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tion aiid rolling.
Thefe obfervations, amougfr others loo tedious to enumerate, have led me to fuppofe,
that this valley may be reckoned as one of thoic which owe their origin to the laft retreat
of the waters of the fea. which had previouay formed in this fpot an extenflve gtüph, terminated
by the calcareous mountams which outwardly border the fandy valley. Thi.
foppofition indeed appears to be folly demonflrated by the various fpeeies of foffils contained
in the flrata of the hills of tlie inner valley.
The indination of thefe beds, and the high Itate of prefer.atlon in which I found the
.^ajor part of the ihclls, which lie in heaps and nearly aU flat in the upper ftratum, convinced
me likewife that the waters in their laft retreat retired flow and gradual, and not
violently and precipitately, as foine natiualifls have imagined.
It is therefore my opinion, that this valley does not owe :its formation to the torrent
which croflts it at prefent, its velocity and weight not appearing adequate to the cfFeft ;
but, on the conü-a.7, I firmly believe it to have been formed by the laft retreat of the waters
of tîie fea, part of which, having been probably retained in fome of the moft elevated
valleys of this branch of the Alps, have, in proccfs of time, by tlieir inccfTant weight and
preiTurc, cauied the calcareous walls, which fen-ed them as a dyke or barrier, to give way,
thofe mountains not having then acquired titeir prefent ilate of confiflence. That, in confequence
of thofe torrents having broken their boundarj', ^nd precipitating themfclves into
lakes beneath them, they naturally canfed fimiiar cfFcfts, by the progreffive increafe of their
weight and volume, hurling in this débâcle whatever intercepted their palTage, as trees,
ftones, ihells. &e. depofiting them afterwards, in the confufed flate we now find them, on
the hills which lay in their way. and likewifc in the valleys deepened by ü.e impetnofity
of their current prior to their reaching the fea. As it is to this lafl tremendous event, that
I attribute the excavation of this fandy valley, and others fiinilar to this, I thought it
I remarked, as I drew near the fouthern extremity of the valley, tliat the fandy hills
united imperceptibly on this fide, as on that of Efcarene, to others of fand-ftonc intermixed
witli marl, which are well cultivated, and wooded to tlie top.
The fmall hamlet of Trinità, confifiing of a few fcattered habitations romantically
fitiiated at the foot of feveral fertile and pleafant hills, was the next place I airived at after
leaving tliis pafs.
The nucleus of thefe hills fecmed to be a kind of porous lapis moUaris, or mill-ilone.
Three miles fi-om hence, near tlie village of Drap, I again joined the Paglion, which I
had before quitted at the entrance of the fandy valley, as it there takes a direition betwixt
the fandy hills and calcareous mountains which lie towards the eaft. The country at once
opens to the view, and difcovers rich and beautifiil feenery; for here the orange and lemon
trees begin to grow promifcuouily with the olive. Continuing my route along the right
fide of the road, on the banks of the Paglion, I foon found myfelf under the neceffity of
fording it, the difficulty of reftraining its courfe having till then prevented the poffibility
of ereaing a bridge acrofe that part of the river. I had obferved, during this Ihort paflage,
the entrance of feveral fertile and well cultivated valleys, fituated towards the nordi-weit.
Soon after my arrival at Nice, I learnt tliat they were all noted for the excellence of their
fruits and wine, but more particularly thofe of Contes and St. Andrea; and, as I forded the
river neariy oppofite to the latter, I fiiail confine myfelf to the defcription of tills charming
but folitary fpoL
The direAion of this valley tends from north to fouth. Its extent about fix miles, and
diflance from Nice five. The mounlains which furround it are calcareous. The northern
part of the valley is neariy filled or blocked up witli pieces of granite, and other fpeeies of
primitive ftones, which, though of immenfe fize, have their furface poliihed.
The greateft part of thefe rocks, which are foreign to the foil of the valley, are in many
places covered by ilrata of fand-ilone, fimiiar to thofe which terminate the northern and
fouthem fides of the fandy valley in the neighbom-hood of Efcarene. Thefe ftonea have
however more coherency than the former, though lefs elevated, but contain the fame kind
of foflils and pierre roulées, or pebbles.
How and in what manner thefe maflTcs of granite and fand-ftone, fo totally different
from the foil on which they fland, have been thus piled one above tlie other, or pulhed
II' ' 1