438 



AMAZONIA AND LA PLATA. 



tion of less than 15,000. The geologist Bravard, who is traditionally said to have 

 predicted the shock, was amongst the victims. 



As Mendoza is not situated in a volcanic region, and as there are no craters 

 in the neighbouring Andes, the place can scarcely have been overthrown by an 

 ordinary igneous disturbance. Brackebusch suggests that it may have been 

 caused by the combustion of the bituminous beds below the surface, accompanied 

 by an explosion of gas. 



In rebuilding the city, the inhabitants took as central thoroughfare the 



Fig. 172. — Mendoza. 

 Scale 1 : 200,000. 



68° 55- 



West oF GœenwicH 



3 Miles 



Alameda, an avenue of poplars and elms, which formed the fashionable resort on 

 fine summer evenings. The new houses, painted in bright colours and built of 

 elastic adobe, which vibrates under a concussion, are disposed along the banks of 

 a canal lined with rows of trees, and ornamented with fountains and waterfalls. 



Lying on the main highway between Buenos Ay res and Valparaiso, Mendoza 

 is the chief station between the two Republics. It is also an agricultural centre of 

 the first importance, and seat of a great school of agriculture. The surround- 



