:
ALMANNAGAIAA. [Chap. V.
On a lidge of mountains, at no great distance
from us on our left and not very high, we observed
snoAV lying in considerable patches. Our route at
starting brought us nearer to this ridge, and as
we proceeded along, the surface soon changed its
character, and became more and more rugged and
strewed over with large masses of la v a : this in a
short time brought us to the verge of a xleep chasm,
inclosed between two walls of rock of a dark-brown
colour, composed apparently of large blocks or
tablets of trap or basalt, the uppeu part of tufa.
This extraordinary chasm we wgrb' t.old ^ must
cross by descending down a steeUprecipic^e, not
less I suppose than one hundred and twenty feet
at this s])ot; the opposite wall appearing only
about thirty or forty feet, and the width, narrowing
Transverse Section o f the Almannagaiaa.
a l i t t l e tOAvards t h e b o t t om , b y t h e d e c l in a t i o n o f
l o w e r w a l l , m i g h t b e a b o u t s ix t y f e e t .
Chap. V.] ALMANNAGAIAA. 139
The direction of this extraordinary rent in the
mountain is about north and south, and is said to extend
three miles. We Averetold also that there are
two others, cutting into the slope of the mountain,
and parallel to the present one. Its name is Almannagaiaa,
the meaning of which no one appeared to
know, not even the natives, but it seems to relate
to somethiug in which all mankind is concerned.
The descent was down a ravine near one of its
extremities, which conducted to the bottom of the
chasm by a steep and rugged path of loose and
angular fragments of lava, mixed Avith blocks of trap.
It is so steep and rugged, th a t travellers are ahvays
recommended to dismount and let the horses find
their own w ay ; but as we happened to be a considerable
way before our guides, having left them
to take care of the baggage-horses, and had received
no such caution from them, we all kept our
seats, to the no small amazement of the Icelanders
when they heard of our exploit. To attempt to
descend such a place on horseback might perhaps,
in most countries, have been considered rather
hazardous; but in Iceland, where the animals are
accustomed at all times and in all places to go
over the roughest lava, there was little or no fear
of their making a false step. On reaching the bottom,
which was well clothed with grass, we could
see along this wonderful chasm to a considerable
distance : on either side the gigantic walls rose to a
fearful height above us, more particularly that on
our left or western side, which was as perpendicular
ft