. Unexplored Spain. Hunting; Natural history. CHAPTER IV. THE GOTO DONANA NOTES ON ITS PHYSICAL FORMATION, FAUNA, AND RED DEER V The great river Guadalquivir, divid- :;. ing in its oblique course seawards V; into double channels and finally swerving, as though reluctant to lose all identity in the infinite Atlantic, practically cuts off from the Spanish mainland a triangular region, some forty miles of waste and wilderness, an isolated desert, singular as it is beautiful, which we now endeavour to describe. This, from our having for many years held the rights of chase, we can at least undertak
. Unexplored Spain. Hunting; Natural history. CHAPTER IV. THE GOTO DONANA NOTES ON ITS PHYSICAL FORMATION, FAUNA, AND RED DEER V The great river Guadalquivir, divid- :;. ing in its oblique course seawards V; into double channels and finally swerving, as though reluctant to lose all identity in the infinite Atlantic, practically cuts off from the Spanish mainland a triangular region, some forty miles of waste and wilderness, an isolated desert, singular as it is beautiful, which we now endeavour to describe. This, from our having for many years held the rights of chase, we can at least undertake with knowledge and affection. Its precise geological formation 'twere beyond our power, unskilled in that science, to diagnose. But even to untaught eye, the existence of the whole area is obviously due to an age- long conflict waged between two Powers—the great river from within, the greater ocean without. The Guadalquivir, draining the distant mountains of Mordna and full 200 miles of intervening plain, rolls down a tawny flood charged with yellow mud till its colour resembles cafe au lait. Thus proceeds a ceaseless deposit of sediment upon the sea-bed; but the external Power forcibly opposes such infringement of its area. Here the elemental battle is joined. The river has so far prevailed as to have grabbed from the sea many hundred square miles of alluvial plain, that known as the marisma; but at this precise epoch, the Sea- Power appears to have called checkmate by interposing a vast barrier of sand along the whole battle-front. The net result 35. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Chapman, Abel, 1851-1929; Buck, Walter John. joint author. London, E. Arnold
Size: 1491px × 1675px
Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, booksubjecthunting, booksubjectnaturalhistory
