. Battlefields of the World War, western and southern fronts; a study in military geography . nds of this region and then compare the plainitself with the chalk plain of the Somme country. When seen from a distance the escarpment of the Marne pla-teau appears as an even-crested slope, its steep upper portionusually covered with trees while the gentler declivities below areplanted with vineyards (Fig. 73). The evenness of the crest, dueto the level character of the upland surface, robs it of some of itsimpressiveness; yet it rises from 400 to 600 feet above the level THE CHAMPAGNE 253 of the pl
. Battlefields of the World War, western and southern fronts; a study in military geography . nds of this region and then compare the plainitself with the chalk plain of the Somme country. When seen from a distance the escarpment of the Marne pla-teau appears as an even-crested slope, its steep upper portionusually covered with trees while the gentler declivities below areplanted with vineyards (Fig. 73). The evenness of the crest, dueto the level character of the upland surface, robs it of some of itsimpressiveness; yet it rises from 400 to 600 feet above the level THE CHAMPAGNE 253 of the plain. Because the surface cap rocks were beveled acrossby erosion (p. 226), different layers form the crest at differentplaces, giving some variety of aspect; and because the rocks arewarped into shallow folds and unevenly attacked by the under-mining processes of erosion, the escarpment shows deep re-entrants and projecting salients, the re-entrants often coincidingwith the shallow down-folds, or synclines, the salients with theup-folds, or anticlines. This emphasizes the character of the. Fig. 73—Escarpment of the Marne plateau south of Epernay as seen from theplain of Champagne. The steep upper slopes on the calcareous cap rock arewooded, the lower slopes on the underlying sand and chalk formations are coveredwith vineyards. plateau as a natural fortress, in which projecting bastions alter-nate with re-entrant curtains (Fig. 62). Of the bastions theMountain of Rheims is the highest and the farthest advanced intothe plain, while in the well-defined curtains on the north andsouth are located the cities of Rheims and Epernay. Because ofits fortress form and because of the magnificent observation farout over the plain from its summit, the escarpment is a militaryobstacle of much significance. Outliers of the plateau, in the form of buttes or mesas, are lessnumerous and less striking than on the borders of the Laonnoisto the northwest. Yet they are not unknown and possess a high
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectworldwar19141918
