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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If The Causes, Which May Have Changed The
Surface Of Our Planet, Be An Interesting Speculation,
Investigations Of The Phenomena, Such As They Offer Themselves To
The Measures And Observations Of The Naturalist, Lead To Far
Greater Certainty.
From Astorga to Corunna, especially from Lugo, the mountains rise
gradually.
The secondary formations gently disappear, and are
succeeded by the transition rocks, which indicate the proximity of
primitive strata. We found considerable mountains composed of that
ancient grey stone which the mineralogists of the school of
Freyberg name grauwakke, and grauwakkenschiefer. I do not know
whether this formation, which is not frequent in the south of
Europe, has hitherto been discovered in other parts of Spain.
Angular fragments of Lydian stone, scattered along the valleys,
seemed to indicate that the transition schist is the basis of the
strata of greywacke. Near Corunna even granitic ridges stretch as
far as Cape Ortegal. These granites, which seem formerly to have
been contiguous to those of Britanny and Cornwall, are perhaps the
wrecks of a chain of mountains destroyed and sunk in the waves.
Large and beautiful crystals of feldspar characterise this rock.
Common tin ore is sometimes discovered there, but working the mines
is a laborious and unprofitable operation for the inhabitants of
Galicia.
The first secretary of state had recommended us very particularly
to brigadier Don Raphael Clavijo, who was employed in forming new
dock-yards at Corunna. He advised us to embark on board the sloop
Pizarro,* (* According to the Spanish nomenclature, the Pizarro was
a light frigate (fragata lijera).) which was to sail in company
with the Alcudia, the packet-boat of the month of May, which, on
account of the blockade, had been detained three weeks in the port.
Senor Clavijo ordered the necessary arrangements to be made on
board the sloop for placing our instruments, and the captain of the
Pizarro received orders to stop at Teneriffe, as long as we should
judge necessary to enable us to visit the port of Orotava, and
ascend the peak.
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