Ice-Caves of France and SwitzerlandBrowne, G. F. (George Forrest)
Science
Ice-Caves of France and Switzerland
Browne, G. F. (George Forrest)
Ice caves
The cave proper, which assumes stupendous dimensions in its long course,
shows no ice. It seems to be formed in the Muschelkalk of the Trias
formation, and so far no limestone stalactites have been discovered. It
has not, however, as yet been fully explored. The editor of the
proceedings of the Austrian Alpine Club gives a reference to Scheiner,
'_Ausflug nach der Höhle der Frauenmauer,' (Steiermarkische Zeitschrift,
neue Folge_, i. 2, 1834, p. 3.)
At Latzenberg, near Weissenstein in Carniola, there is another ice-cave,
described by Rosenmüller.[125] It is entered by a long dark passage in
which are pillars of ice arranged like the pipes of an organ, varying
from the thickness of a man's body to the size of a straw. All these are
said to melt in winter. Farther on are two other passages, one of which
passes upwards over _Stufe_, and is coated in summer with ice; the other
has not been explored.
Near Glaneck in the Untersberg, not far from Salzburg, is a cave called
the Kolowrathöhle, of which a description is given by Gümbel in his
great geological work on the Bavarian Alps.[126] It is a spacious
cavern, opening in a steep wall of rock above the _Rositenschlucht_
between the Platten and _Dachstein-kalk._[127] An ice-current rushes
from within, and ice is found on the threshold, becoming more prevalent
in the farther recesses of the cave. The lower parts are tolerably
roomy, and masses of ice of various shapes are found piled one upon
another, lighting up with magical effect when torches are brought to
bear upon them. Gümbel believes that the cold currents which stream into
the cave from the numerous fissures in its walls are the cause of the
ice; and though this is the only known ice-cave far and near, he
imagines that the icy-currents which are frequently met with in that
district, and in the _Hochgebirge_, would be found to proceed in reality
from like caves, if the fissures from which they blow could be
penetrated.
Behrens[128] describes two ice-caves near Questenberg, in the county of
Stollberg, on the Harz mountains. They both occur in limestone, and are
known as the Great and Little Ice-holes. The one is close to the village
of Questenberg, and consists of a chasm several fathoms deep, so cold
that in summer the water trickling down its edges is frozen into long
icicles. The opening is large and faces due south, and yet the hotter
the day the more ice is found; whereas in winter a warm steam comes out,
as if from a stove. The other cave is farther into the mountain; it is
spacious and light, and very cold in summer.
In Gehler's _Physik. Wörterbuch_ (Art Höhle), a small hole is mentioned
near Dôle, which is said to be remarkable for the large and
curiously-shaped icicles found there; but no sufficient account of it
seems to have been given.
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