234 
SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND. 
of Cino. This is also illustrated by Fig. 57 (ante, 
vol. I. p. 2 1 6). 
One belt of sedimentary strata, now, however, 
much metamorphosed, can be traced the whole way 
from Craveggia in Piedmont, by Gravedona, to Cercino 
in the Val Tellina. 
Some of the smaller lakes in these regions, as 
foi instance those of Cadagno and Tremorgia, 
are “Meres” or lakes of sinking, like those of 
Cheshire. 
The massif of Ticino is now cut tiirough by a 
series of deep and wide valleys running like the Val 
Leventina from the north, southwards. These valleys 
owe their origin to the original slope of the ground, 
and must be of great age, dating back probably far 
into the Tertiary period. 
Several of the Italian Lakes descend below the 
sea level. The Lago Maggiore is remarkable for its 
colossal depth, no less than 655 metres. It is in the 
main a transverse valley, and at the north and south 
ends the geological structure of the two sides agrees. 
Ihe west bank between Arona and Baveno consists 
mainly of Crystalline Schists, while the east exhibits 
the whole series of subalpine strata, from the Cre- 
taceous to the Verrucano. 
The plain of the Po is probably due to subsidence. 
