Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 3 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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These Alternations And Transitions
Appeared To Me Less Common In The Littoral Cordillera Of Venezuela
Than In The Sierra Parime.
We recognise successively, in the former of
these two systems of mountains, above all in the chain nearest the
Coast, as predominating rocks from west to east, granite (longitude 70
to 71 degrees), gneiss (longitude 68 1/2 to 70 degrees), and
mica-slate (longitude 65 3/4 to 66 1/2 degrees); but considering
altogether the geologic constitution of the coast and the Sierra
Parime, we prefer to treat of granite, gneiss and mica-slate, if not
as one formation, at least as three co-ordinate formations closely
linked together. The primitive clay-slate (urthonschiefer) is
subordinate to mica-slate, of which it is only a modification. It no
more forms an independent stratum in the New Continent, than in the
Pyrenees and the Alps.
(a) GRANITE which does not pass to gneiss is most common in the
western part of the coast-chain between Turmero, Valencia and Porto
Cabello, as well as in the circle of the Sierra Parime, near the
Encaramada, and at the Peak of Duida. At the Rincon del Diablo,
between Mariara and Hacienda de Cura, and at Chuao, it is
coarse-grained, and contains fine crystals of felspar, 1 1/2 inches
long. It is divided in prisms by perpendicular vents, or stratified
regularly like secondary limestone, at Las Trincheras, the strait of
Baraguan in the valley of the Orinoco, and near Guapasoso, on the
banks of the Atabapo. The stratified granite of Las Trincheras, giving
birth to very hot springs (from 90.5 degrees centigrade), appears from
the inclination of its layers to be superposed on gneiss which is seen
further southward in the islands of the lake of Valencia; but
conjectures of superposition founded only on the hypothesis of an
indefinite prolongation of the strata are doubtful; and possibly the
granite masses which form a small particular zone in the northern
range of the littoral Cordillera, between 70 degrees 3 minutes and 70
degrees 50 minutes longitude, were upheaved in piercing the gneiss.
The latter rock is prevalent, both in descending from the Rincon del
Diablo southward to the hot-springs of Mariara, and towards the banks
of the lake of Valencia, and in advancing on the east towards the
group of Buenavista, the Silla of Caracas and Cape Codera. In the
region of the littoral chain of Venezuela, where granite seems to
constitute an independent formation from 15 to 16 leagues in length, I
saw no foreign or subordinate layers of gneiss, mica-slate or
primitive limestone.* (* Primitive limestone, everywhere so common in
mica-slate and gneiss, is found in the granite of the Pyrenees, at
Port d'Oo, and in the mountains of Labourd.)
The Sierra Parime is one of the most extensive granitic strata
existing on the globe;* but the granite, which is seen alike bare on
the flanks of the mountains and in the plains by which they are
joined, often passes into gneiss.
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