We Rode Up Precipitous Paths Edging Upon Deep Chasms Between
These Conical Hills, And Emerged Upon Metamorphous Rocks And Shale
Mingled In Curious Irregularity.
The strata of shale were in some
instances nearly vertical, proving the disturbance that had been
occasioned by a subsequent upheaval.
About 200 feet above this formation
we entered upon the dark grey jurassic limestone, and the soil became a
rich red like that of South Devon. The rock scenery was very imposing as
we increased our altitude and arrived upon plateaux of considerable
extent. There can be no doubt that these natural terrace-like surfaces
and various hollows accumulate the rainfall of a great area, and that
some vast subterranean caverns in the limestone form natural reservoirs,
which supply the celebrated springs of Kythrea throughout the year."
I believe these few words contain the real secret of the springs, which
have been, and still are, considered to have a mysterious origin. Some
people indulge in the theory that the water is forced by hydraulic
pressure at the superior altitude of Caramania in Asia Minor, and
passing by a subterranean conduit far beneath the bottom of the
intervening channel, it ascends at the peculiar rock-mouth of Kythrea.
This is simple nonsense, and can only be accepted by those who adore the
unreal, instead of the guide, "common-sense." The actual volume of the
outflow at Kythrea has never been calculated, although the problem is
most simple; but a cursory examination is sufficient to explain the
origin of the supply which a certain superficial mountain area collects
and stores during the rainy seasons:
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