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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The
Alleghenies, Generally Composed Of Grauwacke And Transition Rocks, Are
Somewhat Loftier Than The Almost Primitive Mountains (Of Granite,
Gneiss
And mica-slate) of the Brazilian group; they are also of a far
more simple structure, their chains lying nearer
To each other and
preserving, as in the Jura, a more uniform parallelism.
If, instead of comparing those parts of the new continent situated
north and south of the equator, we confine ourselves to South America,
we find on the western and northern coasts in their whole length, a
continued chain near the shore (the Andes and the Cordillera of
Venezuela), while the eastern coast presents masses of more or less
lofty mountains only between the 12 and 30 degrees south latitude. In
this space, 360 leagues in length, the system of the Brazil mountains
corresponds geologically in form and position with the Andes of Chile
and Peru. Its most considerable portion lies between the parallels 15
and 22 degrees, opposite the Andes of Potosi and La Paz, but its mean
height is five toises less, and cannot even be compared with that of
the mountains of Parime, Jura and Auvergne. The principal direction of
the Brazilian chains, where they attain the height of from four to
five hundred toises, is from south to north, and from south-south-west
to north-north-east; but, between 13 and 19 degrees the chains are
considerably enlarged, and at the same time lowered towards the west.
Ridges and ranges of hills seem to advance beyond the land-straits
which separate the sources of the Rio Araguay, Parana, Topayos,
Paraguay, Guapore and Aguapehy, in 63 degrees longitude.
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