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high circular wall which surrounds it, and which'would 

 prevent access to the crater, if it were not broken down 

 on its western side. The depression of the crater does 

 not exceed 160 feet. The crater of Mount Chahorra is 

 very large, as it takes more than an hour to go round it : it 

 is about 140 feet deep. It is not on record that volcanic 

 matter has issued from either of them : they are at present 

 only solfataras, from the crevices of which sulphuric 

 vapours are continually arising. But to the west of Mount 

 Chahorra are four volcanic cones, from which in 1798 great 

 quantities of lava flowed and covered the adjacent tracts. In 

 1706 a great quantity of lava issued from the north-eastern 

 side of the ridge which unites the Piton to Mount Cha- 

 horra. These lavas reached the sea and almost filled the 

 harbour of Garachico, which up to that time was the best, 

 or, more properly speaking, the only harbour in the island. 

 Very elevated volcanic masses extend from Mount Cha- 

 horra in a north-west direction to the Punta de Tena, which 

 is the most elevated cape of the island. These masses 

 rise to 7000 feet above the sea-level. 



The Peak of Teyde is surrounded on the south-west, 

 south, and south-ea'st by an uninterrupted ridge of moun- 

 tain masses, which form a semicircle, and are about three 

 miles from its base. These mountains are very steep to- 

 wards the volcano. On the other sides only single moun- 

 tains occur. The tract which lies between the base of 

 the volcano and the semicircle is called Los Llanos de las 

 Ketamas, from a plant called retama, nearly the only plant 

 which vegetates on this tract, which is covered with 

 pumice-stones. Its surface is uneven, but has a regular 

 slope from the base of the volcano towards the masses 

 forming the semicircle. Near the base of the volcano it 

 is about 8000 feet, and near the semicircle about 6000 feet 

 above the sea. The mountains forming the semicircle rise 

 from 1000 to 1800 feet above their base. It is supposed 

 that the Peak de Teyde and the mountains that belong to 

 it cover an area of 120 square miles. 



From the outer edges of the semicircle the country de- 

 scends in rapid and broken slopes towards the sea on the 

 west and on the north, but on the south and east the semi- 

 circle is surrounded by table-lands, whose surface is like- 

 wise much broken, but which at the distance of several 

 miles preserve'an elevation of between 4000 and 6000 feet 

 above the sea. These table-lands are most extensive to 

 the east, where they terminate, about 20 miles from the 

 semicircle, on the Plain of Laguna. These table-lands and 

 the volcano taken together probably cover nearly half the 

 island. In many places the table-lands and the slopes of 

 the hills which cover it are overgrown with pines, but the 

 greater part consists of bare volcanic rocks or lava. No part 

 of them is cultivated, with the exception of a small portion 

 in the vicinity of Chasna, south of the semicircle, where 

 corn is grown, and where there are extensive plantations of 

 fruit-trees. On the edge of the table-land, west of Guimar, 

 is a small volcano, which made an eruption in 1705. 



The Plain of Laguna is traversed by 16 20 7 W. long. 

 West of that plain the cultivable country is found only near 

 the sea, and from three to four miles from it, with the excep- 

 tion of the table-land of Chasna, which is more than eight 

 mile's distant. The cultivable tract along the sea is so 

 uneven that it is almost impossible to find a square mile 

 which can be called level. A portion of it rising in steep 

 and sharp ridges cannot be cultivated, but where the de- 

 clivities are moderate the soil generally repays the labour 

 bestowed on it. The most fertile tract is on the north side 

 of the island, between Tegina and San Juan de la Rambla, 

 especially west of Santa Ursula, which portion is called 

 the Valley of Taoro. The soil consists of a mixture of 

 sand, volcanic matter, and some clay, and produces rich 

 crops of wheat and all kinds of fruit, especially grapes. 

 West of San Juan de la Rambla are a few fertile valleys, 

 but a great part of the country is covered with i 

 lava. The most sterile part lies along the west coast, be- 

 tween Punta de Tena and Punta Roxa, where there are 

 only a few narrow valleys, and where a tract several miles 

 in length on both sides of Puerto de los Clnistianos is 

 quite barren. Between Punta Roxa and Santa Cruz there 

 arc several fine valleys, which have a fertile soil com- 

 posed of decomposed pumice-stone and tufa intermixed 

 with gravel ; but their fertility cannot be compared with 

 that, of the valley of Taoro, which is mainly to be as- 

 cribed to the smaller quantity of rain which falls on the 

 southern shores. 



