ROSA, MoNTE, a short account of this celebrated mountain has already been given in our article ALPS. Monte Rosa is the highest mountain in Europe ex cepting Mont Blanc. From a mean of various mea sures taken with accuracy, the height of Mont Blanc is 2461.8 toises, while that of Monte Rosa is 2373, whence it appears that Mont Blanc is only 88 toises higher than Monte Rosa. Monte Rosa was called by the ancients Mons Sylvius. The name of Monte Rosa seems to have been first given to it by Schenehzer, in his Rinera .41pina, in 1702-1711; and Baron \Velden thinks that it derives its name from the roseate tints which the first rays of the rising sun throws on its whitened summits.
The summit of Monte Rosa has not yet been reach ed by any traveller. One Maynard pretended that lie had accon'.plished this on the 13th August, 1813; but his own accGunt shows, that the point which he reach ed was very far from the summit. Professor Parrot of Dorpat, and M. Zumstein of Gressonay, made two attempts in 1817, to ascend the highest peak; but they failed in both. In 1819, M. Zumstein ascended one of its southern summits.* Ile made a second ascent in August 1820, a third in August 1821, and a fourth and fifth in July and August 1822.
The following is a Table of the heights of the dif ferent peaks of Monte Rosa.
Baron Welden, an enterprising German traveller, conceived the design of exploring and describing the topography, the orometry, the geology, the natural history, and the botany of this mountain; and he has executed this design with great ability in his work, entitled Der Monte Rosa. Eine Topographische and Naturhistorische ,Sykizze nebst einem .Rnhange der Von Herrn Zumstein, gemachten Reiscn zur Ersteigung sei ner Gipfel, Vienna, 1824. This work is accompanied with a topographical chari of Monte Rosa and its en virons, on a scale of 3200 toises to a Paris inch, with a map of the trigonometrical operations among the Alps, and five lithographic views taken by the camera lucida from the Lago D'orte, from Turin, from Ver celli, from Gemmi, and from Rothorn. Besides giv ing an account of the glaciers, torrents, rivers, and line of perpetual snow on the mountain, Baron \Vel den has given a very interesting account of the inha bitants of the adjacents valleys,—a German population of 9000 persons who have preserved their language and customs entire. He has also added, as the title of the book expresses, an account of Al. Zurnstein's ascents. See Dr. Brewster's Journal of Science, voL I. No. i. and vol. ii. p. 152.