42 GUIDE TO ICELAND. elevated barren plateau, having an altitude varying from 1,000 to 1,500 feet, studded with detached mountain masses, varying greatly in height up to nearly 6,000 feet. Many of these moun- tains are ice-clad, and evidently a very old formation, while others are of volcanic origin at a quite recent date. The coastal regions of the south-east, east, north and north-west, are far more elevated than the plateau of the interior, and consist mainly of semi- detached mountain masses varying hut little in altitude, about 2,000 feet, with here and there tracts far more mountainous and much broken up, where similar masses have been tilted aside, the upheaved portions raised to a greater altitude than the summits of their fellows, as also is the case where other masses have been bodily uplifted, while in some places masses lie lower, having apparently subsided. There are also low-lying tracts between these mountain regions composed of glacial detritus and alluvial deposits resting upon sheets of igneous rock that have coursed down from a vol- canic outlet, or outlets, in the interior in post-tertiary times. The major part of the mountain masses on the coast, and the larger ice-clad JoTclar in the interior, are built up of vast horizontal sheets of igneous rock—basaltic and other lavas, tuffs and conglomerates; and, in the author’s opinion, are an older formation than the existing inland plateau and other less elevated parts of the island; portions, in all probability, of one of the basaltic plateaux of north-western Europe, which prior to the disturbances of the glacial epoch, there is reason to believe, extended far into the Arctic Sea. Professor Geikie is of opinion that the Faroes and part of Iceland are sur- viving fragments of this formation; and from the author’s exami- nations of the rock formations of these islands, he is convinced there is almost irrefragable proof of the fact. The Faroes cor- respond so closely, as to stratification and altitude, with the moun- tainous masses of the older formation in Iceland, that there can he no doubt as to their being coeval. There is no dearth of evidence that the mountainous portions of the north and east coasts are of far older formation than the inland plateau, nor that the low-lying portions of the coast and many of the higher volcanic mountains, and several of the ice-clad heights, are coeval in formation with the interior. The author has in various places, from Sey>SisfjQr>8>r on the east to the south of the north-west peninsula, examined the upper strata of the flat-topped mountain masses on the north coast, and they do not correspond with those of the existing inland plateau, the former having con- glomerate and tuff strata alternating with basaltic and other lavas

(1) Front Board
(2) Front Board
(3) Front Flyleaf
(4) Front Flyleaf
(5) Page [1]
(6) Page [2]
(7) Page [3]
(8) Page [4]
(9) Page [5]
(10) Page [6]
(11) Page [7]
(12) Page [8]
(13) Illustration
(14) Illustration
(15) Page [9]
(16) Page [10]
(17) Page [11]
(18) Page [12]
(19) Page [13]
(20) Page [14]
(21) Page 1
(22) Page 2
(23) Page 3
(24) Page 4
(25) Page 5
(26) Page 6
(27) Page 7
(28) Page 8
(29) Page 9
(30) Page 10
(31) Page 11
(32) Page 12
(33) Page 13
(34) Page 14
(35) Page 15
(36) Page 16
(37) Page 17
(38) Page 18
(39) Page 19
(40) Page 20
(41) Page 21
(42) Page 22
(43) Page 23
(44) Page 24
(45) Page 25
(46) Page 26
(47) Page 27
(48) Page 28
(49) Page 29
(50) Page 30
(51) Page 31
(52) Page 32
(53) Page 33
(54) Page 34
(55) Page 35
(56) Page 36
(57) Page 37
(58) Page 38
(59) Page 39
(60) Page 40
(61) Page 41
(62) Page 42
(63) Page 43
(64) Page 44
(65) Page 45
(66) Page 46
(67) Page 47
(68) Page 48
(69) Page 49
(70) Page 50
(71) Page 51
(72) Page 52
(73) Page 53
(74) Page 54
(75) Page 55
(76) Page 56
(77) Page 57
(78) Page 58
(79) Page 59
(80) Page 60
(81) Page 61
(82) Page 62
(83) Page 63
(84) Page 64
(85) Page 65
(86) Page 66
(87) Page 67
(88) Page 68
(89) Page 69
(90) Page 70
(91) Page 71
(92) Page 72
(93) Page 73
(94) Page 74
(95) Page 75
(96) Page 76
(97) Page 77
(98) Page 78
(99) Page 79
(100) Page 80
(101) Page 81
(102) Page 82
(103) Page 83
(104) Page 84
(105) Page 85
(106) Page 86
(107) Page 87
(108) Page 88
(109) Page 89
(110) Page 90
(111) Page 91
(112) Page 92
(113) Page 93
(114) Page 94
(115) Page 95
(116) Page 96
(117) Page 97
(118) Page 98
(119) Page 99
(120) Page 100
(121) Page 101
(122) Page 102
(123) Page 103
(124) Page 104
(125) Page 105
(126) Page 106
(127) Page 107
(128) Page 108
(129) Page 109
(130) Page 110
(131) Page 111
(132) Page 112
(133) Page 113
(134) Page 114
(135) Page 115
(136) Page 116
(137) Page 117
(138) Page 118
(139) Page 119
(140) Page 120
(141) Page 121
(142) Page 122
(143) Page 123
(144) Page 124
(145) Page 125
(146) Page 126
(147) Page 127
(148) Page 128
(149) Page 129
(150) Page 130
(151) Page 131
(152) Page 132
(153) Page 133
(154) Page 134
(155) Page 135
(156) Page 136
(157) Page 137
(158) Page 138
(159) Page 139
(160) Page 140
(161) Page 141
(162) Page 142
(163) Page 143
(164) Page 144
(165) Page 145
(166) Page 146
(167) Page 147
(168) Page 148
(169) Page 149
(170) Page 150
(171) Page 151
(172) Page 152
(173) Page 153
(174) Page 154
(175) Page 155
(176) Page 156
(177) Page 157
(178) Page 158
(179) Page 159
(180) Page 160
(181) Page 161
(182) Page 162
(183) Page 163
(184) Page 164
(185) Page 165
(186) Page 166
(187) Page 167
(188) Page 168
(189) Page 169
(190) Page 170
(191) Page 171
(192) Page 172
(193) Page 173
(194) Page 174
(195) Page 175
(196) Page 176
(197) Page 177
(198) Page 178
(199) Page 179
(200) Page 180
(201) Page 181
(202) Page 182
(203) Page 183
(204) Page 184
(205) Page [1]
(206) Page [2]
(207) Page [3]
(208) Page [4]
(209) Page [5]
(210) Page [6]
(211) Page [7]
(212) Page [8]
(213) Rear Flyleaf
(214) Rear Flyleaf
(215) Rear Board
(216) Rear Board
(217) Spine
(218) Fore Edge
(219) Scale
(220) Color Palette