METEOROLOGY. 467 



tlie regions lying cast of VenezueLi, attended by the same marine plienomena. 

 As regards the AntiUes, 1 doubt not that tlie convulsion whicli ravaged St. 

 Thomas must have visited Porto Rico, St. Domingo, and some of the lesser 

 Antilles. If the oscillations in Porto Rico were, as I presume, east and west, 

 tliey will have held on in the direction of the Cordilleras of the Antilles, and, 

 in that case, the concussions, instead of being limited to St. Thomas and Porto 

 Rico, will have extended to the whole archipelago. 



" How, now, is this phenomenon to be explained ? I stand in need of data 

 and details on the direction of the movements, as well at St. Thomas and Porto 

 Rico as at the remaining islands ; but, confiding in the above data and a study 

 of this branch of geology, I venture to assume that, beneath the American con- 

 tinent, there had been formed a seismic tempest, (when I sav tempest, I mean a 

 series of movements within the crust of the earth,) which, after manifesting 

 itself by repeated shocks in Ecuador, New Granada, and Venezuela, was dis- 

 charged over the whole Antillan continent. Let us recapitulate the facts, taking 

 as a point of departure the strong concussion of Guayaquil : 



'' September 11. Earthquake in Guayaquil and volcanic detonations on the 

 preceding days. 



" 15. Strong concussions in the Venezuelan Andes (Canache and other places) 

 at 2 p. m. 



*' 20. Repeated commotions in the central Cordillera of New Granada, on 

 this day as well as those which preceded and followed it. 



" 22. Slight concussion at Caracas, about 12 at night. Direction STV. 



" 28. Strong shocks in the Venezuelan Andes between 7 and 8 at nicfht. 



'' October 10. Strong concussions in the Venezuelan Andes at 5 a. m. A 

 slight shock at Caracas at 2 p. m. the same day, attended with reports. 



" 24. Strong concussion at Petare (little felt at Caracas) at 6 minutes before 

 2 p. m. 



^' 26. Slight concussion at Caracas at 10 p. m. 



*' November 2. Idem at Caracas at 5 minutes to 4 a. m., and again on the 

 10th at 10.50 p. m. and another some minutes afterwards. Again on the 15th 

 at 4.50 p. m. 



" Tlie southeast direction of the slight concussions which were felt in Caracas 

 a few months ago show that the movement came from the Andes, and in sup- 

 port of this opinion I would remind my readers of the strong shocks which 

 were felt in April in the city of Merida, and which continued uniformly to the 

 west, attaining Maracaibo, while to the north they reached Caracas intermit- 

 tently, together with the neighboring towns. 



" The direction which this seismic tempest has piu'sued and still pursues is 

 indicated by an orbit which, starting from the Chilian and Peruvian Andes, 

 proceeds to Ecuador, passes to the east of the Andes of Granada, traverses 

 Venezuela by the bay of J3arcelona, and advances to the east of Porto Rico, 

 between that island and St. Thomas, The tempest is discharging itself, at the 

 present moment, on the great and lesser Antilles, and its shock in that region 

 is in turn acting upon the eastern part of Venezuela, producing the earthquakes 

 of Margarita and Carupano and the elevation of their seas." 



ACCOiXT OF AN ERUPTION OF A VOLCANO IN NICARAGUA, NOV. 11, 1S67. 



By a. B. Dickinson, United States Minister, Nicau.a.gua, 



On the 14th of November last, a new volcano l)roke out in Nicaragua, about 

 eight leagues to the east of the city of Leon, on a crowded line of A'olcanoes 

 running through the State, parallel with the Pacific coast. 



It commenced about 1 o'clock in the morning, with a succession of explosions 



