28 Mr. Alison's Narrative of an Excursion to the 



to any positive result. I was likewise informed that similar 

 globes of fire were seen traversing the Llano de Gaspar, the 

 spot which I have mentioned as bearing such evident marks 

 of the effects of the water. My informant, who was a small 

 farmer living near Tigayga, and almost on a level with the 

 Llano de Gaspar, likewise added, " that all the heaths ap- 

 peared to be on fire; and at the same time I saw a column 

 of water several fathoms wide move across the top of the 

 valley." 



I will now resume the thread of my narrative to the Peak : 

 and for the purpose of pointing out the devastation committed 

 in 1826, I shall incur the risk of being thought tedious, by 

 enumerating the ravines which I crossed at the spot where 

 the waterspout appeared to have burst. The first was Bar- 

 ranco de Llano de Gaspar; it was of some depth, and exposed 

 a stratum of basaltic lava, a species of puzzolana of consider- 

 able thickness, and a brown volcanic mud resting on a bed of 

 close black lava. A little to the west were two new ravines, 

 which united into one at a short distance from the commence- 

 ment, and formed the barranco which did so much mischief to 

 the port of Orotava. The next was a new ravine, and is only 

 remarkable for being the spot where you take leave of the 

 luxuriant vegetation of the third zone, and enter that of the 

 cytisus, which may be termed the fourth zone of plants. The 

 surface here is a brown volcanic mud mixed with small pieces 

 of lava, forming a hard breccia or conglomerate, with a slight 

 covering of vegetable mould, which in many places between 

 the ravines was completely washed away by the spray of the 

 water. 



Towards the south-western extremity of the Llano de Gaspar 

 is a spot named the Camilla del Alta, where there is a stream of 

 trachytic lava that has separated at a short distance above, and 

 formed a sort of half-circle: the two streams are nearly destitute 

 of vegetation. Another column of water appears to have burst 

 here, and made three or four ravines, which converge into one 

 a few hundred feet below. At 8*30 A.M. we entered a part of 

 the inclined plane called Chasquitas Abaxo and Chasquitas 

 Arriba. The ravines here are very numerous, and some are 

 so close together that there is hardly space sufficient to pass 

 between them. Within a few hundred yards I crossed eleven, 

 which were all formed in 1826; and in the upper part of 

 Chasquitas Arriba the surface was cut into almost innumerable 

 trenches of various depths, according to the force of the water 

 or the compactness of the lava. 



When we gained the top of a rather steep acclivity called 



Lomo 



