99 



VOLCANO 



CAYAMBE. 



PLATE XLII. 



Of the various summits of the Cordilleras, the 

 heights of which have been determined with any 

 precision, Cayambe is the loftiest except Chim- 

 borazo. Bouguer and Condamine found its ele- 

 vation to be 5901 metres (3208 toises) ; and the 

 angles which I took in the Exido of Quito, to 

 observe the progress of the terrestrial refraction 

 at different hours of the day, confirm this deter- 

 mination. The French Academicians * named 

 this colossal mountain Cayambur, instead of 

 Cayambe- Urcu, which is its real name ; the word 

 urcu denoting, in the qquichua language, moun- 

 tain, as tepetl in Mexican, and gua in Muysca. 

 This error is repeated in every work, that gives 

 a table of the principal heights of the Globe. 



* La Condaminr, Voyage d. VEquateur, p. 1G3. 



h2 



