22 



Rapel, is small, and discharges only a little smoke 

 i from time to time. The second is the great volcano 

 of Villarica, near the lake of the same name in the 

 country of Arauco. This volcano may be seen at 

 the distance of 150 miles, and although it appears 

 to be isolated, it is said to be connected by its base 

 with the Andes. The summit of the mountain is 

 covered with snow, and is in a constant state of erup- 

 tion. It is fourteen miles in circumference at its 

 base, which is principally covered with pleasant 

 forests. A great number of rivers derive their 

 sources from it, and its perpetual verdure furnishes 

 a proof that its eruptions have never been very vio- 

 lent. 



Sect. IX. Earthquakes, — The quantity of in- 

 flammable substances with which the soil of Chili 

 abounds, rendered active by the electric fluid, may 

 be considered as one of the principal causes of the 

 earthquake, the only scourge that afflicts this fa- 

 voured country. Another, however, not less capa- 

 ble, in my opinion, of producing this terrible phe- 

 nomenon, is the elasticity of the air contained in the 

 bowels of the earth, in consequence of the water 

 which, insinuating itself by subterranean passages 

 from the sea, becomes changed into vapour. This 

 hypothesis will explain why the provinces to the east 

 of the Andes, at a distance from the sea, are so 

 little incommoded by earthquakes. Two, however, 

 Copiapo and Coquimbo, although near the sea, and 

 as rich in minerals as the others, have never suffered 

 from earthquakes; and while the other parts of the 



