282 NATURAL BRIDGES THE ANDES. 



plain in which the cereal plants of Europe are cul- 

 tivated, and sees around him oaks, elms, and other 

 trees resembling those of the temperate regions of 

 the northern hemisphere, he looks down upon a 

 country covered with palms, bananas, and su^-ar- 

 canes. '^ 



Leaving Santa Fe, in September, 1801, the travel- 

 lers passed the natural bridges of Icononzo, formed 

 by masses of rock lying across a ravine of immense 

 profundity. The valleys of the cordilleras are gen- 

 erally crevices, the depth of which is often so great, 

 that were Vesuvius seated in them its summit would 

 not exceed that of the nearest mountains. One of 

 these, that, namely, of Icononzo or Pandi, is pecu- 

 liarly remarkable for the singular form of its rocks 

 the naked tops of which present the most picturesque 

 contrast with the tufts of trees and shrubs which 

 cover the edges of the gulf. A torrent, named the 

 Summa Paz, forms two beautiful cascades where it 

 enters the chasm, and where it again escapes from 

 It. A natural arch, 47i feet in length and 39 in 

 breadth, stretches across the fissure at a height of 318 

 feet above the stream. Sixty-four feet below this 

 bridge is a second, composed of three enormous 

 masses of rock, which have fallen so as to support 

 each other. In the middle of it is a hole, through 

 which the bottom of the cleft is seen. The torrent, 

 viewed from this place, seemed to flow through a 

 dark cavern, whence arose a doleful sound, emitted 

 by the nocturnal birds that haunt the abyss, thou- 

 sands of which were seen flying over the surface of 

 the water, supposed by Humboldt from their appear- 

 ance to be goatsuckers. 



In the kingdom of New-Grenada, from 2° 30' to 

 5 15' of north latitude, the cordillera of the Andes 

 is divided into three parallel chains. The eastern 

 one separates the valley of the Rio Magdalena from 

 the plains of the Rio Meta, and on its western de- 

 clivity are the natural bridges of Icononzo above 



