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globe has been broken and raised since the
depositions of the most recent formations, if
we agree with most geologists in reg;arding
some of the beds of conglomerate as such.
The immense blocks of granite, and other
primitive rocks, that are scattered over the
calcareous mountains and in the valleys
of Switzerland and Savoy, have long engaged
the attention, and divided the opinions
of geologists. No where are these
blocks seen more abundantly distributed,
than in various parts of the basin of the
Lake of Geneva. They have all been
transported from a great distance, as there
are no rocks of a similar kind in the vicinity,
and some of the rocks are not found
within the space o f 100 miles, or more, from
the places where these vast fragments are
now lying. The most striking analogous
fact that 1 am acquainted with in my own
country (south of Scotland) occurs in the
vicinity of Kendal, in Westmoreland, where
blocks of granite of great size are scattered
in the fields. These blocks are identical
with the granite of a mountain near Shap,
a granite so remarkable that it may be distinguished
from any other in Europe. The
granite mountain at Shap has no great elevation,
and higher mountains intervene
between it and Kendal. This, 1 say, is
the most remarkable fact that south Britain
presents, because we are quite certain from
whence the blocks have been transported»
In the basin of the Lake of Geneva we
sometimes see the blocks collected in
groups, and sometimes widely scattered;
in some situations they are all o f one kind
of rock, in others several kinds of rock
occur to g e th e r; but the most extraordinary
circumstances are the great size of these
blocks, and the height at which they occur.
On the Great Saleve, near Geneva, there is
one block of granite seven feet long, at
the height of 2500 feet above the valley :
some blocks are found on the south side of
the valley, at the height of 3000 feet above
it. In a wood between Copey and Nyon
there is one block of hornstone seventy-
three feet in length ; and near Nyon there
is a field covered with blocks of saussurite,
which the proprietor has in vain endeavoured
to remove by blasting, on account
of the unconquerable hardness of that
roek. No rock of this mineral is known
to occur nearer than the valley of Saas in
the Valíais. Mr. Andrew De Luc, who has
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