Geological Delineation of South Ainh-ica. 855 



abl'ibn of the tropical currents, which may be called the 

 currents of the earth's jotation ; an action which shows it- 

 self also in the direction of the coast from Cuba, St. Do- 

 mino;o, Porto Rico, Yucatan, and Honduras, as in the se- 

 ries of the windward islands Grenada, Orchila, Rocca, Aves, 

 Bucnos-Ayres, Curaijoa, and Aruba, the ruins of the cor- 

 dillera from Cape Chichibacoa, which are all parallel to 

 the equator. It was this headhmd of Chichibacoa, not- 

 withstanding its inconsiderable height, which by its resist- 

 ance to the mflux, preserved the kingdom of New Grenada 

 from losing so much land as the general government of 

 Caracas. _ , i 



The second original cordillera of South America, which. 

 I have called the Cordillera df the Cataracts of Orinoco, is 

 yet very little known. During the journey which we made. 

 On the Black River, to the borders of the Great Bara, we 

 travelled more than 200 leagues, first from north to south, 

 tromCerro de Uruanato Atabapo andTuamini; then from 

 west to east, from the mouths of the Ventuari to Vulcaii 

 deDuida, which I have found to be in latitude 3° 13' 26", 

 and longitude 60" 34' l" west froin Paris. Since the jour- 

 ney of Messrs. Ituriaga and Solano, a passage over these 

 Cordilleras, which may be called also Parima or Dorado 

 (golden), a name which has occasioned so much misfortune 

 in America, and so much ridicule in Europe, has been pos- 

 sible ; but as all the European scttlenjents on the Alto 

 Orinoco, and the Rio Negro (Clack River), contain at 

 this time no more than 400 Indian families, and as the 

 way from Esmeraldc to Erevato and Caura has been totally 

 lost, our researches in a land so little civilized, presented 

 more difficulties than Condamine experienced during his 

 tedious navigation on the river Amazon, the banks of which 

 for many years have been inhabited. 



The cordillera of the Cataracts or of Parima separates 

 itself from the Andes of Quito and Popayan, in the longi- 

 tude of from 3° to 6°. It^ extends from west to east from 

 Paramo de Tuquillo and St. Martin, or the sources of the 

 Guaviare, the theatre of the gallant deeds of Philip de Urre, 

 and the old residence of the'Orneguas, through MorocotCj 

 Piramena, and Macuco, stretching through the country of 

 tjie Indians of Guajibos, Sagi, Dagueres, and Poigraves,^ 

 according to the direction of the great rivers Mcta, Vichada, 

 Zama, Guaviare, and Ymcrida, in the longitude of 70° west 

 from Paris, between the high summits of Uniania and Cu- 

 navami. They form the Raudals of Atures and Maypurc, 

 tremendous waterfalls, which aflord flie only passage by 

 Z 2 which 



