496 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1814. 



stance, before the great catastro- 

 phe of 1797, the earthquakes were 

 felt only along the southern and 

 calcarious coast of the gulf of Ca- 

 riaco, as far as the town of this 

 name; while in the peninsula of 

 Araya, and at the village of Maui- 

 quarez, the ground did not par- 

 take of the same agitation. The in- 

 habitants of this northern coast, 

 which is composed of mica-slate, 

 built their huts on a motionless 

 earth ; a gulf three or four thou- 

 sand toises in breadth separated 

 them from a plain covered with 

 ruins, and overturned by earth- 

 quakes. This security, founded on 

 the experience of several ages, has 

 vanished ; and since the 14th of 

 December, 1797, new communica- 

 tions appear to have been opened 

 in the interior of the globe. At 

 present the peninsula of Araya is 

 not merely subject to the agita- 

 tions of the soil of Cumana, the 

 promontory of mica-slate is become 

 in its turn a particular centre of the 

 movements. The earth is some- 

 times strongly shaken at the village 

 of Maniquarez, when on the coast 

 of Cumana the inhabitants enjoy 

 the most perfect tranquillity. The 

 gulf of Cariaco nevertheless is only 

 sixty or eighty fathoms deep. 



It has been thought from obser- 

 vations made both on the continent 

 and in the islands, that the western 

 and southern coasts are most ex- 

 posed to shocks. This observation 

 is connected with the ideas which 

 geologists have long formed of the 

 position of the high chains of moun- 

 tains, and the direction of their 

 steepest declivities ; the existence 

 of the Cordillera of Caracas, and 

 the frequency of the oscillations on 

 the eastern and northern coasts of 



Terra Firma, in the gulf of Parisr 

 at Carupano, at Cariaco, and at 

 Cumana, are proofs of the uncer- 

 tainty of this opinion. 



In New Andalusia, as well as in 

 Chili and Peru, the shocks follow 

 the course of the shore ; and ex- 

 tend but little inland. This cir- 

 cumstance, as we shall soon find, 

 indicates an intimate connection 

 between the causes that produce 

 earthquakes and volcanic erup- 

 tions. If the earth was most agi- 

 tated on the coasts, because they 

 are the lowest part of the land, 

 why should not the oscillations be 

 equally strong and frequent on those 

 vast savannahs or meadows, whicli 

 are scarcely eight or ten toises 

 above the level of the ocean ? 



The earthquakes of Cumana are 

 connected with those of the West 

 India Islands; and it has even 

 been suspected, that they have 

 some connection with the volcanic 

 phaenomena of the Cordilleras of 

 the Andes. On the 4th of Novem- 

 ber, 1797, the soil of the province 

 of Quito underwent such a de- 

 structive commotion, that, not- 

 withstanding the extreme feeble- 

 ness of the population of that coun- 

 try, near 40,000 natives perished, 

 buried under the ruins of their 

 houses, swallowed up in the cre- 

 vices, or drowned in lakes that 

 were suddenly formed. At the 

 same period, the inhabitants of the 

 eastern Antilles were alarmed by 

 shocks, which continued during 

 eight months, when the volcano of 

 Guadaloupe threw out pumice 

 stones, ashes, and gusts of sulphure- 

 ous vapours. This eruption of the 

 27th of September, during which 

 very long continued subterraneous 

 noises were heard, was followed oa 



