. A regional geography of the world, with diagrams and entirely new maps . o south-west, but difficult at right angles to the valleys, i,e. fromnorth-west to south-east. Being composed of limestone,many parts of the Juras exhibit karst characteristics, withwhich we are already familiar. In other parts theyare forested, whilst in others cultivation extends to thesummits. (ii) The Alps.—These mountains are great folds ofthe earths crust, probably caused by thrusts from thesouth-east which caused the rocks to buckle, crumple, orfold, and since the ancient plateau core of central Franceon the west
. A regional geography of the world, with diagrams and entirely new maps . o south-west, but difficult at right angles to the valleys, i,e. fromnorth-west to south-east. Being composed of limestone,many parts of the Juras exhibit karst characteristics, withwhich we are already familiar. In other parts theyare forested, whilst in others cultivation extends to thesummits. (ii) The Alps.—These mountains are great folds ofthe earths crust, probably caused by thrusts from thesouth-east which caused the rocks to buckle, crumple, orfold, and since the ancient plateau core of central Franceon the west, and of similar areas to the north, actedas centres of resistance, the folds were compelled toassume their graceful sweep from Genoa to highest central ridges are composed of old, hard,crystalline rocks, granite, which make imposingridges and peaks; but younger sedimentary rocks, ^.^.limestone, appear on the flanks of the older rocks. Itis worthy of note that where the Alps arc highest, /. e,in the region of Mont Blanc, they are narrowest, whilst «^#. 240 EUROPE towards the east where they are lowest they are alsowidest. Most of the Alpine lakes are located where the valleysopen from the mountains. Thus along the northernmargins are Zug, Lucerne and Thun, and in a similarposition in the south, Maggiore, Lugano, Como andGarda. All these lakes are long and narrow and fillmoraine dammed valleys, which formerly containedglaciers. (iii) The Central Plateau.—On their southern marginsthe Alps rise abruptly from the plain of Lombardy, butto the north they give way to a plateau foreland stretch-ing from south-west to north-east. This plateau, whosealtitude varies from i,ooo to 3,000 feet, is largely com-posed of sandstone and is not very fertile, except wherethere are glacial or loess deposits. The general slopeis indicated by the direction taken by the rivers (Aar,Reuss, etc.), which flow north-westwards to the base ofthe Juras, where they unite to form the Aar. C
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectgeography, bookyear19
