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rather of every conceivable misshapen and fantastic
form*.
The difficulty of accounting for these masses of
lava scattered over a wavy surface of rocky rido-es,
where there is nothing near that wears the semblance
of a volcano, and Avhere, if there was, no
stream of lava could run or reach the present
position of these rocks—many of which, indeed,
never can have been completely fused—is sufficiently
obvious. The most probable conjecture
one can form is—whether it be deemed philosophical
or geological I know not—that a power
or momentum acting immediately below them
has forced them up on the ridges they now
occupy—where, in short, the earth has'burst open,
and upheaved them in a half liquefied state.
" To eyes unused to the sight,” says Dr. Holland, " n o th in g
can be conceived more singular than the aspect of this bed o f
lava. A vast confused mass of rocky matter, having a general
elevation of level above the surrounding country, hut thrown within
its e lf into every possible variety of strange and abrupt shapes,
is the general appearance presented to the sight. In following a
narrow and rugged path across the lava, we observed numerous
fissures, caverns, and hollows, some o f them apparently the effect
of cracking and sinking down o f masses o f rock, others much
resembling craters from which the melted matter had flowed.
The approach to Havnefiord is str ik in g : h ig h and rugged masses
of lava concealed from us, until we were almost at the edge of it, a
small and retired hay, at the upper extremity o f which are situated
fifteen or twenty habitations, constructed, like those at Reikiavik,
o f timber, but superior in general appearance to the houses of
the latter place. This is Havnefiord.” — D;-. Holland’s MS.
Journal.
Another conjecture, probably still less philosophical,
is that of their being discharged from volcanic
bombs, which one has sometimes heard of; or,
which I suppose amounts to the same thing, have
been shot out, red hot but not melted, from the
craters of some of the cone-shaped protuberances,
which were visible at no great distance to the
southward.
There are no mountains, nor even hills of such
high elevations as deserve the name—m this neighbourhood—
none that, supposing them to be of volcanic
origin, could have sent forth a stream of liquid
lava that, by any possibility, could have reached
their present situation. There is but one otrier
conjecture I can venture to throw out, and that is,
that these enormous masses may be the remains of
small broken down cones that have partially sunk
into their craters, as we had occasion to see on our
way to the Geysers.
Dr. Holland, in his account of the Mineralogy
of Iceland, seems to countenance the opinion of
these masses having been thrown up on the Ajry
spot they occupy, observing there was one formation
of lava which had every appearance ol
not having flowed. Speaking of these masses ot
lava, he says:—“ I t was heaved up into large
bubbles or blisters, some of which were round, and
from a few feet to forty or fifty in diameter;
others were long, some straight, and some wave
A great many of these bubbles had burst open,
and displayed caverns of considerable depth.” I