143 



vered with hardened clay % which contains ra- 

 pilli, or fragments of pumice stone. This last 

 formation resembles the tufas of Pausilippo, and 

 the strata of Puzzolana, which I found in the 

 valley of Quito, at the foot of the volcano of Pi- 

 chincha. The amygdaloid has very long pores, 

 like the superior strata of the lavas of Vesuvius, 

 arising probably from the action of an elastic 

 fluid forcing it's way through the matter in fu- 

 sion. Notwithstanding these analogies, I must 

 here repeat, that in all the low region of the 

 peak of TenerifFe, on the side of Orotava, I have 

 met with no flow of lavas, no current, the limits 

 of which were strongly marked. Torrents and 

 inundations change the surface of the globe, and 

 when a great number of currents of lava meet 

 and spread over a plain, as I have seen at Ve- 

 suvius, in the Atrio Dei Cavalli, they seem to be 

 confounded together, and wear the appearance 

 of real strata. 



The villa de Orotava has a pleasant aspect at 

 a distance, from the great abundance of waters 

 which run through the principal streets. The 

 spring of Agua mama, collected in two large re- 

 servoirs, turns several mills, and is afterward 

 discharged among the vineyards of the adjacent 

 hills. The climate is still more refreshing at the 

 villa than at the port of La Cruz, from the in- 



* Bimstein-congloruerat. W. 



