Butll. Inst. Cat. Hist. Nat ., 50: 21-28. 1985

EL VIATGE DE CHARLES LYELL A OLOT

J. Ordaz Rebut: desembre 1983

ABSTRACT

The journey of Charles Lyell to Olot

Charles Lyell's journey to Clot, Catalonia (Spain), in the summer of the year 1830is described in this article. Lyell's opinions and experiences all along that expedition arenarrated on the basis of his letters. Results and conclusions of his study about the extinctvulcanism of Olot are noted.

INTRODUCCIO

L'estiu de I'anv I830 cl conecut eculrt*cscoces Charles Lvell Esq. vial ja a Catalu-nva amb el proposit d 'estudiar la regicivolcanica d 'Olot. Nascut a Kinnordy (For-larshire ) el 14 de novembre de 1797, comp-tava, doncs , trenta -dos anys quan rcalitzitel viatge. Era secretari de la GeologicalSociety de Londres i acabava de publicancl primer volum dels Principles of Geology,obra cabdal que, en Cl transcurs del temps,li hauria tic donar la Lama i el reconeixc-tacnt mcs universals ( fig. 1).

Charles Lvcll havia comen4at a interes-sar-sc per la geologia quan , estant a I'Exe-ter College d'Oxford, assisti durant els cur-ses de 1818 i 1819 a Ics classes clue fciacl reverend Dr. William Buckland , presti-gios professor de Mineralogia i Geologiad'aquclla Universitat, i que aleshores gau-dia d'una gran popularitat . Despres d'ob-tcnir el grau de Master of Arts el 1821,Lvcll ingressa al Lincoln's Inn de Londres

I i(' . 1. Ch.uilr, Loll ^i7) Is^5l. Lilupralia u^punsel retrat do J. E. Mayall ( Geological Society deLondres).

* Departamento de Petrologia. Facultad de Geoiogia. Universidad de Oviedo. Oviedo.

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I)i I I.ii d c,lucli.li Iri,, ICI ) It ,Cca vuc;l-

ciu curial era pR)U VacillaIt I cis CS tuCI is

furcn interromputs Ines dun cup per Ilargs

periodes tie vacances. Malgrat tot acaba Ia

carrera i, tins i tot, excrci d'advocat durant

un cert temps. La scva ateccio a la geolo-

gia, aixi i tot, 110 va deca u-e CH absolut.

Des de 1819 Lvell era fellow de la Geologi-

cal Society de Londres, i en aquesta insti-

tucio potue tlactar Cminents conreadors

de Ics ciencies de la Terra -com Phillips,

Greenough, Dc la Beche, Convbeare, Sedg-wick, Fitton, i d'altres dins d un ambientcientitic adicnt, d'cxtiaordinaria puixanca

i civilitzada companvonia per damunt de

polcmiques i discrepancies acadcmiqucs.

EI scu interes especial per ICs questionsVulcanolugiqucs queda pales de bon princi-pi, subrctot a partir (let scu contacte ambcl gcoleg George Puulett Scrope, el qualpublica ci 1825 Considerations on Volca-noes, llibre en cl qual I'autor s'oposa fer-mament a la tcoria deis «craters d'eleva-cio» de Leopold von Buch, imperant enaqueiis dies. Dos am's mes lard, PuulettScrope Iliura a I'imprcmta una Memoir oilthe Geology of Central France, que captayivamcnl I'atencio del jove Lvcll, i I'espc-rona a Vlsitar pcrsonalment cis escenarlsnaturals suggcriduramcnt descrits, parti-cularmcnt pet que feia at districte de l'Au-vernia, due tanta importancia tingue enel dcscnlla4 del dcbat cntrc plutonistes ineptunIstes.

