METEORIC RIVERS OR WATERFALLS. 413 



and that it had made a deep hole in the earth ; search 

 was made respecting the truth of this assertion, but it did 

 not lead to any positive result. I was likewise informed, 

 that similar globes of fire were seen traversing the Llano 

 de Gaspar, the spot which I have mentioned as bearing such 

 evident marks of the effects of the water. My informant, 

 who was a small farmer living near Tygayga, and almost 

 on a level with the Llano de Gaspar, likewise added, " that 

 all the heaths appeared to be on fire ; and, at the same time, 

 1 saw a column of water several fathoms wide, move across 

 the top of the valley." I will now resume the thread of 

 my narrative to the Peak ; and for the purpose of pointing 

 out the devastation committed in 1826, I shall incur the 

 risk of being thought tedious, by enumerating the ravines 

 which I crossed at the spot, where the water-spouts appeared 

 to have burst. The first was Barranco de Llano de Gaspar ; 

 it was of some depth, and exposed a stratum of basaltic 

 lava, a species of puzzolana, of considerable thickness, and 

 a brown volcanic mud resting on a bed of close black lava. 

 A little to the west, were two new ravines, which united 

 into one, at a short distance from the commencement, and 

 formed the barranco, which did so much mischief to the 

 port of Orotava. The next, was a new ravine, and is only 

 remarkable for being the spot where you take leave of the 

 luxuriant vegetation of the third zone, and enter that of the 

 cytisus, which may be termed the fourth zone of plants. 

 The surface here is a brown volcanic mud, mixed with 

 small pieces of lava, forming a hard breccio or conglome- 

 rate, with a slight covering of vegetable mould, which in 

 many places between the ravines, was completely washed 

 away by the spray of the water. 



Towards the south western extremity of the Llano de 

 Gaspar is a spot named the Camina del Alto, where there is 

 a stream of trachytic lava, that has separated at a short dis- 

 tance above, and formed a sort of half circle. The two 



