Down North and Up Along 
but somewhere along the extent of North 
Mountain the great mouths yawned, to be 
finally choked full and concealed by succeed- 
ing geological phenomena. 
Then came the Ice Age, when Nova Scotia 
with her mountains was buried deep under a 
frozen mantle, and when the irresistible, slow- 
moving glaciers emulated the power of fire and 
tore away the softer rock, scooping out the 
Cornwallis and Annapolis valleys, and carrying 
boulders and pebbles of trap across from 
North Mountain, to deposit them at the foot 
of South Mountain's slaty mass. 
Thus fire and ice have wrought in ages past 
with tremendous power ; but a gentler and 
equally potent spirit has been at work for cen- 
turies, filling the heart of the mountain with 
exquisite crystals. 
When the volcanic fires first burst forth, 
they scattered cinders and particles of old lava, 
which formed a deep layer of more porous 
material, before the final pouring forth of the 
main stream of molten rock. This layer is 
the amygdaloid belt, which, being of lighter 
colour, one can plainly see crossing Blomidon's 
great front. 
96 