Aixi, a I'cstiu de 1828, Lvcll en compa-nvia del tambe gcoleg cscoccs RoderickImpev Mtu-chisun va due a tome Ia scvapi imera expcdicio a I'Auvcrnia. Van visitardiyerscs localitats i afloraments , i estudia-ren les caracteristiques geolugiqucs deisterrcn vs volcanics. Del massis central iran-ces Cs varen dirigir a Italia. Pel setentbred'aqucll any, a Padua, Lvcll s'acomiada deMurchison i prossegui sol cl Viatge cap atsod, tins a arribar a Sicilia, via Nitpols.L'cstada a I'ilia mcditcrrania, amb la pus-sibilitat de pujar a 1'Etna i de recorrer Valdel Bove i Val di Notu, cntrc altres indretsinteressants , too decisiva per a la germi-nacio tie Ics seves idecs sobs c cl vulcanis-mc i 1'actuacio do Ics torces naturals en elpassat i cn cl present (Rta\VICK, 1969).

Pcl tebrer de 1829 Cs trohava ja a casasex a. Poe despres era nomenat Foreign Se-cretary dc la Geological Society, i es posyinunediatament a rcdactar cl llibre qued'enca duna tcmporada havia estat ru-miant, i que havia de Iractar , tonamental-

uirIII, d^ , I)i in. 11)11 'rn, Ill, (1, 1,[( m,111R IIItendcnts a Icgir Lt t. cocci gculugica des(lei punt de Vista do I'actualisme. EI primertom (leis tees do (Iue constaria ) clefs Prin-ciples of Geology , being are a!lcntpt to ex-plain the former changes of the Earth'ssurface by reference to causes now in ope-ration , sorti el gener do 1830 . AqueiI ma-trix anv , Lvell, despres de relinquir diver-SOS plans dC Viatge per a I'estiu ( un iI'cllsper anar a Isl;mdia), s'inclina finalment percxplorar la gculugia ctcls Pirineus Orientalsi, especialment , la zona volcanica d' Olot, aCatalunva.

L'AREA VOLCANICA ll'OLOT

LI descobriment del,, tci rcnvs vulcanit-zats del pla d'Olot i dels seas encontornsarrcnca do finals dal scgle xvttl. Retcrcn-cies Ines aViat vacucs i inipreciscs sabreproductcs Val-is d'origen igni o piroide cstroben, per exemple, en Bowles i Iierrgen(cf. Ti:txnrutz, 1883). Va esscr, per-6, cl iar-maccutic i naturalista oloti Francesc Xa-vier de Bolus i Gcrmit qui duna a concixerCl vulcanisme apagat de la comarca dc laGarrotxa en una mcmuria que rcdacta cl1797, per-6 que no Va esscr cditada finsvint-i-goatee anVS despres, CH que Cl settamic i mcstrc Franccsc Carbonell i Bravo,professor (IC Quiniica a la Junta de ComersdC Barcelona, la publica a Ics Menroriastie Agricultura v Ards rota el titol: Noticiade los e.xtinguidos volcanes tic la Villa tieOlot, de III nalurale;,a de sits productos, vde sits aplicacioncs.Uns anvs abans, pcro, concrctamcnt cl

1807, el geolcg nord-america d'origen anglesWilliam Maclurc havia estat a Olot. Bolosel guia pets flocs Ines destacables i li pro-porciona alguncs lodes inedites. Un re-coil do Ics obscrvacions totes per I'aInCricafurcn inserides ell on article que aparegueat Journal de Physique (t. LXV1, 1808, pa-gina 219); Ines, de tconia poc cortcsa, encap moment Maclurc teu Csment do Boloscom a dcscobridor i subrninistradur d'cs-timablcs aportacions sobre la Iona. La notado Macture no passa del tot desapercehudai, uns am's Ines tard, el geolcg angles Char-les Daubcny recolli la rctercncia en quies-Iio a A Deseriptioa of Active mid ExtinctVolcanoes (1826) obra que, per altra ban-da, aviat coneguc Lvcll.A partir do 1820 diVersos naturalistes cs-

trangers -cntrc ells Palassou i Dc Billy-

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transitaten amt) mcs o menvs dctenimentper Ies eomarques gironines vuleanitzades.Quan Bolos publica la scgona cdicid, cor-rceida i augmcntada , de la Noticia... (Bo-los, 1841), consigna en el proleg 1'estadade Mr . Lvell a Clot : '< En agosto de 1830vino cl famusu ingles C. Levell ( sic) va cita-cto, quicn se aped en mi rasa con recomen-dacion de una persona de la mas alta dig-nidad, v tuve la satislacci6n de acompa-narlc a los parajes volcanizados , y de su-irir un riguroso examen sobre lo que deciacn este cscrito , teniendo en su mano micuaderno sabre los extinguidos volcanes,v prcguntandome sobre cada capitulo enpat titular, v anotando cuanto yo respon-dfa, llevandosc tambien muchos productosvolcanico, cscogidos » ( op. cit., p. VII).

