68 
SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND. 
in the landscape. To use Kaufmann’s graphic ex- 
pression they are “eckig, hockerig, rissig und rauh,” 
and rise in abrupt pyramids with steep, sharp points 
in striking contrast with the rounded grassy slopes 
of the Eocene and Cretaceous layers by which they 
are surrounded and on which they rest. 
Four theories have been suggested to account 
for these remarkable mountains. First, that they 
were pushed up by subterranean forces through the 
more recent beds; second, that they were islands in 
the Sea and that the more recent beds were de- 
posited round them; thirdly, that they are part of 
an inclined fold, of which the upper part has been 
removed by denudation; and fourthly, that they are 
the remnants of great overthrusts. 
It seems clear that the first supposition is un- 
tenable. The “Klippen” have no “roots.” They 
rest upon the more recent strata. The Schien group 
to the N.E. of Schwyz is cut to the base by a 
stream, so that it takes the form of a U, and the re- 
sult is to expose the Flysch, and show that the other 
rocks actually rest upon it.* 
Moreover, the more recent strata show little 
evidence of disturbances; they present no traces of 
the fracture and crumpling which they must have 
Quereau, Beitr, z, Geol. K. d, Schw.^ L. xxxiir. 
