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376 A IG U I L L E S .
occur in the valley of Chamouny ; whereas
we may suppose Mont Blanc to have been
raised in one vast mass, less broken than
the other parts of the Pennine range; and
thus its broad summit admitted the snow
to rest upon it, and cover it to a vast depth :
this covering protects it from disintegration,
at least on the northern side. The
southern side of Mont Blanc, facing Italy,
is a nearly perpendicular escarpement of
bare rock, which must be constantly exposed
to the destructive effects of atmospheric
agency.
It is possible that the granitic aiguilles
may have been shaped into something like
their present form by an immense deluge,
which swept over the surface of the globe,
and transported the fragments of these
rocks into distant districts, where they
remain, at present, the monuments of some
mighty revolution. According to the opinion
of Sir James Hall, the blocks of
granite, now scattered over the country,
were stripped from the Alps, when enveloped
in a covering of ice, and were in
this manner floated to the places where
they are now found. {See Edin. Phil.
Trans.)
M O N T B L A N C . 377
The height of Mont Blanc above the
level of the sea is stated to be 15,680
English feet; and as its measurement has
been taken, both by the barometer and
trigonometrically, we may consider the
above as a close approximation to the true
elevation of this mountain. Mont Cervin, or
the Matterhorn,and Mont Bosa, in the same
range, approach nearly to the height of
Mont Blanc. The highest mountains in
this range of the Alps are uncovered by
secondary stra ta ; whereas in the northern
or Swiss range, secondary strata cover most
of the highest mountains, except the
Finesterahorn and the Shriekhorn.
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