THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. U33 



bf ships. It receives streams only from tiie eastern 

 mountains. The ridsre of the western higher mouri-^ 

 tains is turned to the interior of the island, and 

 pours its waters into the valleys, which it embraces 

 in the west, with several arms. The passes between 

 the summits are high and steep, arid only to be 

 ascended by dangerous paths. The luxuriance of 

 the vegetation, which, at the height of about three 

 luindred toises, to which w^e ascended, appears 

 unchanged, mostly conceals from the eye of th^ 

 geologer the object of his search, and the kind of 

 rock is scarcely to be seen. 



On both sides of the island we observed only 

 argillaceous porphyry and amygdaloid j black 

 })atches, which we noticed from the sea On the 

 eastern declivity and foot of the great old crater^ 

 seemed to us to be a lava. 



The clouds collect round the summits of the 

 mountains, and rain frequently falls in the interior 

 of the island, while a scorching sun burns up the; 

 strand. 



The temperature visibly changes as soon as yoU 

 enter the mountain-valleys from the exterior 

 plains. 



We already possessed three measurements of the 

 height of Mouna Roa, differing very much froni 

 each other, after King, Marchand, and Hornen 

 The more exact measurement of M. Von Kotze- 

 bue determines it within six toises of the second 

 above-mentioned j and his trigonometrical labours 



