Ridge (topography)

“ Even while rising, a young upfold is often thus unroofed, and instead of appearing as a long, Smooth, boat-shaped ridge, it commonly has had opened along the rocks of the axis, when these are weak, a valley which is overlooked by the infacing escarpments of the hard layers of the sides of the fold. Under long-continued erosion, anticlines may be degraded to valleys, while the synclines of the same system may be left in relief as ridges. ”

“ A few minutes rapid riding brought him to the edge of the bare down, which was in fact a mere ridge, with but a few level yards at the summit, beyond these, sinking down almost precipitately into a singular lap or basin of land, nearly circular in form, and about two miles in diameter, walled in as it were from the external world, on every side, by tall, bare, grassy downs, treeless and bleak, without a sign of human habitation or of human culture, and limiting the range of the eye to that narrow and cheerless horizon. ”

“ It is fortunate that the ridge is not often so narrow as at these spots; for on one side there is a sheer descent of fifteen hundred feet, and on the other is very perpendicular-ground, but wooded. Two decaying rocks that obstruct the path are also dangerous to pass, as we had to round them, with uncertain footing, and nothing but a bare, crumbling surface to grasp. ”

“ The variety of form is endless; long ridges, high peaks, sharp or blunt, sudden clefts, great bare slides, flowing curves, convex or concave, serrated slopes crowned with dark spruce or jagged as the naked vertebræ of some enormous antediluvian monster, stimulate the curiosity and excite the imagination of the beholder. There is an essential difference in the character of the views obtained, whether looking from the south, or the east. In the former case, the eye, following the axes of the ranges, sees the mountains as a cross ridge of elevated peaks ”

“ A ridge, perhaps 1,000 feet above the meadows, commands an outlook far-reaching—a confusion of glaciers and rock-summits, every grey peak in strong sunlight transmuted to faint sapphire among the white, white snows. ”

“ One line, about two hundred feet in height, is regularly anticlinal, with the strata dipping away on both sides, at an angle of 15 degrees, from a central “valley of elevation,” about three hundred yards in width. A second narrow steep ridge, only sixty feet high, is uniclinal, the strata throughout dipping westward; those on both flanks being inclined at an angle of from ten to fifteen degrees; whilst those on the ridge dip in the same direction at an angle of between thirty and forty degrees. ”

“ As we go on, the sharp ridge of Red Mountain comes into view, guarded on the east by a monster hill, which none of our ingenious explorers, so generous in giving names, have condescended to dignify with a title. Its broad base washed by the rushing torrent, its sides clothed in a mantle of living green away up to the sharp line which marks the limit of the timber growth, and yet on and up the eye glances over the granite, with its azure background, until the vast pile is diademed with a fleecy cloud. ”

“ Looking towards the north or south one sees ridge after ridge, rising in constant succession, until the peaks vanish in the distant horizon. It is indeed a sublime sight, and may well inspire feelings of deepest reverence for the Power that controls those mighty forces that produced these everlasting hills. ”

“ You then arrive at the foot of one of the mountains. Stop and look up! A ridge covered with forests to its very top stands steep before you. The wind makes tremulous the masses of evergreen foliage, which are now shaded by the reluctant mists of the morning, slowly ascending, and now are bright with the full splendor of noon. Above that ridge rises another, and another yet, unseen at the foot. Begin the ascent. The mules tremble as they strive to keep their hold on the steep, slippery soil. Press upward in zigzag paths for hours. ”

“ You are to picture a sort of plateau, benty and rock-strewn, running ridge-wise above a chain of little peaty lochs and a vast tract of inexorable bog. In a mile the ridge ceased in a shoulder of hill, and over this lay the head of another glen, with the same doleful accompaniment of sunless lochs, mosses, and a shining and resolute water. East and west and north, in every direction save the south, rose walls of gashed and serrated hills. ”

