242 



Prof. T. G. Bonney. Notes on the [Jan. 31 „ 



The two northern mountains in themselves assume the appearance of 

 small ranges. The two southern are peaked, but have not the cone- 

 like aspect of Cotopaxi or Sangai (the only really active volcanoes of 

 Ecuador). Each mountain is separated by well-marked depression, 

 the lowest points of which in each case lie about midway between the- 

 summits. Thus, though the four mountains may be considered part of 

 a range, they are all well marked ofH one from another, and are inde- 

 pendent ; the two northern being sufficiently large to assume for them- 

 selves the aspect of small ranges. The base of Pichincha, for instance, 

 from north to south extends over well-nigh 20 miles. 



" Pichincha is said (at Quito) to have several craters. I did not 

 see any, though I was possibly in one. We were two days camped 

 close to the top of the mountain, but were in a fog for almost the 

 whole time, so that we had no little difficulty in making sure that we 

 were on the true summit, and wholly failed to see the crater or 

 craters, though perhaps we clambered down the sides of one for about 

 1500 feet. I believe that every person who has ever been up 

 Pichincha, or anywhere near the summit, has been much troubled by 

 want of clearness in the atmosphere. There appeared to me to be 

 strong grounds for believing that there were two principal craters on 

 the highest parts of the mountain, but some persons would have it 

 that there were more than two. Whatever the number of craters, they 

 must be tolerably central, as I have seen all the slopes of the mountain 

 on the south and east of the two summits mentioned above, and there 

 are no craters upon them. 



" If I had not had experience with other mountains, which rendered 

 me cautious, from knowing how easily a cloud may mislead an 

 observer, I should say that I have seen steam rising from behind the 

 summit of Guagua-Pichincha while I have been viewing it at a 

 distance. There was, however, a considerable amount of evidence 

 from natives living around in different localities that Pichincha is seen 

 to 'smoke,' and various persons of greater or less credibility have 

 affirmed that they have been to the bottom of the craters, and have 

 seen ' fissures, smoke, and fire.' 



" Snow-beds of considerable size remain upon Pichincha permanently;, 

 but these lie in deep fissures and ravines, and are not noticed at a 

 distance ; hence I should scarcely think it proper to term it a snow 

 mountain." 



The specimens from Pichincha which I have examined are twenty- 

 eight in number. Of these, eighteen were obtained by Mr. Whymper 

 from a collector at Quito, and were presented to myself, the remainder 

 were collected by him during his ascent of the mountain. The localities 

 are affixed to the former set of specimens, but as some of the names 

 are unknown to Mr. Whymper, the spots whence these specimens have 

 been taken cannot in every case be precisely determined. Hence I 



