Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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The Zone Of Perpetual Snows Also
Forms A Fourth Of The Height Of The Mountain; And The Base Of This
Zone, Seen On The Coast Of The Pacific, Fills An Extent Of 3437
Toises (6700 Metres).
But though Chimborazo is two-thirds higher
than the peak, we do not see it, on account of the curve of the
globe, at more than 38 miles and a third farther distant.
The
radiant brilliancy of its snows, when, at the port of Guayaquil, at
the close of the rainy season, Chimborazo is discerned on the
horizon, may lead us to suppose, that it must be seen at a very
great distance in the South Sea. Pilots highly worthy of credit
have assured me, that they have seen it from the rock of Muerto, to
the south west of the isle of Puna, at a distance of 47 leagues.
Whenever it has been seen at a greater distance, the observers,
uncertain of their longitude, have not been in a situation to
furnish precise data.
Aerial light, projected on mountains, increases the visibility of
those which are seen positively; its power diminishes, on the
contrary, the visibility of objects which, like the peak of
Teneriffe and that of the Azores, detach themselves in a brown
tint. Bouguer, relying on theoretical considerations, was of
opinion that, according to the constitution of our atmosphere,
mountains seen negatively cannot be perceived at distances
exceeding 35 leagues. It is important here to observe, that these
calculations are contrary to experience. The peak of Teneriffe has
been often seen at the distance of 36, 38, and even at 40 leagues.
Moreover, in the vicinity of the Sandwich Islands, the summit of
Mowna-Roa, at a season when it was without snows, has been seen on
the skirt of the horizon, at the distance of 53 leagues. This is
the most striking example we have hitherto known of the visibility
of a mountain; and it is the more remarkable, that an object seen
negatively furnishes this example.
The volcanoes of Teneriffe, and of the Azores, the Sierra Nevada of
Santa Martha, the peak of Orizaba, the Silla of Caracas, Mowna-Roa,
and Mount St. Elias, insulated in the vast extent of the seas, or
placed on the coasts of continents, serve as sea-marks to direct
the pilot, when he has no means of determining the position of the
vessel by the observation of the stars; everything which has a
relation to the visibility of these natural seamarks, is
interesting to the safety of navigation.
CHAPTER 1.2.
STAY AT TENERIFE.
JOURNEY FROM SANTA CRUZ TO OROTAVA.
EXCURSION TO THE SUMMIT OF THE PEAK OF TEYDE.
From the time of our departure from Graciosa, the horizon continued
so hazy, that, notwithstanding the considerable height of the
mountains of Canary,* (* Isla de la Gran Canaria.) we did not
discover that island till the evening of the 18th of June. It is
the granary of the archipelago of the Fortunate Islands; and, what
is very remarkable in a region situated beyond the limits of the
tropics, we were assured, that in some districts, there are two
wheat harvests in the year; one in February, and the other in June.
Canary has never been visited by a learned mineralogist; yet this
island is so much the more worthy of observation, as the
physiognomy of its mountains, disposed in parallel chains, appeared
to me to differ entirely from that of the summits of Lancerota and
Teneriffe. Nothing is more interesting to the geologist, than to
observe the relations, on the same point of the globe, between
volcanic countries, and those which are primitive or secondary.
When the Canary Islands shall have been examined, in all the parts
which compose the system of these mountains, we shall find that we
have been too precipitate in considering the whole group as raised
by the action of submarine fires.
On the morning of the 19th, we discovered the point of Naga, but
the peak of Teneriffe was still invisible: the land, obscured by a
thick mist, presented forms that were vague and confused. As we
approached the road of Santa Cruz we observed that the mist, driven
by the winds, drew nearer to us. The sea was strongly agitated, as
it most commonly is in those latitudes. We anchored after several
soundings, for the mist was so thick, that we could scarcely
distinguish objects at a few cables' distance; but at the moment we
began to salute the place, the fog was instantly dispelled. The
peak of Teyde appeared in a break above the clouds, and the first
rays of the sun, which had not yet risen on us, illumined the
summit of the volcano.
We hastened to the prow of the vessel to behold the magnificent
spectacle, and at the same instant we saw four English vessels
lying to, and very near our stern. We had passed without being
perceived, and the same mist which had concealed the peak from our
view, had saved us from the risk of being carried back to Europe.
The Pizarro stood in as close as possible to the fort, to be under
its protection. It was on this shore, that, in the landing
attempted by the English two years before our arrival, in July
1797, admiral Nelson had his arm carried off by a cannon-ball.
The situation of the town of Santa Cruz is very similar to that of
La Guayra, the most frequented port of the province of Caraccas.
The heat is excessive in both places, and from the same causes; but
the aspect of Santa Cruz is more gloomy. On a narrow and sandy
beach, houses of dazzling whiteness, with flat roofs, and windows
without glass, are built close against a wall of black
perpendicular rock, devoid of vegetation. A fine mole, built of
freestone, and the public walk planted with poplars, are the only
objects which break the sameness of the landscape. The view of the
peak, as it presents itself above Santa Cruz, is much less
picturesque than that we enjoy from the port of Orotava.
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