110 Baron Alexander von Humboldt on the Physiognomy 



are, in fact, true islands, surrounded by the ocean on all sides, 

 and which we term the eastern and western or the old and new 

 continents, exhibit, along with the most striking contrasts in 

 their total configuration, or rather in the position of their 

 larger axes, considerable resemblance in the details of their 

 arrangement, and more especially in the superficial relations 

 between the coasts which stand opposite to one another. In the 

 eastern continent, the prevailing direction, or the position of 

 the long axis, is from east to west (more correctly from SW. to 

 NE.) ; whereas, in -the western continent, it is from S. to N., 

 like that of meridians, (moi-e exactly from SSE. to NNW.). 

 Both masses of land are cut off to the north in the direction 

 of a parallel of latitude (chiefly in that of 70°), and to the 

 south they project in pyramidal points, for the most part with a 

 submarine continuation of islands and reefs. This is exhibited 

 in the archipelago of Terra del Fuego ; in the Lagullas-Bank, 

 south of the Cape of Good Hope ; and in Van Diemen's Land, 

 which is separated from New Holland by Bass's Strait. The 

 Northern Asiatic coast projects beyond the above mentioned 

 latitude at Cape Taimura (78° 16' according to Krusenstern) ; 

 while, from the mouth of the great river Tschukotschja east- 

 ward towards Eehring's Straits, it reaches only latitude 

 66° 3', according to Beechy, at the most eastern promontory 

 of Asia, the East Cape of Cook.* The northern coast of the 

 New Continent follows pretty exactly the parallel of 70°, 

 because southwai'd and northward from Barrow's Straits, 

 from Boothia Felix and Victoria Land, all the land consists 

 only of detached islands. 



The pyramidal form of all the southern terminations of 

 the continents is one of the similitudines physicw in configura- 

 tione mundi to which Bacon (Lord Verulam) directed atten- 

 tion in his Novum Organum^ and with which Reinhold For- 

 ster, the companion of Cook on his second voyage round the 

 world, connected some ingenious views. If we proceed east- 

 ward from the meridian of TenerifFe, we find that the termi- 



* On tlie subject of the mean latitude of the Nortli Asiatic Coast, and 

 tlie correct designation of Cape Taimura (Cape Siewero — Wostotschnoi) 

 and North-east Cape (Schalagskoi Mys), vide JIumholdt, Asie Ccntrale, 

 t. iii., pp. 35, 37. 