“ This ridge, the features of which are rather tame, consists of two hills (a and b) the principal or southern summit (a) being 910 feet, the other 660 feet, above the plain at their base. These heights are 2 1/2 miles from each other, which distance comprises the whole extent of D'Urban's group, in the line of its summits between north-east and south-west.
D'URBAN'S GROUP FROM THE WEST.
The steep and rocky face of the ridge thus formed is towards the river, or westward. ”

“ The ridges rise by long, gentle slopes to flat summits, where often for many miles the sky-line is an almost straight crest, from which the rounded slopes of pure white snowfields descend towards the basins. The crest line is notched by high passes only 1000–2000 ft. below the top of the crest. Oftener the summit of the ridge is broken into individual mountains, broadly flat-topped and of nearly equal elevation. ”

“ The summit of this ridge is sterile, and is thickly set with loose blocks of red and grey granite, interspersed with large masses of limestone scattered in every direction; they are mostly smooth and rounded, as if by the action of water. As they are detached, and merely occupy the surface of the ground, it seems strange to me how they came at that elevation. A geologist would doubtless be able to solve the mystery in a few minutes. The oaks that grow on this high bank are rather larger and more flourishing than those in the valleys and more fertile portions of the soil. ”

“ Sometimes the hardest stratified rock-beds resist the water and the wind and are left as a series of ridges along the sides of the main range. The crumpling forces may crack the ridge open for its whole length, and one side of the chasm may slip down and the other go up. The result is a sheer wall of exposed rock strata, layers of which correspond with those that lie far below the top of the portion that slid down in the great upheaval and subsidence that parted them. ”

“ The general observer, if he takes his stand on the edge of hills by which this basin is bounded, will see the enclosing character of the ridge, as well as the less conspicuous circle of somewhat elevated land occupying the central portion of the field, and which is separated by a valley or plain from the surrounding ridge. ”

“ The ridge affords not over ten or twelve feet of foothold on top, and the sides descend almost vertically. On the right side the snow lay firm and smooth for a few feet on top, and then descended in a steep, unbroken sheet, like an immense, flowing curtain, into the tremendous basin which lies on the west side of the mountain between the southern and northern peaks, and which is inclosed by them as by two mighty arms. The snow on the top and left crest of the ridge was broken into high, sharp pinnacles, with cracks and fissures extending to the rocks a few feet below. ”

“ The eastern sides of the ridges present a succession of wall-sided precipices, having beneath them shelving acclivities formed by debris, and exhibiting on their faces regular lines of stratification. The western sides of the ridges are of more easy ascent. The vallies which separate these ridges and open successively to the river, are narrow, with pretty level bottoms, but very steep sides well clothed with trees. In the first ridge, the strata seemed to dip to the northward at an angle of 35°. ”

“ As we ascended, the hill became more steep and rugged, till at length the ridge presented nothing but rocks, the narrow edges of which lay upwards in the direction of the sky. Their sides became steeper and steeper, and it was with difficulty that we crept along paths not wider than a goat-track, to avoid clambering among the crags which formed the very ridge of the hill. At length it became impossible to find footing on the side, and we betook ourselves of necessity to the ridge itself. ”

“ It appeared like a vast plain, bounded on the eastern side by ragged and dark mountains rising behind each other, range above range, to a great, but unknown, elevation. Near our midday camp (Nov. 28) , we descended from the limestone ridge on to an extensive plain of the sandstone formation. The boundary of the two formations runs along the crest of a broken ridge called Turf-er-Rukn (Fig. 5) , at an elevation of about 3,600 feet above the sea level, often forming isolated tors, and tabulated headlands. ”

“ Unlike other ranges, they possess no one ridge that serves as a backbone to the system. The separate peaks rise tumultuously, like the rip of seas in a tideway, without connection, solitary, sombre. Between them lie deep gorges, or broad stretches of grass-park, which dip away and away, until one catches the breath at the grand free sweep of them. Huge castellated dikes crop up from the ridge-tops like ramparts. Others rise parallel in the softest verdure, guarding between their perpendicular sides streets as narrow and clean-cut as the alleys of a city of skyscrapers. ”