EL VIATGE

La prtitr histoire de l'anada a Clot deCharles Lycll es pot anar seguint amb unccrt detail gracies a la correspondenciaClue Cl matrix Lvcll mantinguc -preferent-nu•nt amb membres de la seva Iamilia-durant cl temps que dura 1'expedicid, i quecs troba inclosa a la recopilacid biografico-epistolar que, dcspres de la mort del geo-leg, feu la scva cunvada Mrs. Katherine M.Lvcll (LYt a.t., 1881 ). Aquests son, en sfntesi,cis passos mes remarcables do I'esmentatviatge per terres catalanes.A comencaments de juliol de 1830, Char-

Ics LveII passa al Continent i, travessantamb diligencia part tic la Normandia i Bre-tanva, arriha a Tolosa de Llenguadoc eldia 8. L'acompanvava cl capita Cooke, dela Royal Navy, afeccionat a la botanica,habil lingi ista i que, scgons pareix, ja ha-via cstat hcrboritzant anteriorment perCataluma. La intencid de Lvcll era -si-tuats ja a Franca- traslladar-se directa-mcnt a Clot, peril scmbla que Cooke s'en-tossudi a visitar els monuments drufdicsde Carnac, a Normandia, i cf'aquf que gas-tessin uns quants dies mes del compte enel trajecte.Dc Tolosa estant, Lvcll escriu a sa ger-

mana Marianne comunicant-li cis seusplans immediats: anada a Olot, retorn aBagncres-de-Luchon una vegada exploradala rcgid olotina, i de Bagncres a Pau; con-dicionant els movements pels Pirincus atque trobessin d'interes a la primera excur-sid. Dc Tolosa, doncs, s'encaminaren cap aCatalmwa, passant per Foix i Aix.

( , i t cl cur de la eadcna pirincnc 't scn ml-

se de cavallcrics, entruen it la Cerdanvafrancesa per la gall de Qucrol, i posarena Bourg-Madame. Prop de la frontera dePuigcerda descobriren «a freshwater depo-sit unknown before, of considerable ex-tent, filling an enormous valley, and con-taining animal, or at least testaccous re-mains, and wood». (LYELL, 1881, vol. I,p. 278). A Bagncres sorgiren scrioses difi-eultats <administratives» per passar lafrontera, i davant cl cares dcls esdeveni-ments Cooke preferf no perdre el temps idesviar-se cap a Andorra, mentre que Lyellopta per continuar el seu pla d'estudi de1'extrem oriental dcls Pirineus. El 21 de ju-liol, trobant-se a Prada de Contlcnt, cscriua sa gcrmana Caroline; Ii fa una breu rela-cid del viatge transcorregut fins aleshores,i per primera vcgada es refcreix claramenta la situacio politica de Catalunya enaquells moments, aprofitant tambe' perparlar dels pagesos de la Cerdanva i desubratllar-ne les particularitats idiomati-ques:

We heard from good authority an unfavou-rable account of the state of Catalonia, wherethere are three parties it seems -the consti-tutionalists-, who think King Ferdinand toodespotic; the royalists, who consider him asthe best of all possible kings ; and the Carlists-I fear the strongest party- who considerhim as not half despotic enough, and whowould re-establish the Inquisition in lull for-ce (...).What I saw of the Spanish peasants in the

valley of Puycerda, pleased me much, withtheir red bonnets, fine sunburnt countenances,swarthy almost, and active mountaineer walk.They make capital guides and ,gill heat ahorse in a day's journcv in the hills. I needhardly say that my pure Castilian did not aid-me much in interpreting their language, butItalian did much. Yesterday I was among pinewoods; to-day, olives, vines, wild pomegrana-te, &c. (Ibid., p. 279).

