP. 
VI. 
" - v — 
SOUTH COAST OF THE CRIMEA. 
perhaps, no-where else situate equally near 
' to the waters of any sea, nor so surrounded by 
grand objects. The descent towards the shore 
is so steep and rapid, that it seems as if the 
vdlages, with their groves and gardens, might 
be swept, by heavy rains, into the deep: at 
the same time, cliffs, hanging over them, me- 
nace fearful ruin, by the fall of rocks, which 
every now and then break loose : their enor- 
mous fragments have occasionally halted in situ- 
ations where they appear at every instant ready 
to rush forward. High above all are the lofty 
and rugged summits of the mountains, giving 
such a remarkable character to the southern 
coast of the Crimea, that no geographer has 
neglected to notice them. Strabo forcibly de- 
scribes their situation and their nature 1 : “ But 
from this port of the Symbolic says he, “ unto 
the city of Theodosia, extends the maritime Tau- 
rican district, about one thousand stadia in length, 
craggy and mountainous, and teeming with 
storms.” If, in consequence of some tremen- 
dous earthquake, or of a sudden thaw, a por- 
tion of these cliffs has been separated from its 
native bed, and, rushing into the Black Sea, has 
( I ) M iru run 'SuptfioXuv XiuAna. roZron p*xp» Qioboflx; troXtus i) Tavptxnt 
vupotXix, %iXiuv trov trrcttilo an ro f, cfixos, rpotp^ilx xai opuvy, xcc'i x«.ra,tyi*cu<ra. to~$ 
fiopioif 'fipurca. Strab, lib. \ ii. p. 446. cd. Oxon. 
