We Left Lithrankomi
On 5th March After A Shower Which Made The Earth Slippery And The
Dangerous Portions Of The Route Rather Exciting For The Carts.
The first
two or three miles lay along the level terrace commanding a splendid
view of the sea about four miles distant.
We passed through several
villages, and the crops looked well. At length we emerged upon a wild
portion of the plateau which resembled a park, the surface being green
and diversified by ornamental clumps of evergreens; upon our left was
the cliff-like higher terrace which formed the table-top from which the
usual huge blocks had been detached and fallen like inverted cottages to
the lower level. The view on our right was exceedingly interesting, as
we had now arrived upon the extreme verge of the terrace, which broke
down suddenly into a horseshoe-shaped amphitheatre, the steep sides
covered with bushes and trees, to the bottom of a valley some 300 feet
below, which drained through a narrow and richly-wooded gorge into the
neighbouring sea.
This scooping-out of the country was due to the action of water, and the
same process was gradually wearing away the upper plateaux, which by
absorbing rain became undermined as it percolated through and dissolved
the marly substratum. The foundation of the rock surface being softened
by the water, oozed in the form of mud, and was washed down the steep
declivities, followed by the breaking-down of the unsupported upper
stratum. This district was an admirable illustration of the decay and
denudation of surface which has produced the plain of Messaria, to which
I have already alluded, but as no sufficient area exists at a lower
level the deposit of soil is carried to the sea.
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