The numerous so-called crater-lakes or maare of the Eifel present several features of interest. They do not, as a rule, lie in true craters at the summit of volcanic cones, but rather in hollows which have been formed by explosions. The most remarkable group is that of Daun, where the three depressions of Gemünd, Weinfeld and Schalkenmehren have been hollowed out in the Lower Devonian strata. The first of these shows no sign of either lavas or scoriae, but volcanic rocks occur on the margins of the other two. The two largest lakes in the Eifel region, however, are the Laacher See in the hills west of Andernach on the Rhine, and the Pulvermaar S.E. of the Daun group, with its shores of peculiar volcanic sand, which also appears in its waters as a black powder (pulver).
EIFFEL TOWER. Erected for the exposition of 1889, the Eiffel Tower, in the Champ de Mars, Paris, is by far the highest artificial structure in the world, and its height of 300 metres (984 ft.) surpasses that of the obelisk at Washington by 429 ft., and that of St Paul’s cathedral by 580 ft. Its framework is composed essentially of four uprights, which rise from the corners of a square measuring 100 metres on the side; thus the area it covers at its base is nearly 2½ acres. These uprights are supported on huge piers of masonry and concrete, the foundations for which were carried down, by the aid of iron caissons and compressed air, to a depth of about 15 metres on the side next the Seine, and about 9 metres on the other side. At first they curve upwards at an angle of 54°; then they gradually become straighter, until they unite in a single shaft rather more than half-way up. The first platform, at a height of 57 metres, has an area of 5860 sq. yds., and is reached either by staircases or lifts. The next, accessible by lifts only, is 115 metres up, and has an area of 32 sq. yds; while the third, at 276, supports a pavilion capable of holding 800 persons. Nearly 25 metres higher up still is the lantern, with a gallery 5 metres in diameter. The work of building this structure, which is mainly composed of iron lattice-work, was begun on the 28th of January 1887, and the full height was reached on the 13th of March 1889. Besides being one of the sights of Paris, to which visitors resort in order to enjoy the extensive view that can be had from its higher galleries on a clear day, the tower is used to some extent for scientific and semi-scientific purposes; thus meteorological observations are carried on. The engineer under whose direction the tower was constructed was Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born at Dijon on the 15th of December 1832), who had already had a wide experience in the construction of large metal bridges, and who designed the huge sluices for the Panama Canal, when it was under the French company.
EILDON HILLS, a group of three conical hills, of volcanic origin, in Roxburghshire, Scotland, 1 m. S. by E. of Melrose, about equidistant from Melrose and St Boswells stations on the North British railway. They were once known as Eldune—the Eldunum of Simeon of Durham (fl. 1130)—probably derived from the Gaelic aill, “rock,” and dun, “hill”; but the name is also said to be a corruption of the Cymric moeldun, “bald hill.” The northern peak is 1327 ft. high, the central 1385 ft. and the southern 1216 ft. Whether or not the Roman station of Trimontium was situated here is matter of controversy. According to General William Roy (1726-1790) Trimontium—so called, according to this theory, from the triple Eildon heights—was Old Melrose; other authorities incline to place the station on the northern shore of the Solway Firth. The Eildons have been the subject of much legendary lore. Michael Scot (1175-1234), acting as a confederate of the Evil One (so the fable runs) cleft Eildon Hill, then a single cone, into the three existing peaks. Another legend states that Arthur and his knights sleep in a vault beneath the Eildons. A third legend centres in Thomas of Erceldoune. The Eildon Tree Stone, a large moss-covered boulder, lying on the high road as it bends towards the west within 2 m. of Melrose, marks the spot where the Fairy Queen led him into her realms in the heart of the hills. Other places associated with this legend may still be identified. Huntly Banks, where “true Thomas” lay and watched the queen’s approach, is half a mile west of the Eildon Tree Stone, and on the west side of the hills is Bogle Burn, a streamlet that feeds the Tweed and probably derives its name from his ghostly visitor. Here, too, is Rhymer’s glen, although the name was invented by Sir Walter Scott, who added the dell to his Abbotsford estate. Bowden, to the south of the hills, was the birthplace of the poets Thomas Aird (1802-1876) and James Thomson, and its parish church contains the burial-place of the dukes of Roxburghe. Eildon Hall is a seat of the duke of Buccleuch.
EILENBURG, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Saxony, on an island formed by the Mulde, 31 m. E. from Halle, at the junction of the railways Halle-Cottbus and Leipzig-Eilenburg. Pop. (1905) 15,145. There are three churches, two Evangelical and one Roman Catholic. The industries of the town include the manufacture of chemicals, cloth, quilting, calico, cigars and agricultural implements, bleaching, dyeing, basket-making, carriage-building and trade in cattle. In the neighbourhood is the iron foundry of Erwinhof. Opposite the town, on the steep left bank of the Mulde, is the castle from which it derives its name, the original seat of the noble family of Eulenburg. This castle (Ilburg) is mentioned in records of the reigns of Henry the Fowler as an important outpost against the Sorbs and Wends. The town itself, originally called Mildenau, is of great antiquity. It is first mentioned as a town in 981, when it belonged to the house of Wettin and was the chief town of the East Mark. In 1386 it was incorporated in the margraviate of Meissen. In 1815 it passed to Prussia.
See Gundermann, Chronik der Stadt Eilenburg (Eilenburg, 1879).
EINBECK, or Eimbeck, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hanover, on the Ilm, 50 m. by rail S. of Hanover. Pop. (1905) 8709. It is an old-fashioned town with many quaint wooden houses, notable among them the “Northeimhaus,” a beautiful specimen of medieval architecture. There are several churches, among them the Alexanderkirche, containing the tombs of the princes of Grubenhagen, and a synagogue. The schools include a Realgymnasium (i.e. predominantly for “modern” subjects), technical schools for the advanced study of machine-making, for weaving and for the textile industries, a preparatory training-college and a police school. The industries include brewing, weaving and the manufacture of cloth, carpets, tobacco, sugar, leather-grease, toys and roofing-felt.