THE REUSS. 
205 
The railway from Imcerne to Brunnen passes the 
scene of the remarkable rockfall of Goldau. The 
line runs between immense masses of puddingstone, 
and the scar on the Rossberg from which they fell is 
well seen on the left. The mountain consists of hard 
beds of sandstone and conglomerate, sloping towards 
the valley, and resting on soft argillaceous layers. 
During the wet season of 1 806 these became soaked 
with water, and being thus loosened, thousands of 
tons of the solid upper layers suddenly slipped down 
and swept across the valley, covering a square mile 
of fertile ground to a depth, it is estimated, in some 
places of 200 feet. The residents in the neighbour- 
hood heard loud cracking and grating sounds, and 
suddenly, about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the valley 
seemed shrouded in a cloud of dust, and when this 
cleared away the whole aspect of the place was 
changed. The valley was blocked up by immense 
masses of rocks and rubbish, Goldau and three other 
villages were buried beneath the debris, and part of 
the Lake of Lowerz was filled up. More than 
450 people were killed. 
The Bay of Uri. 
The Bay of Uri used to be regarded as a typical 
valley of fracture. The bottom is, however, nearly 
