The "Beagle" sailed round Chatham Island, and anchored in several
bays. One night I slept on shore on a part of the island where
black truncated cones were extraordinarily numerous: from one small
eminence I counted sixty of them, all surmounted by craters more or
less perfect. The greater number consisted merely of a ring of red
scoriae or slags cemented together: and their height above the
plain of lava was not more than from fifty to a hundred feet: none
had been very lately active. The entire surface of this part of the
island seems to have been permeated, like a sieve, by the
subterranean vapours: here and there the lava, whilst soft, has
been blown into great bubbles; and in other parts, the tops of
caverns similarly formed have fallen in, leaving circular pits with
steep sides. From the regular form of the many craters, they gave
to the country an artificial appearance, which vividly reminded me
of those parts of Staffordshire where the great iron-foundries are
most numerous. The day was glowing hot, and the scrambling over the
rough surface and through the intricate thickets was very
fatiguing; but I was well repaid by the strange Cyclopean scene.
Pages:
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731