MOUNTAINS*
Pyrenees.
farcilite,; ip thg.pne inftance Gal^sFeQUs^jauiff Ip -the oilierrfihceous; | $h?t
fs^i^pna M&p|T^f|a%*lie^.5 the village i$
circumference,';]which is one mafs o f rock f a it; ufed in the d ry dirpate
o f Spain for vafes,- fnuff boxes, and trinkets,, like our. Derbyshire fpar.
T h e Spanilh fide,of-the Pyrenees has not been.accurately examined ;
and as the French mineralogifts have amply xllqftrated the part belonging
to France, an apcpuut o f. thefe. . mountains. has been given, in the de-
feription o f tha t-co u n try . In the want- o f a general, and fcientific account
o f the Spanilh 'mountains,;:a- few notices muftfuffice, extracted
from different parts o f Mr. T ow nfend’s ti;ayels. ' According to that intelligent
obferver, the no rth e rn /fide p ffth e Pyrenees is chiefly, .calcareous,
iurm ounted with argillaceous fchiftus ; but. the fouthern isygranite,
an d o f courfe barren.6 T h e hills to the. fo u th o f Ge ro n a are ab b
granitic. T h e high eft ridge in Spain, near Daroca, .whence originate
th e Tajo, and the- Ebro, feems .compofed of- argillaceous Pcl^iRus,1 and-
freeftone, probably reftmg on granite.7 Near Anchuela the . mountains
are iliW fto n e with fhell/s; 'a n d , foinetimes contain beds o f red
g y p fum w ith cryftals of. the fame colour.- In -general gypfum is as
abundant in Spain, as chalk is in England ; .and the gypfum produces'
cryftals o f fea fait and fEpfom fait, and abundance o f nitre, jo T h e
mountains on the north o f Madrid, forming p a rt o f the central chain,
are granite.8; T h o f e to the n o rth o f Leon chiefly marble, or limefton-e,
o n a bails o f argillaceous fchiftus, rifmg in^bold and rugged rocks»
”w hich afforded a barrier . to the remains o f Spanilh liberty. In return-,
in g towards the S.„the foil o f L a Mancha is fandy, the rock gypfum..
T h e higher regions. o f the Sierra M o re n a : are g r a n ite ; the lower, argillaceous
fchiftus, with gypfum and. limeftqne. ■ The. granite is o f twp.
kinds, th e red and th e -w h ite .9 Near Cordova the, higheft hills, are
covered w ith rounded maffes o f granite, .grit, and limeftone. Near-
M alag a are .branches o f the. Sierra N e v a d a ,. o r,,fnowy chain, a n . appefe-j
tio n which might alfo be extended to. the, central range, between Old.
a n d N ew Caftil.le,, which,: according to Mr. Townfend, ought at fome
times be . vifible.at the diftan.ee o f io o miles :; thefe branches prefent
« 'jowiif.-i.B8c $ i I® 17 is ^1§? >& l o j v ' V i i . 'i y o s i g j : 1
3 limeffone
Hmeffone and* 'marble, Turin® dated b y argillaceous fchiflus. Near
hama Si Ei*of'thef-city Off©fanadah/;areKf<?)jln)d;rocks, vydijch-on a balls
fhih§^j®& -round g#iyel,-..'prefent ifanflftone with-, IhelK-ffurmounted,
w f^tcifllb in? gen bra ff%|tp?Gks «apes gypjhb ps ,*w i th ■ ftrata o f the.
feme Jubilance- oryffallizeHyir.>{,T|osynfend*fup p ofe s,, th a t tffe power,
o f $he- fuff contribute^ to impregnate .cha lk .w ith vitriolic, aofdj thus,
fo rm in g gypfum; The, St E. p a rt^ ^ lS p a in ? ff^ p i^ e q .u a l^ |^ c ^ r^ o u f,.
and- th u cathedral ©f1 Murcia/; i«<Enfff>'/whh.pifo'%e, a fort; o f fneeftqne,
B&ifefehk-ng the^jpoe-’o f >.But nfe&f^&pe de.Gata, th e hills* muft be.
granitic, *a’s -a .kind; o f av en tu rin e b ro u g h t1 jfe©-m^itha.t| ^ |r/i^^emo.nr-
ftrates. -
|,-*Spain contains m any fetefts-j.-paAly *rfflpg;;fr®m the* w an t c^culfiva-
ttbh, partly Ueferved for. tjhgRioysUpJfe^lIu^ pfetbjes chaigeiuasjihat the-
Pardo, which, extends near th irty <milfs an length fffoipe q f ,t>%»fprefts
are haunted,>hy, fmugglers, and b an d itti, who raife, contributions from,
fh e u nw a ry travellers» ;and even murders ..axe, notjunfog^uen-t» „.j.
Although th e g re a t promontory weft o f t he Pyrennean mountain? is-
divided,-by' its" political interefts, into the independents ge^efinments o f
Spam and P o rtu g a l^ yet; th e >difiritpUan;- off the. ’differentjgipcl^ <of foil»
and natural produfits, is^To^ittie;; conformable to th e ,; territorial/ di-
s d& n ,/th a t an,account o f th e botany of-eit-her-country m,uft,neceffarily
include the g re a t outlinesi o f th e othe$; it wilhtherefore faye, much re -
peffffbm to y unite; the; two,kingdoms in. a,generah fketch. qf,-the botany
o f th e whole promontory...
‘ Spain» including, by this term. the-;whole country weft o f the Py-»-
rennees, m a y he divided according to its botany, in% the feaffhore; thee
h ig h m o u n ta in s;. th e low e r ones ; the arable' lands j„ the grazingf;tra6t$.
aniinaarfhes ■al'png th d liv e rs-p an d ’.the vicinity. ©^ L i^ pm and,Qp.©^^.,
T h e fea-ihore of/Spaan p re fen tS sfey ^ ..pfeOul%ritiesfth an the interior.';;
refembling for, th e moft part in itg- vegetable produ£iiqnsr.thg northernj
coafts- o f the M e d ite r ra n e a n tiie ^ fla t fandy- Qj^hpied by, th e ;
pancratium, majattmum,'- fea , feftuca, maritima,.'and-- e]ymus
caput medufas, two coarfe kinds o f g r a f s ;' falicornia- fruticofa, Jh ru b b y'
g lq /iw o rti, and. felfola foda; and f a t i v a o f th e lafl; of. $heffe .there-are.ex^
M
M ountain s;
Forefii«-
Botanjy -
V O L . I . tenfive