Rochester, N.Y.
SCENES AMONG THE EXTINCT VOLCANOES OF RHINELAND.
In the province of the Rhine there is a range of mountains, including several extinct volcanoes, which offer grand and beautiful scenery and every opportunity for geological study, leading the mind back to the early ages of the earth.
Let us take an imaginary trip through this region, starting on our wanderings from the Rhine, where it breaks through the vine-clad slate mountains of the Westerwald and the Eifel. A short distance above the mouth of the Ahr we leave its banks, turning to the west, and entering the mountains at the village of Nieder Breisig. A pretty valley leads us up through orchards and meadows. The lower hills are covered with vineyards and the mountains with a dense growth of bushes, so that we do not obtain an extended view until we reach an elevated ridge.
DISTANT VIEW OF THE VOLCANIC PORTION OF THE EIFEL, TAKEN FROM THE HEIGHTS OF THE SCHNEIFEL.
The valley of the Rhine lies far below us, but the glittering surface of the river, with the little towns, the castles and villas and the gardens and vineyards on its banks are still visible, while in the background the mountains of the Westerwald have risen above the hills on the river. This range stretches out into a long wooded ridge crowned by cone-shaped peaks of basalt. To the northwest of this lies Siebengebirge, with its numerous domes and pinnacles, making a grand picture veiled in the blue mist of distance. On the opposite side we have a very different view of curious dome and cone shaped summits surrounded by undulating plateaus or descending into deep ravines and gorges. It is the western part of the volcanic region of Rhineland which lies before us, and in the center of which is the Laachersee or lake of Laach. The origin of these volcanoes is not as remote as many suppose, but their activity must have continued for a comparatively long period, judging from the extent of their lava beds.
THE SHORES OF LAACHERSEE.