508 



not even reach an angle of 45° ; though in the 

 greater number of geological works Mont Blanc 

 is described as cut perpendicularly on the south 

 side. 



At the Silla of Caraccas, the enormous north- 

 ern cliff is partly covered with vegetation, 

 notwithstanding the extreme steepness of it's 

 slope. Tufts of befaria and andromedas ap- 

 pear as if suspended from the rock. The little 

 valley, which separates the domes toward the 

 south, stretches toward the seaside. Alpine 

 plants fill this hollow ; and, not confined to the 

 ridge of the mountain, follow the sinuosities of 

 the ravin. It would seem as if torrents were 

 concealed under that fresh foliage, and the dis- 

 position of the plants, the grouping of so many 

 inanimate objects, give the landscape all the 

 charm of motion and of life. 



Seven months had now elapsed since we were 

 on the summit of the Peak of TenerifFe, whence 

 we surveyed a space of the globe equal to a 

 fourth part of France. The apparent horizon 

 of the sea is there six leagues farther distant f 

 than at the top of the Silla ; and yet we saw 

 that horizon, at least for some time, very dis 

 tinctly. It was strongly marked, and not con- 

 founded with the adjacent strata of air. At 

 the Silla, which is five hundred and fifty toises 



* See cb. \ } vol. i, p. 105 $ and chap, ii, p. 183. 