Havent arribat at Rossello, Lvell obtin-guc un passaport gracies al bard Raimond,prefecte del Departament amb residcnciaa Perpimva, i (osf germa del comic d'Es-panya. Dc Pcrpinya es desplaca a Barcelo-na amb diliuencia. Tardy a arribat-hi duesxafogoses jornades. La impressio que Iieausa la ciutat i ]'ambient que es respiravacn aquells dies, queda fidclment rctlectita la carta tramesa a sa germana Fanny,des de Perpinva, el 8 d'agost, de tornadaja de la sera <<succesful expedition into

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(';ualunia» llhi^l., p. 281)). [n clla comaI. yell el scu 1)11incr (011 lade amb ICS auto-ritats locals i, especialment , amb el sinis-tre Comte d'Espanva , capita general de-Catalunva en aqucll temps el qual, a for-qa de repressio , havia aconseguit d'im-plantar un regim de terror arreu de Cata-lunva:

As I entered Barcelona on it fete day, I wasstruck with the gentlemanlike appearance ofthe numerous priests, a fine, venerable-look-ing set in general respected by the people, sodifferent from the poor, sneaking clergy ofFrance, who look as is they had no businessin the country. The garrison, 8,000 strong, wasin full review in honour of the Queen's birth-day, before the Conde d'Espagne, an officerwho distir:cuished himself under the Duke ofWellington in Spain, and who is looked up toas the main instrument of ridding Spain ofthe last French invasion, by outdoing theFrench in diplomacy. He was covered withorders. About 2,000 of the Royal Guard wereamong his troops; a mark of the high favourhe is in. The next morning, July 24, I calledon the Count at the Palace with Stephens, anEnglishman, a great favourite at Court. He,d'Espagne, is obliged to be very inaccessible,or he would be mobbed, but his regard forthe English ensures them a polite reception ifrecommended to him. As Stephens was inti-mate with Vvvyan and other brother Oxo-nians, and as I was the companion of CaptainCooke, a friend of d'Espagne, I met withgreat attention from the Count, who is Cap-tain-general of Catalonia, and has more po-wer than an Irish viceroy in that great andpopulous province. He called the next morn-ing and left an invitation to dinner. I dinedwith him both that day and the next, andreceived from him a special passport signedby him, and leters to Governors, Abbots, &c,and was pressed to take with me one of hisbody-guard. «I can ensure you respect fromthe authorities, but no magistrate can gua-rantee you against the brigands. You will haveheard that we are not troubled with manynow, but in the mountains, a district of smug-glers, who can say what may happen? For mysake, and that I may feel at rest, do not refu-se. I accepted, but when the Captain of theGuard came with the "Mucho", I declined, asI felt no insecurity, and as not one of theguard could speak French, nor serve as inter-preter. (Ibid., pp. 280-81).

Proveit del poderos salconduit, i acom-boiat d'un guia que coneixia algunes parau-les de trances, Lvell transita sense greusimpediments per diversos flocs d'interesgeologic, ((through a glorious country fora geologist), (Ibid., p. 288): ]a muntanva

tic .A1o111"cl 1,11: I(', nlil1cti (Ic ^aI (I>' ( ii> >na; la plana de V' ic i, a la 1i Olot i cis scusvolcans . Details d'aquest itinerari que ensmostren la perspicacia i capacitat d'obser-vacio de I'escoces els podem trobar a lalletra que escrigue a son pare, datada aBagneres - de-Luchon , el 17 d'agost; i en laqual descriu , aixi mateix , amb fort;a delocal color , el caloros dia en que arriba al'objectiu del viatge:

