36 PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS I NARRATIVE. 



resembling very closely in its foliage, manner of branching, strong 

 resinous odor, the dwarf variety of juniper common in the arid regions 

 of the West, is nevertheless a member of the Compositae and in no way 

 related to the juniper. Not only is the mata verde the most common, but 

 it is also among the most useful of the shrubs of this region, for notwith- 

 standing that it seldom attains a diameter of more than a half inch or a 

 height of over three feet, through the great quantity of resinous matter 

 which it secretes, when used as fuel it is of especial value, owing to its 

 high calorific properties. While in Gallegos I noticed that it served as 

 the only source of fuel used for domestic purposes by the inhabitants. 

 Though, as may be gathered from my previous remarks, aside from 

 culinary and laundry purposes, there was little demand for fuel of 

 any kind. 



After having strolled along the bank of the river for some distance, 

 which at this point was separated from the main channel of the stream by 

 a low mud flat entirely submerged at high tide, I turned to the southward, 

 and crossing the wagon road by which we had come from Gallegos to 

 Guer Aike, kept on until I gained the crest of a terrace some fifty feet in 

 height overlooking the river valley. From the crest of this terrace a 

 gently undulating plain extends inland, gradually increasing in elevation 

 for a distance of from two to three miles, when it terminates at the foot 

 of an escarpment formin'g a terrace similar to but somewhat higher than 

 that just mentioned. Desirous of seeing as much as possible of the 

 topography of the surrounding country, I continued my walk until gaining 

 the summit of this latter elevation. Here at my feet there lay spread out 

 before me the broad, low, level plain, which had at one time formed the 

 valley .of the Gallegos and Chico Rivers. Through the slow elevation that 

 has taken place and is still going on along this coast, it was evident, as. 

 I stood and looked across the plain at the little village of Gallegos, that 

 the entire tract of level country lying between the Gallegos and Chico 

 Rivers had been but recently recovered from the sea, passing successively 

 through the stages represented by the mud flats in and along the rivers, 

 the shingle formations on the beach, the river valley lying between the 

 latter and the terrace marking the boundary of the first of the series of 

 narrow plains, on the escarpment of the second of which I stood. Not 

 only were these plains covered with shingle, but the surface of this still 

 exhibited, when carefully examined, slight elevations arranged in parallel 



