A yacht voyage . adifferent level, with those on the face opposite, so cleanlywere they separated. 2. Is the sea of lava now lying on the top of the origi-nal surface. Its depth I had no means of ascertaining. 3. Is the level of the surface first formed when the lavawas still hot. 4. Is the plain of Thingvalla, eight miles broad, its sur-face shattered into a network of innumerable crevices andfissures fifty or sixty feet deep, and each wide enough to haps serve to convey to the unlearned reader, for whose amusement(not instruction) these letters are intended, the impression conveyedto my mind
A yacht voyage . adifferent level, with those on the face opposite, so cleanlywere they separated. 2. Is the sea of lava now lying on the top of the origi-nal surface. Its depth I had no means of ascertaining. 3. Is the level of the surface first formed when the lavawas still hot. 4. Is the plain of Thingvalla, eight miles broad, its sur-face shattered into a network of innumerable crevices andfissures fifty or sixty feet deep, and each wide enough to haps serve to convey to the unlearned reader, for whose amusement(not instruction) these letters are intended, the impression conveyedto my mind by what I saw, and so help out the picture I am trying tofill in for him. 1 Almanna may be translated main ; it means literally all men**;when applied to a road, it would mean the road along which all theworld travel. VII.] PLAIN OP THING VALLA. 59 have swallowed the entire company of Korah. At thefoot of the plain lies a vast lake, into which, indeed, itmay be said to slope, with a gradual inclination from the. *n tfeiisi ysifrx^ I Plain of Thing valla3 Lava plateau. 5 Rabna Gja. 2 Lake. 4 Almanna Gja. north, the imprisoned waters having burst up through thelava strata, as it subsided beneath them. Gazing downthrough their emerald depths, you can still follow the pat-tern traced on the surface of the bottom, by cracks andchasms similar to those into which the dry portion ofThingvalla has been shivered. The accompanying ground plan will, I trust, completewhat is wanting to fill up the picture I so long to conjureup before the minds eye. It is the last card I have toplay, and, if unsuccessful, I must give up the task in des-pair. 60 LETTERS FROM HIGH LATITUDES. [VII. But to return to where I left myself, on the edge of thecliff, gazing down with astonished eyes over the panoramaof land and water embedded at my feet. I could scarcelyspeak for pleasure and surprise; Fitz was equally takenaback, and as for Wilson, he looked as if he thought wehad arrived at the end of the world. A
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Keywords: ., bookauthordufferin, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookyear1890