It was a very fine country I went through,and I had several days of wild rides fromCardona to Olot, by mountain pathwaysthrough endless woods of pines and olivesmixed and some line ilex . It looks much inthe state of Sicily , but perhaps farther ad-vanced . The heat is shown by the fact thatthere are machines for fanning von and driv-ing off flies as you eat; milk butter , coffee,or tea to he got anywhere, but strange to sayyou can get a better cup of chocolate thanyou could often meet with in France, in apoor peasant ' s house , for a small sum, andmade in five minutes. Their brown bread isnot so black and bad as in Sicily , the winegenerally good and cheap , the meat very had,cost of living about the same as in France,but less fair dealing in small places . Althoughthe French journals pretend the contrary,their national prejudices , especially againstthem, are very strong in all parties, high andlow. In fact they are ignorant, and immensepains are, taken to keep them so. The gravitywith which after consultation , nay dietit,marvand Spanish grammar were allowed to pass,the only hooks I had, was diverting . Yet thearts of writing and reading appear to be pret-ty generally spread among the poor in Cata-lonia, and they are advancing . As I knewd'Espagne might feel it as a slight if I declin-ed one of his guards, I determined to see ifthere was among them a good interpreter, inwhich case it might have been worth while.As Catalonia is on the frontier , and theFrench were settled there longer than in anyother part of Spain, I fancied it impossiblethat out of the hundred men one should notbe found to speak French . The barrack wasa curious scene , a swarthy race of most acti-ve-looking armed mountaineers. They carrya small rifle and a cord with a loop, whichthey throw over the head of any one theypursue, much like the lasso of South America.This singular weapon of the police gives themimmense advantage in pursuing an enemy uphill. As each group was asked it any one ofthem could speak French, they replied witha kind of shout , Somos Catalanes, a little in-dignation being felt at the very idea of suchan unnational acquirement. Even in the en-lightened city of Barcelona , a Castilian is re-garded as so far a foreigner that genteel fami-lies from Castile , settled there , find the rratio-

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Mil prejudice, much against them in society!

The abbe of Montserrat moaned over thesplendid rnonastcrv which the French had le-

velled to the ground by their cannon in helloiodependenrice (he talked Latin to me), and

over the reduction of his friars to the small

number of three hundred! On the top how

many had you before? Nine hundred! On the

top of a hill 3,000 Iccthigh, singing morning,

noon, and night, in an empty church! They

have rebuilt the convent in a vulgar square

house, like an enormous manufactory. At Olot

I arrived on the fete day of the Patron Saint,

and saw the procession well Irom the balcony

of my friend the apothecarv, Bolos- what a

good name for a pharinacien! His daughters,

even the youngest child, seemed to be so tired

of such sights, that their only amusement was

the interest I took in it. The standards of

twelve saints of the town cane first, with an

image at the top of each. When the proces-

sion stopped, tochant before different altars

in the streets, these standards w ere made to

rest on the ground erect, by means of ropes

connected, like the shrouds to a mast with the

top of the pole, and these ropes helot by men

and hoes who balanced it in this manner. The

children held small flags, and could not resist

using them to fan themselves as the heat was

great. When laughed at for this, they often

made a drive at the boys round them with

the sacred banners, then came a regular En-

glish scuttle. The combatants got beyond the

length of their tether, the saint Was tugged

on one side, and the image of St. Stephen,

after three seings, came within a few inches

of my head in the balcony. The older men

did not seems to scould the youngsters for

this, as it seems a sort of saturnalia, and I

saw several other similar rows. Before a long

line of Carnu•litans vvIto were chanting, was a

girl of about seventeen years, dressed in whi-

te, and with two immense white paper wings

on her shoulders. She carried a great silver

cross. ,Look out for the angel!,, exclaimed Bo-

los's children to me, and sure enough there

never was a better figure in any pantomime.

A cherub Who preceded the Capucins was

nothing in comparison. One part of the pro-

cession Was really imposing: it consisted of

,(the devout", private individuals, chiefly pea-

sants who volunteered attending, each with

a long torch and with a brown cloak thrown

over them. They went two by two, so that

there was a long line of flame as far as the

eve could reach in either direction. I observed

to Bolos that there was much religion

throughout Catalonia, though the French say

there is less than in other parts of Spain. His

reply Was 'C'ost un pays de montagnes, mon-

sicur». (Ibid., pp. 288-291).

A Olot Lvell recorregue, seguint Ies in-

dicacions de I'apotecari Bolos, Ies princi-

pals formacions basaltiques de la comar-

ca, prenent gran nombrc d'a lotaciom icroquis sobre cl terrenv. Durant CIS (ties

quc sojorna a Olot el visitant s'interessa

per Iota mena d'aspectes: I'exteuslo de1'area vulcanitzada; la morfologia, estruc-tura i disposicio dell cons volcanics; lanaturalesa dcls materials lapidis travcssatsper Ies extrusions ignies; la presencia derestes tossiliteres; l'edat del vulcanisme ipossible registre d'erupcions a I'cpoca his-torica; Ies lades dell ultims terratrbmolsesdevinguts a la re(.*io, etc.

