334 



THE CORDILLERAS. 



sides, which has prevented the foot of man from reaching its 

 summit stands, however, unrivalled. 



From the lofty heights over which we have thus rapidly 

 passed, numberless streams take their rise, rushing and foam- 

 ing down their steep sides to feed those mighty rivers which, 

 flowing across the continent, seek an outlet in the far distant 

 Atlantic. On the western side, comparatively few and in- 



CHIMBORAZO. 



significant rivers cross the narrow plains into the Pacific. 

 Thus the inhabitants of the tropical portions have to depend 

 on artificial irrigation for the cultivation of the land. 



What mighty force must have been required to raise those 

 mountains to their present elevation, and how fearful must 

 be the fires which still rage beneath their bases ! Gigantic, 

 however, as they seem to human eyes, the most lofty could 

 be represented on a globe six feet in diameter by a grain of 



