During the earthquakes of 1819 while part of the Runn of Cutch, 2000 square miles in area, sunk several feet, a ridge of land, called by the natives the Ulla-Bund or "the wall of God," thirty miles long, and in parts sixteen miles wide, was raised across an ancient arm of the Indus, and turned it temporarily into a lake. In considering the great Italian lakes, which descend far below the sea level, we must remember that the Valley of the Po is a continuation of the Adriatic, now filled up and converted into land, by the materials brought down from the Alps. Hence we are tempted to ask whether the lakes may not be remains of the ancient sea which once occupied the whole plain. Moreover just as the Seals of Lake Baikal in Siberia carry us back to the time when that great sheet of fresh water was in connection with the Arctic Ocean, so there is in the character of the Fauna of the Italian lakes, and especially the presence of a Crab in the Lake of Garda, some confirmation of such an idea. Further evidence, however, is necessary before these interesting questions can be definitely answered. Lastly, some lakes and inland seas seem to be due to even greater cosmical causes. Thus a line inclined ten degrees to the pole beginning at Gibraltar would pass through a great chain of inland waters--the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caspian, Aral, Baikal, and back again through the great American lakes. But though many causes have contributed to the original formation and direction of Valleys, their present condition is mainly due to the action of water. When we contemplate such a valley, for example, as that which is called _par excellence_ the "Valais," we can at first hardly bring ourselves to realise this; but we can trace up valleys, from the little water-course made by last night's rains up to the greatest valleys of all. These considerations, however, do not of course apply to such depressions as those of the great oceans. These were probably formed when the surface of the globe began to solidify, and, though with many modifications, have maintained their main features ever since. ON THE CONFIGURATION OF VALLEYS The conditions thus briefly described repeat themselves in river after river, valley after valley, and it adds, I think, very much to the interest with which we regard them if, by studying the general causes to which they are due, we can explain their origin, and thus to some extent understand the story they have to tell us, and the history they record.