Lvell romangue a Olot fins a la primcrasetmana d'agost. Despres d'haver vist cltries rellcvant do la zona, retorna a Bagnc-res, on es reuni de bell nou arnb cl capititCooke. Des d'alli s'adre4a per carta (10 d'a-gost) at seu coHega i amie Poulctt Scropetent-li un avant de Ies prin ores conclu-sions sobre l'area estudiada, i comparantcis frets generals lets volcans extingitsolotins amb els d'altres regions, principal-ment del Vivares, quc ambdos havien tin-gut I'oportunitat do visitar and) anteriori-tat. Estant a St. Gaudens, a I'Alt Garona,LyclI envia una Iletra a sa gerinana Elea-nor en quc Ii detallava algunes particula-ritats sobre el seu intent frustrat d'entrarper la ratlla do Puigcerda, aixi corn do lestraves i demorances sorgides, per motiusdiguem-11C peregrins. La narracio lets suc-cesses -„aircbc kalkians cn'cnrt to lettre-cns dona una idea prou liable de la compli-cada i Ieixuea situacio burocratica i admi-nistrativa que privava en aquclla ombrivo-Ia epoca:

When Cooke and I reached the frontier, wewent immediately to the Alcalde of Puycerda,to get our passports regularly signed. ThisMayor or Justice of Peace (for I believe heserves in both capacities in Spain) kept ustwo hours waiting, and then said he could notsign till next morning, though he could notmake any objection to our passports, whichwere quite en regle. Next clay we waited asbefore, and were then examined and cross-examined, as to our objects, &c. The slowand dignified air of the worthy magistratewere so diverting, that Cooke, who was notso keen as I to employ the time otherwise,thought himself well repaid. We were remand-ed for a third interview but it was agreed thatCooke should go, while I gcologised, and hada good clay's work. On that day Cooke founda priest with an immense shovel hat on thebench with the Alcaldc, who cross-examinedin a most inquisitiorial wav, and said thatour objects seemed suspicious 'That he, acaptain in the British navy, should travel forstones and plants, neither he nor his compa-

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. ^_ ^;^

T'iew ut Che Volcanos around Blot in Catalonia:

F^c. 2. Gracat d^^ la Gila d'Olut i rls srus volcans (lilr^nrenl, n/ Grulu};T, Lvr:rr, 1865).

pion bring Me^lccni, or Agent do's Mines-that a society was organised in London fordissrmirritin^ liberal principles of govern-ment Uuroughout Europe- how was he toknow wr weer nut Commissioners? Thev hadorders from Madrid», &c. &c. Cooky showedan old passport from d'Espagnr, and offeredto send an r.^prrss to Barcelona, but was toldwr must both appear before them the dayafter, i.r. the lourth day! The director of theFrench Douanr now entrritrd us not to go.«You risk your personal safety; they oftenthrow forri^ncrs into prison, and ^ehen it isfound that they are innocent, they let themout to be suer, but no other redress. I willgo to the commandant of Puvicerda, who isindignant ut their treatment of you, and hrwill guarantee your personal safety and yourreturn to the French frontier well and good».The military commandant, a man of family,and eery grntlrmanlikr, said hr would ratherdecline a squabble with so troublrsomr a par-vrnu as the Alccddr. So wr demanded ourpassports to br returned, but the devil a bitwould hr give them up. aAs to the Conded'Espagnr», said the great man, «1 receivenn^ commands from a higher sourer, /roni t{re

/^in^; hintscl/>» When this was oftrrwards toldd'Fspagnr, hr said, and the saving soon rrach-rd Puvcrrda, al wonder it never occurred tohim that as I happen to hr on the top of theladder, and hr at the bottom, 1 may loch himoff». The fact is the Mayor was a Carlist, aninquisitionist, and his hatrrad got the betterof his prudence. Wr went without our nano-nal passports, and, but fur Baron Rainumd'spoliteness at Perpignan, 1 should never havegot into Spain.

ncumplida la finalitat quc nwtiva rl viat-gc, Charles Lvcll rs restitui al sru Pais, viaParis, i a principis dr nuvrmbrr, rs trobavanovament al sru domirili londinrnc del 9dr Crown Office Row.

