This Was Near The Uppermost Limit Of Bushes,
And The Elevation, I Suppose, Was Between Seven And Eight
Thousand Feet.
I was much struck with the marked difference between
the vegetation of these eastern valleys and those on the
Chilian side:
Yet the climate, as well as the kind of soil, is
nearly the same, and the difference of longitude very trifling.
The same remark holds good with the quadrupeds, and in
a lesser degree with the birds and insects. I may instance the
mice, of which I obtained thirteen species on the shores of
the Atlantic, and five on the Pacific, and not one of them
is identical. We must except all those species, which habitually
or occasionally frequent elevated mountains; and certain
birds, which range as far south as the Strait of Magellan.
This fact is in perfect accordance with the geological
history of the Andes; for these mountains have existed as
a great barrier since the present races of animals have
appeared; and therefore, unless we suppose the same species
to have been created in two different places, we ought not to
expect any closer similarity between the organic beings on
the opposite sides of the Andes than on the opposite shores
of the ocean. In both cases, we must leave out of the question
those kinds which have been able to cross the barrier,
whether of solid rock or salt-water. [5]
A great number of the plants and animals were absolutely
the same as, or most closely allied to, those of Patagonia.
We here have the agouti, bizcacha, three species of armadillo,
the ostrich, certain kinds of partridges and other birds,
none of which are ever seen in Chile, but are the characteristic
animals of the desert plains of Patagonia.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 503 of 776
Words from 134784 to 135078
of 208183
