ANDES OIT NEW GRENADA. 309 



Sacoboni to north-west, and divides the waters between the 

 Pacific and the Caribbean Sea ; they flow from the northern 

 declivity into the Rio Cauca, and from the southern declivity, 

 into the Bio de Patias. 



The tripartition of the Andes (N. lat. lf 2^) resem- 

 bles that which takes place at the source of the Amazon in 

 the knot of the mountains of Huanuco and Pasco (lat. 11 "* 

 S.) ; but the most western of the three chains that bound 

 the basins of the Amazon and the Huallaga, is the loftiest ; 

 while that of Choco, or the shore, is the least elevated of the 

 three chains ot New Grenada. Ignorance of this tripartition 

 of the Andes in that part of South America near the Rio 

 Atrato and the isthmus of Panama, has led to many erro- 

 neous opinions respecting the possibility of a canal that 

 should connect the two seas. 



The eastern chain of the Andes of New Grenada* pre- 

 serves its parallelism during some time with the two other 

 chains, those of Quindiu and Choco ; but beyond Tunja (lat. 

 5| c ) it inclines more towards the north-east, passing some- 

 what abruptly from the direction N. 25 E. to that of N. 

 45 E. It is like a vein that changes its direction ; and it 

 rejoins the coast after being greatly enlarged by the grouping 

 of the snowy mountains of Merida. The tripartition of the 

 Cordilleras, and above all, the spreading of their branches, 

 have a vast influence on the prosperity of the nations of 

 New Grenada. The diversity of the superposed table-lands 

 and climates varies the agricultural productions as well as 

 the character of the inhabitants. It gives activity to the 

 exchange of productions, and renews over a vast surface, 

 north of the equator, the picture of the sultry vallies and 

 cool and temperate plains of Peru. It is also worthy of 

 remark that, by the separation of one of the branches of the 

 Cordilleras of Cundinamarca, and by the deviation of the 

 chain of Bogota towards the north-east, the colossal group 

 of the mountains of Merida is enclosed in the territory of 

 the ancient Capitania-general of Venezuela, and that the 

 continuity of the same mountainous land from Pamplona to 

 Barquesimeto and Nirgua may be said to have facilitated 

 the political union of the Columbian territory. As long as 



* I employ a systematic denomination, for the name of the Andes i 

 unknown lu the countries situated north of the equator. 



