CHILI. 191 
left Valparaiso on the 1 7th for San Felipe, which is about one 
hundred miles north of Valparaiso. They were to have taken a 
barometer with them in case of ascending some heights, but it was 
forgotten. 
These gentlemen took a biloche as far as Quillota, a distance of 
forty miles, and proceeded thence to San Felipe on horses, for the 
use of which they were to give thirty dollars each, and one dollar 
extra for the service of the peon who accompanied them for seven 
days. The road to Quillota was found good, although many hills 
and valleys were met with. 
For the first twenty-five miles the road passed along the sea-shore, 
with no elevation over two hundred feet ; it was thought equal to the 
most frequented turnpikes in our own country. At six miles from 
Valparaiso, the road is cut through a bed of sienite, remarkable for 
the singular vertical dikes of granite by which it is intersected. As 
this curious formation will be ably treated of in the Geological Report, 
I shall referthe reader to that for a description. 
Ten miles from Valparaiso, the valley of Villa del Mar, having a 
breadth of nearly three miles, is crossed. This is a sandy plain, 
through which a broad shallow stream, coming from the eastern hills, 
runs. At twenty-five miles they reached the broad valley of Concon. 
Here the road turns to the eastward. This valley varies in width 
from three to six miles. The character of the rocks is granitic, and 
they appear to decompose rapidly when exposed to the air. Sienite 
was frequent, and on approaching the mountains, numerous varieties 
of trap formation, greenstone, porphyry, &c, were met with. 
Ten miles before reaching Quillota, the road passes over a level 
plain, which extends beyond that place. The hills which bound the 
valley to the south, are of low elevation until approaching Quillota. 
Near Quillota, in the south and southeastern direction, a lofty ridge 
rises, adjoining the campagna of Quillota, which is one of the high 
cones used as sea-marks for the harbour of Valparaiso. This is lost 
sight of at the town in consequence of it being shut out by an 
intervening ridge. The town, or city of Quillota, occupies the 
centre of the valley, and is twenty miles from the sea. They 
reached it about one hour before sunset, when they stopped at Mr. 
Blanchard's, who keeps a house for the accommodation of foreigners. 
On the 18th they arose at daybreak, at which time the thermo- 
meter stood at 36° in the open air, seventy feet above the sea. 
The town of Quillota, (according to Mr. Blanchard,) is embraced 