ELS RESULTATS

n la lornada a An^^latrrrt, Lvrll no pu-biica c^ip nrticlr nxmogriific dedicat al vul-canismc d'Olot; prcfrri do fee una rrfr-rcncia rspeeifiri sober ris Vulrunues o/

26

Catalonia en cis sous Priiiciplcs of Gcolo'gv

(2a. cd. 1834, t. 111, p. 183). Mes tard, va

incloure, sota l'epigraf de Volcanic rocks

of Olot in Catalonia, una descripcio in ex-

tenso de la zona a partir de fa segona edi-

cio dels F-lernc'iits of Gcologv ( 1841 ). A la

sisena edicio d'aquesta coneguda obra, per

exetnple, I'apartat dels volcans catalans

ocupa Vail pagincs 1865, cap. XXXI,

pp. 659-666), i vc il-lustrada amb quatre

tails geologies; un gravat de la vista gene-

ral de la poblacio i cis seas cons circum-

dants; i on esquema de situacid gcogrhlica

de Ics diferents taques volcaniques; let quc

ve a clemostrar, en Cella forma, la impor-

tancia que Lvell Ilona a la geologia de I'a-

rea (figs. 2-4).Segons Lvell, I'edat del vulcanisme d'O-

lot seria en part « postplioccnica» i en part

aneopliocenica». Quant a I'extensio de ]'a-

rea volcanica, comprendria no mes de quin-

ze milles de Hord a soil, i prop de sis d'est

a oest. No deixa d'assenvalar tambO, Clue

Volcanic district of ('al.lonia.

FnG. 3. I giicma Ile la Situacio do ICs principals

formations colcaniqucs do Catalunva, segons

Lvra.l. ( 1865).

f!II

1

H

4l' Iflh! l

11v,

Rwrfrna

6.ettan at Caatall Follit.

A. rhoerh .nil 10* n of CuM.ll Fnntt . n..rla pr.open of basalt.tl..mall 1•land, oo each We of obkh braoe►n o(tha rl.ar Tema. Now to assn the

na.1 30 fact to h.l^hl.o.,p't.1of 1r..hk 1..., rb{H. rnlmn0r, t.

d -t .11,110M, nnd.rytng lb. l..a.curreate 1ichord.trn. of .-d..-

FIG. 4. 'Tall geoli,eic do Ics columnatcs basalti-ques de Castclltollit de la Roca (Lurl.i., 1865).

Pent cas del nuc deia Maclure a la seva des-

cripcio, «I searched in vain in the environs

of Massanet in the Pyrenees, for traces of

a lava current" (op. cit., p. 660). us evident

que Lvell, a lalta de Ines informacio, de-

gue de confondre Macanet de la Selva amb

Maganet de Cabrenvs. A continuacio Lyell

passa revista a l'estructura gcologica de

la regio; descriu els principals cons i flu-

xos de laves (lent especial cmfasi dels

craters volcanics de Montsacopa, Santa

Margarida, Montolivet i la Garrinada); al-

gunes formacions basaltiques i accidents

dignes d'atencio (p. ex. eIs diposits dc cen-

dres i corrents lavics do Cellent, les Pla-

nes i Sant Feliu de Pallerols); i cis espec-

taculars penva-segats de Castellfollit de

la Roca. Finalment, s'ocupa dels «bufa-

dors" -balms per on s'esmunyen, a I'es-

tiu, currents d'aire Fred-, conservant el

nom local d'aquest fenomen, i incorpo-

rant aixi, a la terminologia vulcanologica,

la paraula catalana original.

Amb tot, la influcncia de les teories uni-

formistes de Lvell no tingueren a Catalu-

nva i a la resta d'Espanya una plasmacio

immediata. En realitat, les idecs geologi-

ques Ivellianes trigaren uns quants ant's aintroduir-se, i tan sols comencaren a csser

familiars a partir, principalment, de la

traduecio al castella de la primera edicio

dels Elements of Gcologv, Icta per l'engi-

nver de mines Joaquin Ezquerra del Bayo

i publicada el 1847 (ORi mz, 1976). Precisa-

ment Ezquerra visits i rccorregue la zona

volcanica de la Garrotxa i comarques vei-

nes per aquesta mateixa cpoca.

