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The country from hence is extremely irregular; but the road is good, and the
descent of the above mountain by no means so steep as on the side towards Lyons.
ITiis deception is in fact so great, that travelers, who have never before passed this
route, naturally expect to find, from having for miles so rapidly ascended, a proportionate
descent on the opposite side: on the contrary, the road continues nearly on a
level the whole way to Nantua; or, at Jeast, the declivity does not exceed eighty-six
feet for the space of twelve miles; for the town of Nantua stands one thousand four
hundred and forty feet above the level of the sea, and the summit of the mountain one
thousand five hundred and twenty-six,—a difference which can appear singular only to
those who have not previously visited the Alps, or who do not reflect, that though the
hills of Cerdon are at one hundred miles distance, at least, from the summit of that grand
primordial chain, it is nevertheless certain that they may be esteemed, as I have before
stated, the first steps towards it. Though I am still clearly of opinion, as when
speaking of the different widths of the basis of that extensive chain {vide " Maritime
Alps," page 41), that they do not extend to so considerable a distance from their summit
on its eastern side as on its western.
The nearer I got to Nantua, the more conspicuous was the gradual rise of the mountains
which skirted the road, and terminated my horizon on the east. On a closer
investigation, their strata, which were infinitely more distinct than any I had met with
since my departure from Lyons, appeared to incline towards the north; which inclination
became still more visible in the neighbourhood of St. Martin, a village three miles
on this side Nantua j for the abrupt mountain on my left exhibited so great an inclination
in the strata, that they literally seemed to extend or lengthen under the lake
of Nantua.
This lake, which takes its name from the town, is only five miles in circumference,
but is well stocked with fish, and of vast depth of water, which is in general the case
with all lakes in or contiguous to the Alps. The mountains which surround this lake
are calcareous, but do not all equally contain fossils, there being several in which
there are not any; and there are very few in those which screen its southern
extremity.
I continued, from the village of St. Martin, along the delightful banks of the lake,
on a kind of causeway, serving to. check or bar the sudden rise of the water at the
melting of the snow. TThis rise is then so rapid and considerable, that inundations
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would doubtless be frequent in various parts of the country, and would lay the
adjacent towns and villages under water, were it not for two or three bridges, which
have been very effectually constructed, and, I may add, most judiciously so, by the
person who superintended those works; and the water, at present, is seldom known
to rise above two feet at ifs greatest swell. The arches, acting as a kind of drain,
direct its course towards some swampy lands or fens, situated at the western side
of the bank, into which it throws itself with violence, and thus, by overflowing them
entirely, forms another lake of about three miles in circumference.
Having, for another mile, followed the banks of the lake of Nantua, I took an
easteriy direction, and reached the foot of a very romantic cascade, which falls from
the summit of a mountain that screens the lake at its northern extremity.
Tliis water-fall is very singular; for, instead of precipitating its water rapidly from
the top of the mountain, it filtrates, and comes out from between its strata, at about two
thirds of its elevation, and with a noise so considerable, as to be heard on the opposite
side of the lake.
Doubting whether the water really proceeded from between the strata, I had the
curiosity, in my second excursion to Nantua, to scramble to the top of the mountain
which commands the fall, in order to ascertain the fact, and find out its source. There
I soon convinced myself that the water proceeded from a small lake, which I could
easily distinguish, and which, though five hundred feet above that of Nantua, appeared
to lie in a hollow; so that its water, having no other way of draining off" than by this
kind of filtration, naturally produced the above-mentioned effect, which is well worthy
of the traveler's attention, and may lead to the explanation of similar phzenomena in
the arrangements of Nature.
Tlie road here again becomes very rural and picturesque, sometimes leading along
the windings of the lake, whose tranquil surface and pellucid water form a most
pleasing object, contrasted with the distant but incessant noise of the cascade, reverberated
by rocks and mountains. The tops of these, mostly covered with dark pines,
are often lost in the clouds, but display on their abrupt and arid sides such irregular
and chamfreted strata, as, from their craggy projections, and the vast heap of rubbish
which cover their bases, appear to have been insensibly forced to yield to the ruthless
hand of time—the whole forming one of the most solitary and romantic spots of the
primordial chain.