COTOPAXI. 



287 



magnetic, and hygroscopic qualities, — and the tem- 

 perature of boiling water. 



Cotopaxi is the loftiest of those volcanoes of the 

 Andes which have produced eruptions at recent pe- 

 riods ; its absolute height being 18,878 feet. It is 

 consequently 2625 feet higher than "Vesuvius would 

 be were it placed on the top of the. Peak of Teneriffe. 

 The scoriae and rocks ejected by it, and scattered 

 over the neighbouring valleys, would form a vast 

 mountain of themselves. In 1738 its flames rose 

 2953 feet above the crater ; and in 1744 its roarings 

 were heard as far. as Honda, on the Magdalena, at 

 a distance of 690 miles. On the 4th April, 1768, 

 the quantity of ashes thrown out was so great, that 

 in the towns of Hambato and Tacunga the inhabit- 

 ants were obliged to use lanterns in the streets. 

 The explosion which took place in January, 1803, 

 was preceded by the sudden melting of the snows 

 which covered the surface ; and our travellers, at 

 the port of Guayaquil, 179^ miles distant, heard day 

 and night the noises proceeding from it, like dis- 

 charges of a battery. 



This celebrated mountain is situated to the south- 

 east of Quito, at the distance of 41 miles, in the 

 midst of the Andes. Its form is the most beautiful 

 and regular of all the colossal summits of that 

 .•mighty chain; being a perfect cone, which is covered 

 with snow, and shines with dazzling splendour at 

 sunset. No rocks project through the icy covering, 

 except near the edge of the crater, which is sur- 

 rounded by a small circular wall. In ascending it 

 is extremely difficult to reach the lower boundary 

 of the snows, the cone being surrounded by deep 

 ravines ; and, after a near examination of the sum- 

 mit, Humboldt thinks he may assert that it would 

 be altogether impossible to reach the brink of the 

 crater. 



It was mentioned that, in the kingdom of New- 

 Grenada, the cordilleras of the Andes form three 



