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188 THROUGH NORWAY WITII A KNAPSACK.
notch communicating with a long straight trough like a
water gulley, the foremost of the advancing mass bends
over till it becomes detached, and then forms an
avalanche instead of a glacier. Several of these small
avalanches came down during my walk : I mistook
the first for a water cascade, until its cessation, and
the thundering rumble which followed, undeceived
me.
In these I found an explanation of the snow patches
nearly level with the corn-fields; for each of the
avalanches deposited itself as a sort of talus, or sloping
delta-shaped heap, at about that part of the terrace
deposit which must have been the shore of the ancient
fiord. All these avalanche tracks are smoothed by the
falling snow and ice and stones; they are probably
scratched and grooved likewise, but this I cannot
positively affirm, as they were all on the opposite side of
the river.
I am not aware that the attention of geologists has
been directed to this sort of avalanche action, as
distinguished from glacier action. In our own country, and
in almost every part of Europe, traces of ancient glacier
action are found, or supposed to be found. These traces
consist of smoothed rocks with parallel scratches, and
heaps of stones that have come from some distance, and
yet present no traces of being water-worn. The
smoothing and grooving are attributed to the slow-moving ice,
and the heaps are supposed to be the moraines, or the
stony accumulations commonly found at the sides and
terminations of glaciers.
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