184 Mr Solly on the Motion of Earthquakes. 



ings in the town of Valparaiso, and permanently raised the 

 adjoining coast from two to three feet, states that it was felt 

 eastward, beyond the Andes, at Mendoza and St Juan. I 

 heard the same account when I was in Chili in 1828, and have 

 no doubt whatever of the fact. I crossed the Andes that year 

 by the Aconcagua and Uspallata Pass, six years therefore 

 after the great earthquake, and my astonishment was excited 

 by the position of an immense mass of rock called the " Penon 

 rajado," or " Piedra partida," about half way between the 

 Cumbre and the Plain of Uspallata, and 7800 feet above the 

 level of the sea. It had evidently fallen, at some former 

 period, from the cliffs above, and had split into two large 

 pieces and several smaller. The equilibrium of both of the 

 principal fragments appeared so precarious that in spite of 

 the burning sun, one of my companions refused to repose 

 under their shade, being convinced, as he said, *' that the 

 slightest shock would overthrow the enormous mass and crush 

 us to atoms."* This seemed likely enough, but nevertheless 

 our head muleteer, Pedro Aransivia, assured us that they had 

 not changed their position in his time, nor in that of his father 

 before him, and that they had always availed themselves of 

 their shelter ; also, that there were traditions, respecting the 

 ancient Incas, connected with these rocks. 



Of the great Conception earthquake of the 20th February 

 1835, which permanently raised the coast two feet and upwards, 

 Captain Fitzroy says, " This earthquake was felt at all places 

 between Juan Fernandez and Mendoza. At Mendoza the 

 motion was evenly gentle. Towns and houses which lay be- 

 tween the parallels of 35 and 38, suffered extremely, nearly 

 all were ruined, but northward and southward of those lati- 

 tudes slight injury was done to any building."-!- This account 

 I know to be correct, with the exception of the first sentence, 

 if taken literally, as the shock was not felt in the Andes, 

 although it was felt beyond them, at Mendoza. An intimate 

 friend of mine happened to be in the Cordillera at the time, 

 and I can state positively that neither he nor any of his party 



* Extract from my journal, written at the time. 



t Narrative of tbe surveying voyages of the Beagle^ vol. ii. p. 418. 