27

V, I,w d, 111 ii ^J fc l cju, I.i v i'i(.i clcl1;lllluti ^'COic^ L'^^U CS L III ) L I Ll I :11111) Vila

notoria crisi cirntifica , per no din Puradccadencia; consegiiencia directa, entreallies causes , Cie Ia goers de 1808, Icsconvulsions politiques i socials, i Cl des-afectc Vcrs les ci icstions cientiliqucs perpart de I'ominus regim de Ferran V11. Esdarn due I'aillanient oblicat dell currentsew-opeus del moment , luntcnnent amb lanianca de Ilihcrtats quc obliga molts cien-tilics -cas del gcoleg Llobet i Vall-Llose-ra- a escollir ci trist cami de 1'e.xili lot--cos, dificullaren I'entrada ci'idccs renova-dores, i contribu'iren at let quc Ia revolu-cio conceptual due s'estaVa operant f ronte-res calla en ci nuin de Ia geologia -i do Iadual Charles I-VCII era till dels principalsprotagonisles- no tingucs I'acolIimenI de-Sitjahle, al nostrc pail, pcr causa d'unasittiacio seas dublc desfavorable al pro-gres cientific, i rciractaria A desenvolupa-ilient d ' idees roves. Ccrtamcnt , I'activitatcicntifica a C'alalunva a finals de la ter-cera decada del scgte xix, en particular petquc pertoca a les ciencies naturals, ambla Universitat de Barcelona suprimida i I'A-cademia Cie Ciencics arrosscgant una lan-guida cxistencia, era mcs aViat magna. Nocs d'estranVar , Clones, quc Cl geuleg viatgeral seu pas pcr CatalunVa , no fcs cap mcnad'aflusiu a (' ambient o nivell cicntflic delmoment : Verilablement cra dificil de cop-sar. Alxo no obstant , es cent tambe qucla projecciu donada per LVell al Vulcanis-mc d'Olot en Cl scu llibre mcs divulgat su-posa on [lot] al•licicnt per a open ors cx-ploracions , i till punt Cie partida rigorosa-mcnt cientilic per a Ics invcstigacions Vul-canologiqucs ele I'arca csmcntacla.

\( ;It \t \1I:\'I S

AL,i IwI.Ao al professor I)1'. Jalllllc TruVUIsels sous consells pcr a I'elaboraciu d'a-qucst trcball, aixi coin Ia lectura crilica deI'original.

BIBLIOGRAFIA

Bows, 1'. 1841. .tiuriricr do ln, c'ititriitndos tvlcaiies tic la Villa de Olot v de sits itmielliat-joijespasta Amer, v de los mu°rattic,tte descubier-tos, y no pitblicadus, todo.c en la pronirtcia deGerona, de la iiatnrale;a tie sus prodnclus vsus aplicaciurtes. Imp. dc los hercilcros do laVita. PIa, Barcelona.

Lyrt.t., C. 1865. Elemcnls of Geology, or the Art-cicrtt Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitantsas Illustrated by Geological Alumnncnis. 6a. ed.John Murray. Londres.

Lyet.r, K. M. 1881. Life, Letters and Journals ofSir Charles Lvell, Bart. 2 vols. John Murray.Lunches.

Oismi z, J. 1976. The first spanish translation ofLvcll's Elements of Geology. British Journalfor the History of .Science, IX, 2 (32): 237-240.

Ri nwicK, M. J. 1969. LycII on Etna, and the Anti-quity of the Earth. In: Toward a Instorv ofGeology: 288-304 (C. J. Schncer, Ed.) M.I.T.Press. Cambridge.

Trlxloott, J. 1883. Rescha gcologica do la provinciade Gerona. Panic 1.": inclicacion do algunos tc-rrenos volchnicos. alernorias Real Acad. de Cieri-cias Nat. y Artes tic Barcelona. Scgunda epo-ca, 1 (7).

28