760 LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



Agassiz enjoyed extremely his cruise among 

 these islands of such rare geological and zo- 

 ological interest. Purely volcanic in charac- 

 ter, and of very recent formation, they yet 

 support a fauna and flora quite their own, 

 very peculiar and characteristic. Albemarle 

 Island was, perhaps, the most interesting of 

 all. It is a barren mountain rising from the 

 sea, its base and slope covered with small 

 extinct craters. No less than fifty some 

 perfectly symmetrical, others irregular, as if 

 blasted out on one side could be counted 

 from the deck as the vessel neared the shore. 

 Indeed, the whole island seemed like some 

 subterranean furnace, of which these craters 

 were the chimneys. The anchorage was in 

 Tagus Sound, a deep, quiet bay, less peaceful 

 once, for its steep sides are formed by the 

 walls of an old crater. 



The next day, June 15, was spent by the 

 whole scientific party in a ramble on shore. 

 The landing was at the foot of a ravine. 

 Climbing its left bank, they were led by a 

 short walk to the edge of a large crater, which 

 held a beautiful lake in its cup. It was, in 

 fact, a crater within a crater, for a second 

 one, equally symmetrical, rose outside and 

 above it. Following the brink of this lake to 



