peak, Maladetta, towers above 11,000 feet; and
several others are of nearly equal height--while more than forty summits
reach the elevation of 9,000!

The most elevated peaks are near the centre of the Pyrenees, the range
gradually dipping downward as the extremities are approached. For this
reason the most practicable passes are found near the eastern and
western ends; though many also exist in the central part of the chain.
In all, there are fifty passes or "ports," as they are called, leading
from the French to the Spanish side; but only five of these are
practicable for wheeled vehicles; and a large number are only known (or
at all events only travelled) by the smugglers--_contrabandistas_--a
class of gentry who swarm on both sides of the Pyrenean frontier.

The superficial extent of these mountains is about 11,000 or 12,000
square miles. Part of this is French, and the remainder Spanish
territory. As a general rule, the "divide," or main axis of the ridge
forms the boundary line; but in the eastern section, the French
territory has been extended beyond the natural frontier.

The geological formation of the Pyrenees consists both of primitive and
secondary rocks--the latter being greater in mass, and composed of
argillaceous schist, grauwacke (schistose and common), and limestone.
Mines of lead, iron, and copper are found in this formation--the lead
containing a proportion of silver. The primitive rocks are granite; and
run in zones or belts, extended lengthwise in the direction of the
chain; and it is in the rupture between these and the transition strata,
that the chemical springs, for which the Pyrenees are so famous, gush
forth. Of these remarkable fountains--many of them almost at boiling
heat--no less than 253 have been discovered in different parts of the
range. A great number of them are celebrated for their medicinal
virtues, and are the favourite summer resorts of invalids, as well as
the votaries of pleasure, from all parts of the world--but more
especially from France and Spain.

The botany of the Pyrenees is full of interest. It may be regarded as
an epitome of the whole European _flora_: since scarcely a plant exists,
from the Mediterranean to the Arctic sea, that has not a representative
species in some part of this mountain chain. In the valleys and lower
slopes of the mountains the forest is chiefly composed of Lombardy
poplars and sycamores; a little higher, the Spanish chestnut, oaks,