GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES IN 1865. 



383 



800 above Pissis' measurement. Sorata, whose 

 southern pinnacle is now generally believed to 

 be the Highest of the South American moun- 

 tains by a few feet, he did not measure ; but 

 from the results of his examination of Illimani, 

 it is somewhat doubtful which is the higher. 

 The snow-line on Illimani (lat. 16 88' S.) he 

 found to be 17,171 feet, and the average height 

 of the snow-line in five mountains lying be- 

 tween 16 38' and 21 43' S. was 17,105 feet. 

 The middle range of mountains did not attain 

 to as great a height as the giants of the Andes 

 proper, only two of the peaks rising above 

 18,000 feet. Of the inner or western Cordil- 

 leras the summits of the Cordillera de Andaca- 

 hua are the loftiest, rising to an average height 

 of about 18,900 feet. 



Herr Reck devotes considerable space to the 

 description and statistics of the lofty table-lands 

 or Pampas of Bolivia. These occupy a large 

 portion of the area of the republic, that of Oru- 

 ro, " the great central plateau of Bolivia," being 

 2,580 square leagues in extent. The average 

 elevation is 12,431 feet, though the highest are 

 13,640 above the sea level. 



Herr Reek's observations on the hydrography 

 and climate of the country are very complete. 

 The river systems and fresh and salt water 

 lakes are all described, and their size, extent, 

 and sources specified. He gives valuable infor- 

 mation relative to the temperature and climate 

 of the Puna brava, or elevated Pampas. The 

 town of Potosi is about 13,084 feet above the 

 sea level, on one of these plateaus, and the tem- 

 perature there in November, the hottest month, 

 was at 8 A. M. 60 29' F. ; at 2 P. M. 68 25' F. ; 

 at 10 P. M. 51 42' F. In July, the coldest month, 

 it was at 8 A. M. 36 30' F. ; at 2 p. M. 53 31', and 

 at 10 P. M. 39 34' F. In the lower Pampas, 

 at an elevation of nearly or quite 12,000 feet, 

 the sun is very hot in November, though when 

 not exposed to its direct rays the strong breeze 

 reduces the temperature. Herr Reck found on 

 the Aullagas Pampa, November 4, 1860, the 

 temperature in the shade at mid-day was 79 25' 

 while in the sun, and reflecting the heat of the 

 sands, the thermometer stood at 138. There 

 is usually in these regions neither rain nor 

 snow except in the months of August and 

 September. 



There have been some geographical discov- 

 eries and explorations made during the year in 

 the ATLANTIC OCEAN. The attempt to lay the 

 Atlantic Telegraph Cable proved a failure, owing 

 to untoward accidents which, in the opinion of 

 those best qualified to judge, should not shake 

 our faith in the possibility of its ultimate accom- 

 plishment. The attempt will probably be re- 

 peated during the coming summer. Capt. 

 Toynbee, R. N., has made a series of observa- 

 tions during five voyages between England and 

 India, relative to the specific gravity and tem- 

 perature of the sea at different points, which he 

 laid before the Royal Geographical Society on 

 the 8th of May, 1865. He found the specific 

 gravity decrease as he approached the equator, 



and also in the Bay of Bengal. In the former 

 case he attributed it to the vast quantity of rain 

 which falls south of the equator between the 

 northeast and southeast trade winds. In the 

 Bay of Bengal he believed it due to the volume 

 of water poured into that bay from the great 

 rivers of India. Between 130' north. latitude, 

 and 30' south, the temperature of the ocean is 

 uniformly 70 Fahrenheit, except along the west 

 coast of Africa ; from August to February, cold 

 currents flow near the land, and, as they ap- 

 proach the Cape of Good Hope, the temperature 

 decreases very rapidly. In February, in Table 

 Bay, he had found the water as low as 51 Fahr- 

 enheit. To the southeast of the cape it rises 

 with considerable rapidity, reaching, on the 

 parallel of 40 south, longitude 50 east from 

 Greenwich, 67 Fahrenheit. This warm current 

 enters and passes through the Channel of Mo- 

 zambique. The temperature of the land around 

 the cape is reduced by this coldness of the sea. 



" The Sea of Sargasso' 1 ' 1 is one of the names 

 which has been applied to that extensive por- 

 tion of the Atlantic Ocean lying between 16 

 and 38 north latitude and between 29 and 50 

 west longitude from Greenwich, which is con- 

 stantly covered with one or more species of 

 seaweed (principally the fucus natans), in such 

 quantities as to appear in some places like a 

 prairie in the sea. Many observations in rela- 

 tion to this floating mass of vegetation have 

 been recorded, but the latest and most thorough 

 has been that of Captain Leps, of the French 

 Imperial Navy. 



Contrary to the generally received opinion 

 that this vegetation had its origin and growth 

 in the Gulf of Mexico, and was driven to this 

 region between the trade winds by the Gulf 

 Stream, Capt. Leps maintains that it has its 

 origin and growth in the vicinity where it is 

 found ; that it is analogous in character to some 

 of the fresh-water alga?, and propagates itself by 

 continuous growth without any necessary con- 

 nection with earthy matters, but deriving its 

 nourishment from the air and the soluble mat- 

 ters of the ocean, and that the comparative 

 stillness of the waters in the region where it is 

 found, in consequence of their lying between 

 the atmospheric currents of the two trade- winds, 

 facilitates its growth and extension ; and that 

 it is only kept in bounds by the force of the 

 winds on its borders which drive off" large mass- 

 es, and throw them upon the shores of France 

 and Northern Africa. Capt. Leps believes that 

 this vast floating mass of seaweed might be 

 utilized to advantage either by being gathered 

 on ships and brought to the French coast, where 

 great quantities are now burned and lixiviated 

 for the sake of the soda and iodine they contain, 

 or that these valuable ingredients might be 

 extracted at the region itself, on iron-plated 

 rafts, or the decks of vessels, as the oil is ex- 

 tracted from the whale's blubber on board the 

 whaling-ships. 



In EITEOPE, geographical science has made 

 decided progress during the year. The publi- 



