1G2 



ANDES ANDHE. 



aid Edinburgh Review, then just started by 1 1 nine, 

 Smith, Carlyle, mill oilier wits the article being 

 written probably by the very man who incited the 

 unhappy author to his task. 



ANHKS, called by tlie Spaniards Cordilleras de lot 

 ./Wo-, an immense chain of mountains extending 

 throughout South America from north to south, gen- 

 erally at the distance of about 150 miles from the 

 western coast They extend from rape 1'ilares, in the 

 straits of Magellan, northwards to the isthmus of Da- 

 n en. A mountainous ridge passes through tlie isthmus 

 of Darien, dividing farthernorth into various branches 

 styled the Cordilleras of Mexico. To the north of 

 Mexico, the principal range takes the name of the 

 lim-ki/ mountains, and readies to the Frozen ocean, 

 i lie northern limits of the American continent. These 

 are by many considered as parts of one continued 

 range, but tlie term Andes is usually limited to the 

 mountains in South America. The Andes differ 

 greatly in their general aspect and character, being 

 in some i>arts blended together into an entire mass, 

 and in others, divided into two or three distinct ridges. 

 In Chili, they are about 120 miles in breadth, present- 

 ing numerous summits of prodigious height. To the 

 north, they diverge in a straggling manner; and in 

 Peni, they are formed into three irregular ridges, 

 which continue to about lat. 6 S., where they are 

 formed into a single chain. They divide again, in 

 Quito, into two chains : and farther north, between lat. 

 2o and 5 N., they are formed into three parallel 

 ridges, which are again blended together between lat. 

 6 and 7 N. Between the two ridges in Quito, there 

 is a plain from 5 to 6 leagues in breadth, of great 

 fertility, well cultivated, and thickly settled, having 

 populous towns, and though under the equator, yet, 

 owing to its great elevation, which is about 9000 feet 

 nixwe the sea, it possesses a temperate and delightful 

 climate. The Andes are the highest mountains in 

 America, and, next to the Himmaleh mountains, the 

 most elevated in the known world. They are com- 

 posed, in a great part, of porphyry, and abound in the 

 precious metals. Many of them are volcanic, anc 

 there are numerous.summits which are covered with 

 perpetual snow. The medium height of tlie range, 

 under the equator, may be estimated at about 14,00( 

 feet above the level of the sea, while that of the Alps 

 hardly exceeds 8000. The following table exhibits 

 some of tlie highest summits, with their elevation 

 nbove the level of the sea. 



Fet. 



Chimborazo, 21,44 



Miste, 20,328 



Disca Casada, 19,570 



Cayamba Ourco r 19,388 



Antisana, 19,14 



Cotopaxi, 18,89 



Altair, 17,251 



Ilinissa, 17,23* 



Sangai, 17,13 



Tunguragna, 16,50( 



Pichinca r 15,93! 



Mr Pentland has recently asserted, that mount Ne 

 vado de Sorato is the highest mountain of America 

 He estimates its height at 25,200 feet. Its situation i 

 in 1 5 3<y S. lat. The second in altitude he consider 

 mount Illimani (Nevados de Illimani), in Paz, 

 Bolivia, or Upper Peru, 22 marine leagues S. E. o 

 the city Paz, between 15 35' and 16 40' S. lat, anc. 

 between 67 and 68 W. long. The most northern 

 peak of it he gives as 24,200 feet high. (See An 

 *ale* de* Sciences, xiv. 299.) A lively idea of th 

 character and grand features of the Andes may b 

 formed from the accounts given in the celebratec 

 Alexander von Humboldt's Journey into the Equi 

 uectial Countru-s of the New Continent ; which, at ill 



same time, affords much scientific information on these 

 emarkahle mountains. (i<xid roads have been cut 

 vith great labour in the neighbourhood of Chimho- 

 -izo, one of \\hicli is KXH) miles in length; andsimi- 

 ar labours of the ancient inc.is of Peru may be found 

 throughout the province. ()\er the Kio Dcsagua- 

 lero, in Buenos Ayres, is a singular bridge, formed 

 if ropes and rushes, attributed to('a|>ac Vnpanqiii, 

 lie 5th inca. The approach to the Andes from the 

 vestern coasts lias always been admired. The road 

 cads through the most beautiful forests, the foliage. 

 )f which exhibits the most various and lovely colours. 

 As the traveller advances, ;m awful sublimity per- 

 vades the mind, and the wide interstices and tremen- 

 Jous chasms, together with the cataracts that roll 

 lown the mountains from an amazing altitude, filling 

 .he distant view, overwhelm him with admiration. 

 Thehighest deserts of the Andes are in the north call) d 

 Paramos, and in Peru, Punas ; but so acute and pe- 

 culiar is the cold air in these places, as rather to 

 Dierce the vitals than affect the exterior feelings. It 

 s no uncommon circumstance to meet with the bodies 

 of travellers who have perished in the cold, whose 

 Faces have the horrid appearance of laughter, owing 

 to the contraction of the muscles at the period of dis- 

 solution. The pine lingers last of the more stately 

 tribes of vegetables, accompanied by a low species of 

 moss. It is found 13,000 feet in altitude above the 

 level of the sea. Numerous orders of the larger trees 

 appear progressively in the space between the heights 

 of 10,000 and 9000 feet At the height of 9200 feet, 

 is found the oak, which, in the equatorial regions, 

 never descends below that of 5500. It is, however, 

 said to be found in the neighbourhood of Mexico, at 

 the height of only 2620 feet. European grains 

 flourish best between the altitude of 6000 and 9000 

 feet Wheat under the equator will seldom spring 

 up below tlie elevation of 4500 feet, or ripen above; 

 that of 10,800. Humboldt says there are very fine 

 harvests of wheat near Victoria, in the Caraccas pro- 

 vince, at 1640 and 1900 feet above the level of the 

 sea. In Cuba, wheat crops will flourish and ripen ; t 

 a small elevation. Rye and barley, from their con- 

 stitution, are capable of resisting cold better than 

 wheat, and, consequently, of ripening in a superior 

 altitude. Maize is cultivated in the same climate as 

 the banana, but will flourish 9000 feet high. Oranges, 

 pine-apples, and every variety of delicious fruits and 

 vegetables, are found in the lower grounds of the. 

 Andes, within the tropics. Cassava, maize, cacao, 

 coffee, sugar, cotton, and indigo are cultivated with 

 success. Indigo and cacao, however, require great 

 heat to ripen them. Cotton and coffee require a 

 more temperate clime. Sugar arrives at a superior 

 degree of perfection in the more temperate regions 

 of the province of Quito. For further information, 

 see Humboldt, and the Journal de Physique, vol. liii. 

 for 1801. For the different mountains of the Andes, 

 see their respective articles. See, also, America. 



ANDOVER, a borough, market-town, and parish in 

 Hampshire, situatea on Hhe river Anton, near the, 

 borders of the Downs. It is supposed to have Ix-en 

 the Andareon of the Romans. It is distant from 

 London sixty- three miles. The population of the 

 borough and parish is 4843. 



A.VDOVER ; a post-township of Massachusetts, in the 

 county of Essex, twenty miles N. of Boston ; pop. in 

 1820, 3889. It is situated on the S. E. side of the 

 Merrimack, and is also watered by the Shawshecn , 

 is pleasant and flourishing, and contains three par- 

 ishes, in each of which there is a congregational 

 meeting house. A. has some manufactures, but it is 

 chiefly celebrated for its literary institutions, particu- 

 larly its theological seminary. 



ANDRE, major J. ; an adjutant general in tlie Rri- 



