THE BERNESE OBERLAND. 
145 
The whole massif may be considered as the root 
or stump of a gigantic arch, itself thrown into a 
number of folds and troughs. The centre of the 
whole district is the majestic Finsteraarhorn , the 
monarch of the Bernese Oberland. To the N.E. are 
three main longitudinal valleys, indicated by the 
Gauli glacier, the Unteraar glacier, and the Oberaar 
glacier; and to the S.W. the great Aletsch glacier, 
the Aletsch Firn, the Upper Lotschen Thai, * and the 
Kander Fdrn. 
The Granite and Gneiss, as already mentioned 
(an/gj p. 72), show a very complex structure, and 
the Central Gneiss presents a well-marked “fan 
arrangement.” 
Fig. 12 1 gives a section from the Kleine Dolden- 
horn across the Gasteren Thai and the Lotschen 
Thai, showing that the first is an anticlinal, the 
second a synclmal. 
The Kander Firn and Tschingel Firn lie in an 
anticlinal valley. The Dala to the east of Leukerbad 
is also cut down between the Lias and the Upper 
Jurassic, the latter forming an escarpment. 
The longitudinal valleys are, however, for the 
most part synclinal. 
The Aletsch is the greatest of all Swiss glaciers. 
* The lower part of the Lotschen Thai is a cross valley. 
Scenery of Switzerland. II. 
10 