The plain of Laguna occupies the middle of the island, 

 near 16 20' W. long. : it is about 1700 feet above the sea, 

 and enclosed by hills ; the surface is nearly a dead level, 

 occupying a space of about 12 square miles. After the 

 rains it is partly covered with water, and hence is derived 

 its name. The soil consists of a reddish clay, and pro- 

 duces abundant crops of grain, but no part of it is covered 

 with trees. 



The eastern portion of the island, or the peninsula 

 which extends east of the plain of Laguna, is only hilly in 

 comparison with the western portion, as the highest sum- 

 mit, the Bufadero, rises only to 3069 feet above the sea- 

 level. In this part no traces of lava and no volcanic cones 

 occur : the hills consist mostly of black basalt : the val- 

 leys are numerous, but narrow. These valleys and the 

 adjacent hills are cultivated and planted with trees where 

 the surface is not too steep: they produce the finest 

 fruits in the island. The country descends gradually 

 towards the east, and Punta de Anaga is only elevated a 

 little above the sea-level. 



Climate. Teneriffe, being situated near the tropic, par- 

 takes of the climate both of the countries within and 

 without the tropic : it has only two seasons, a rainy and a 

 dry season, but the rainy season does not occur when the 

 sun i.s nearest, as in the tropical countries, but when it is 

 near its greatest southern declination. It occurs in the 

 same period of the year as in southern Europe. The dry 

 season is produced by the trade-winds, which, when the 

 sun approaches the northern tropic, proceed farther north, 

 and are met with at 30 and even 33" N. lat. These winds 

 blow on Teneritfe without interruption from April to Oc- 

 tober, and always from the east-north-east : they are 

 strongest from the middle of May to the middle of August. 

 The wind begins in the morning between ten and eleven 

 o'clock, and continues to five or six in the afternoon, when 

 it is followed by a calm, which lasts till midnight. From 

 midnight to seven or eight o'clock the land-breezes blow, 

 and they are again followed by a calm, which lasts till the 

 trade-wind sets in. Along the western shores of the 

 island these winds are not felt, but there is a continual 

 calm, which extends about 15 miles into the sea. The 

 trade-wind renders the communication between the islands 

 tedious and difficult. From Teneriffe a vessel can run to 

 Hierro in less than one day, but to return from Hierro to 

 Teneriffe it generally takes ten or twelve days, and some- 

 times even three or four weeks. A voyage from Madeira 

 to Teneriffe is made in two days, but it takes more than 

 a month to sail from Teneriffe to Madeira. During the 

 prevalence of the trade-winds the weather is constantly 

 fine, and not a drop of rain falls. 



In the rainy season, from October to April, south-west 

 winds prevail : in October the winds turn to the east and 

 south-east, and then the summit of the Peak of Teyde 

 begins to be covered with clouds which proceed from the 

 south. These clouds accumulate on the Peak, and gradually 

 descend lower. When they have sunk to about 6000 feet 

 above the sea-level, and cover the most elevated part of 

 the island, they produce terrible thunder-storms. The rain 

 beinns to descend in torrents on the sides of the mountains, 

 and the summit of the peak is covered with snow. In 

 summer the mountain is quite free from snow, which is 

 only found in a deep depression on the northern slope. 

 This depression is called Cueva del Yelo. The snow 

 rests on the mountain about four months. At the begin- 

 ning of November the wind is settled in the south-west, 

 and whilst it blows the rains sometimes last for three days. 

 In February, March, and April the wind turns to the west- 

 north-west, north-west, and north-north-west, and the rains 

 decrease gradually. They cease at the end of March. 



The climate of Teneriffe and of the Canary Islands in 

 general is disagreeably affected by the wind called Kl 

 Levante, which comes from the south-east, and generally 

 before or after the beginning of the rainy season. 

 Its effect on all organic bodies is very great, and the heat 

 which it. brines from the Sahara is felt much more in ele- 

 vated places than near the sea-shore, the more so as water 

 is very scarce in those parts, and the thirst which the 

 wind produces is intolerable. In those higher places it 

 blows with such force that it frequently throws down men. 

 anil horses. /The air is misty, and it is not possible to 

 distinguish objects even at a moderate distance; but 

 (here are no clouds in the sky. Sometimes this wind 

 brings locusts in large numbers to the island. It was 



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