“ Ascending the precipitous rock which formed this long narrow island, I was surprised to find that its summit was a narrow ridge, with a precipice on one side, and that its axis of elevation extended from northwest to southeast, exactly like that of the great rocky ridge at the commencement of the Burnt Ground, ten miles northwesterly. The same arrangement prevailed here, and we could plainly see that the mountain ridges on the west of the lake trended the same way. ”

“ None of them rise much above the others, and the vallies between them are seldom wide or deep. At a distance, some of the masses of rock appear round-backed; and in certain points of view, the crest of the ridge seems to consist of mammillary peaks. On a nearer approach, the individual hills are found to be composed of rounded eminences, having summits, generally, of an oblong form, and consisting of smooth, naked rock. Small mural precipices are frequent, and many detached blocks of stone lie beneath them. ”

“ They stretched from north to south like an immense wall, occupying all that portion of the horizon lying to the north-west, west, and south-west. We could now see the surface of the plain, extending almost unvaried to the base of the first ridge, which rises by an abrupt ascent above the commencement of the snow. ”

“ The first ridge hid a succession of others; and when, with great fatigue and difficulty, we had climbed up five hundred feet, it was but to make an equal descent on the other side; all these intervening places were filled with small deep lakes, which met the eye in every direction, descending from one level to another, sometimes under bridges formed by huge fragments of granite, beneath which was heard the roar of the water. These constantly obstructed our path, forcing us to make long détours; frequently obliged to retrace our steps, and frequently falling among the rocks. ”

“ It is no where, so far as is known, a single ridge of mountain, but is made up of many masses of various character,—sometimes peaked and serrated ridge—sometimes detached hills rising from slightly elevated ground, —sometimes great table lands, often ending towards the sea in nearly perpendicular escarpments,—sometimes having on one side or other gently sloping plains furrowed by innumerable precipitous gulleys and ravines. ”

“ Standing at the base and looking up the sides of the mountain, the geologist could not but be filled with wonder at the convulsions which threw such immense masses of rocks into their present position. Ridge after ridge extends down the steep sides of the mountain like lofty walls, the intervening softer portions having been washed away, leaving the harder layers projecting far above. In one place the rocks incline in every possible direction, and are crushed together in the utmost confusion. ”

“ Throughout this space the ridge has a uniform appearance and structure; its curvature resembles that of the coast-line of a great bay, being made up of many smaller curves, all open to the south. The northern and outer side is supported by narrow ridges or buttresses, which slope down to the adjoining country. The inside is much steeper, and is almost precipitous; it is formed of the basset edges of the strata, which gently decline outwards. Along some parts of the inner side, a little way beneath the summit, a flat ledge extends, which imitates in outline the smaller curvatures of the crest. ”

“ There rise from this plain several hills and ridges of higher land, of which the following are the principal:—
1. The ridge of Bromsgrove Lickey, of which the highest point is said to be upwards of 900 feet above the sea.
2. The group of the Clent Hills, of which the highest point is about 950 feet above the sea.
3. The group of the Rowley Hills, of which the highest is about 820 feet above the sea. ”

“ Wild, rocky ridges alone appeared before us, rising higher and higher. Still we went on, cheered with the hope that we should soon reach the highest ridge, and that then we might descend to a more fertile region. Sometimes we had to make our way along the summit of precipices; sometimes to descend into rocky valleys ”

“ The west and north-west ridges meet at a point less than one hundred feet west of the summit. The north-west ridge, when seen from the Schönbühl hut, is easily confused with the west ridge, from which it is actually separated by the steep, glaciated slopes of the north-west face. The fact that the ice cliffs of this face seem to be perched on the north-west ridge has probably given rise to the impression that this ridge can no longer be climbed owing to the formation thereon of a hanging glacier. In reality the ridge is entirely free from such encumbrances. ”