on the West Coast of South America. 159 



tured mass was detached as large as the Plaza of Tacna, which is as large 

 as Saint Enoch Square, Glasgow. From what has been stated, it may be 

 inferred that, within the last few years, an important subterranean change 

 has happened beneath Tacna and surrounding country ; also, that if the 

 agent or moving power of the earthquake of 1833 acted throughout on 

 the same level, it was in operation at an enormous depth below the 

 earth's surface. We have the testimony of some who were on the ocean 

 above 100 miles from the coast of Peru, where the sea is very deep ; and 

 besides our experience at Tacna, which is 1400 feet above the Pacific, we 

 have evidence of the destructive effects of the convulsion in Upper Peru, 

 at above three English miles perpendicular height above the surface 

 of the oeean. The subterranean movement on 18th September 1833 ap- 

 peared to be from north to south, with undulations. That of the year 

 following was very different: it occurred at 8 o'clock p.m., on 21st Sep- 

 tember 1834. When the earthquake began, I was in an apartment con- 

 structed of wood, and remained within doors till the great shock had 

 passed. The movement during this convulsion was altogether vertical, 

 or up and down. Judging from the evolutions of the furniture, there 

 were two upward movements every second; the shock lasted half a mi- 

 nute, and the subterranean noise, which was simultaneous with the mo- 

 tion, was like the discharge of a number of cannons, as heard a few hun- 

 dred paces off. On the 20th of January 1834, the district of New Gre- 

 nada was desolated by a terribly fatal earthquake. It happened at 7 

 o'clock a.m., when the cities of Popoj-an, Pasto, and other towns, were 

 totally overthrown, and many thousands of the population perished in 

 the catastrophe. On that morning, so violent was the motion of the earth, 

 that larie masses of rocks were not only moved from their sites, but were 

 thrown to a distance, as if discharged by means of gunpowder. 



In the following year, a large portion of the south-west coast of Ame- 

 rica was the scene of a dreadfully destructive earthquake, which occurred 

 on the 5th February 1835, when the south of Chili was overwhelmed by 

 a convulsion which destroyed about forty towns and villages. The south 

 of Chili is a fine verdant country, with a salubrious climate ; but it is 

 subject to dreadful earthquakes. In that of 1835, the seaport town of 

 Conception was completely destroyed, and also Talcacuanha, the capital 

 of the province. On this occasion, the sea retired several times to a great 

 distance, and returned again in immense billows. It is believed that, by 

 this earthquake, banks were thrown up at various parts along the coast 

 of Chili, and that shoals were created where formerly was deep water; 

 also, that a man-of-wui which was lost on the southern coast of Chili a 

 few months after the earthquake, struck on a bank so created. 



It is probable that there is a vast cavity below the surface of that por- 

 tion of Pi ru which we bare been considering, which cavity contains the 

 chief agents of convulsion ; also, that, at the moment of convulsion, the 

 earth's surface is strongly charged with electricity. 



