sizes, much resembling the German gneiss. The direction of those strata appeared to
be nearly vertical, or perpendicular to the horizon, though every-where parallel to
each other.
No sooner had I left this village, than I began to hear a loud noise of water falling
among rocks ; and, ere I had proceeded much further, discovered a beautiful cascade,
precipitating itself perpendicularly from the summit of a stupendous mountain, which
was on my right, about four hundred and sixty-two feet high. This water-fall, called
by the people of the country Pisse-vache, and formed by the river Sallanches, seems to
bear visible marks of having originally fallen from a much greater height, or about
seven hundred feet, if we judge from the elevation of the lateral mountains which form
the gorge through which the waters throw themselves, and which, according to appearances,
seems to have been formed by their continual attrition. This supposition appears
probable, from the quantity of rubbish and fragments detached from the same mountains,
which now lies at the foot of the fall, and forms a hill of DO inconsiderable height.
The structure of the mountain, from which the water falls in a straight direction, is of
similar species to the one near Juviana, with only this difference, that the strata are less
inclined, and the colour of the stone darker; but as the water throws itself from such
an extreme height, a great part is converted into vapour ere it reaches the bottom} and
I have even remarked, without any considerable wind, the spray of the water thrown
back, as it were, on the summit again, in the form of a cloud. At sun-rise there is
always a rainbow at the foot of the fall, and indeed oftentimes two, or a double rainbow,
of the most beautiful and lively tints,—a phenomenon doubtless owing to the great
proximity of the aqueous globules, which reflect the beams of the sun so near the eye
of the spectator.
This spot, to a studious or sentimental observer, becomes particularly interesting,
and, from being solitary, naturally encourages the mind to meditate,—for there it may
surely enjoy undisturbed calmness and serenity, unless aroused by the melancholy,
though pleasing noise of the water. Yet to those who may not be equally disposed to
admire such tranquil sensations, I recommend it as a place, above all others, calculated
for the lithologist, or inquisitive traveler, from its proximity to the bed of the Rhône,
which flows at no great distance. There he will not only find most of the productions
of the High Alps, but be with ease enabled to minutely examine the various stupendous
and abrupt mountains which screen the valley in an extent of seven or eight miles.
135
At one league from Pisse-vache I passed the torrent of Eaunoire, or Triant, on a stone
bridge thrown across this torrent, which takes its source in a glacier of the same name ;
but the mountains which were on my right had wonderfully changed in species since
my leaving the spot. At first they exhibited a kind of schistus, or rather horn-stone ;
afterwards thick strata of pudding-stone, of the primitive order ; and then micaceous
schistus, with vertical strata, which did not effcrvesce with acids ; lastly, contiguous to
the above bridge, I perceived an abrupt mountain of a most curious kind of sand-stone,
of a deep grey colour, containing mica and a few particles of quartz : but what was
more remarkable, were the several fragments or pieces of granite, in a concrete state,
as well as schistus, horn-stone, and argil, which I found in it. To this succeeded another,
resembling very much the one near Pisse-vache, except that its colour was lighter,
and that it apparently contained a larger quantity of mica and feldspath. The torrent
of Eaunoire, before flowing through the bridge, rushes with extreme impetuosity from a
wide and deep fissure effected between two rocks, which appear originally to have
made only one, but which has been separated by some local convulsion of the earth.
The water, being thus so closely contracted, makes here a most terrific noise ; which,
added to the abrupt, and I may almost say the naked appearance of the rocks, where
only a few scattered firs and pieces of moss exhibit themselves to the eye, give tlie spot
a wild and tremendous appearance. These rocks may still be considered as being a
species of gneiss, containing a great quantity of petro-silex, not unlike the mountain of
Pisse-vache, though its strata are larger and more marked, and its veins of quartz thicker
and more distinct. To these succeeds one of a kind of porphyry, in which is felspar,
hornblende, trap, and argil ; then come different beds of schisti, which stretch nearly as
tar as Martignie. At the distance of about two miles and a half from tlie former rock, I
crossed, on a wooden bridge, the Drance, a river which takes its source at the summit
of the Great St. Bernard j and there saw, with concern, that this river, in junction with
the Eaunoire, frequently occasions very considerable damage to the inhabitants of the
country, although the government has done every thing to prevent it, but without effect.
The extreme velocity of those torrents, as well as the uncertainty, of their beds, renders
almost every preventive useless. On the opposite side of the bridge stands the small
village of Basthia, built on the side of an abrupt mountain, composed of a blackish calcareous
stratum, striated with white spath ; and on the summit of the same mountain is
an ancient tower, by many imagined to have been erected by the Romans, though more
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