148 



VALLEYS OF ARAGUA. 



tween granitic and calcareous mountains of unequal 

 height. On the north they are separated from the 

 coast by the Sierra Mariara, and on the south from 

 the steppes by the chain of Guacimo and Yusma. 

 On the east and west they are bounded by hills of 

 smaller elevation, the rivers from which unite their 

 streams, and are collected in an inland lake which 

 has no communication with the sea. This body of 

 water, named the Lake of Valencia, and by the In- 

 dians called Tacarigua, is larger than the Lake of 

 Neufchatel, but in its general form has more resem- 

 blance to that of Geneva. The southern banks are 

 desert, and backed by a screen of high mountains, 

 while the northern shores are decked with the rich 

 cultivation of the sugar-cane, coffee-tree, and cot- 

 ton. " Paths bordered with cestrum, azedarach, and 

 other shrubs always in flower, traverse the plain 

 and join the scattered farms. Every house is sur- 

 rounded by a tuft of trees. The ceiba, with large 

 yellow flowers, gives a peculiar character to the 

 landscape, as it unites its branches with those of 

 the purple erythrina. The mixture and brilliancy 

 of the vegetable colours form a contrast to the un- 

 varied tint of a cloudless sky. In the dry season, 

 when the burning soil is covered with a wavy vapour, 

 artificial irrigations keep up its verdure and fecundity. 

 Here and there the granitic rocks pierce the culti- 

 vated land, and enormous masses rise abruptly in 

 the midst of the plain, their bare and fissured sur- 

 faces affording nourishment to some succulent 

 plants, which prepare a soil for future ages. Often 

 on the summit of these detached hills, a fig-tree or 

 a clusia, with' juicy leaves, have fixed their roots in 

 the rock, and overlook the landscape. With their 

 dead and withered branches they seem like signals 

 erected on a steep hill. The form of these emi- 

 nences reveals the secret of their origin ; for when 

 the whole of this vallej- was filled with water, and 

 the waves beat againw the base of the peaks of 



