HOT SPRINGS OP THE LAKE. 21 



muddy sediment exposed to the rays of the sun. The 

 banks, shaded by tufts of Coccoloba barbadensis, and 

 decorated with fine liliaceous plants,* remind us, by the 

 appearance of the aquatic vegetation, of the marshy shores 

 of our lakes in Europe. We find there, pondweed (pota- 

 mogeton), chara, and cats'-tail three feet high, which it 

 is difficult not to confound with the Typha angustifolia of 

 our marshes. It is only after a careful examination, that 

 we recognise each of these plants for distinct species,f 

 peculiar to the new continent. How many plants of the 

 Straits of Magellan, of Chile, and the Cordilleras of Quito 

 have formerly been confounded with the productions of the 

 northern temperate zone, owing to their analogy in form 

 and appearance. 



The inhabitants of the valleys of Aragua often inquire 

 why the southern shore of the lake, particularly the south- 

 west part towards los Aguacotis, is generally more shaded, 

 and exhibits fresher verdure than the northern side. We 

 saw, in the month of February, many trees stripped of their 

 foliage, near the Hacienda de Cura, at Mocundo, and at 

 Guacara ; while to the south-east of Valencia everything 

 presaged the approach of the rains. I believe that in the 

 early part of the year, when the sun has southern declina- 

 tion, the hills around Valencia, Guacara, and Cura are 

 scorched by the heat of the solar rays, while the southern 

 shore receives, along with the breeze when it enters the 

 valley by the Abra de Porto Cabello, an atmosphere which 

 has crossed the lake, and is loaded with aqueous vapour. 

 On this southern shore, near Gruaruto, are situated the 

 finest plantations of tobacco in the whole province. 



Among the rivers flowing into the lake of Valencia some 

 owe their origin to thermal springs, and deserve particular 

 .ittention. These springs gusn out at three points of the 

 granitic Cordillera of the coaat ; near Onoto, oetween Tur- 

 niero and Maracay; near Mariara, north-east of the Hacienda 

 de Cura ; and near Las Trincheras, on the road from Nueva 

 Valencia to Porto Cabello. I could examine with care only 

 the physical and geological relations of the thermal waters of 

 Mariara and Las Trincheras. In going up the small river 



Pancratium undulatum, Amaryllis nervosa. 

 t Potaraogeton tenuifolium, Chara conipressa, Typha tenuifoli*. 



