56 



leras. The traveller must feel a passionate en- 

 thusiasm for the beauties of nature, who prefers 

 the dangerous descent of the desert of San For- 

 tunato, and the mountains of Fusagasuga, lead- 

 ing towards the natural bridges of Icononzo, to 

 the usual road from the elevated plain of Bogota, 

 by the Mesa de Juan Diaz to the banks of the 

 Magdalena. 



The deep crevice through which rushes the 

 torrent of the Summa Paz, is in the centre of 

 the valley of Pandi. Near the bridge the waters 

 keep their direction from east to west, during a 

 length of four thousand metres. The river forms 

 two beautiful cascades at the point where it enters 

 the crevice on the west of Doa, and where it 

 escapes in its descent towards Melgar. This 

 crevice was probably formed by an earthquake, 

 and resembles an enormous vein, from which the 

 mineral substance has been extracted by the 

 labor of miners. The neighbouring mountains 

 are of gritstone, with a clay cement ; this forma- 

 tion, which reposes on the primitive schists 

 (thonschiefer) of Villeta, extends from the moun- 

 tain of rock salt of Zipaquira to the basin of the 

 river Magdalena. This mountain contains also 

 the strata of coal of Canoas, or Chipa, which 

 are worked near the great fall of Tequendama *. 

 In the valley of Icononzo, the gritstone ( sand- 



* See Plate Vf, French folio edition. 



