Considered as a whole, the volcanic rocks may be grouped into three distinct formations, which we shall notice in the following order, which is that of their relative antiquity, namely:--1. _Trachytic_; 2. _Basaltic_; 3. _Volcanic or Lava formations_. [Illustration: Fig. 4.--A peak of the Cantal chain.] TRACHYTIC FORMATIONS. _Trachyte_ (derived from τραχυς, rough), having a coarse, cellular appearance, and a rough and gritty feel, belongs to the class of volcanic rocks. The eruptions of trachyte seem to have commenced towards the middle of the Tertiary period, and to have continued up to its close. The trachytes present considerable analogy in their composition to the felspathic porphyries, but their mineralogical characters are different. Their texture is porous; they form a white, grey, black, sometimes yellowish matrix, in which, as a rule, felspar predominates, together with disseminated crystals of felspar, some hornblende or augite, and dark-coloured mica. In its external appearance trachyte is very variable. It forms the three most elevated mountain ranges of Central France; the groups of Cantal and Mont Dore, and the chain of the Velay (Puy-de-Dôme).[19] [19] For full information in reference to the rocks and geology of this part of France, the reader is referred to the masterly work on “The Geology and Extinct Volcanoes of Central France,” by G. Poulett Scrope, 2nd edition, 1858. [Illustration: I.--Peak of Sancy in the Mont Dore group, Auvergne.]