224 



the inhabitants enjoy the most perfect tranquil- 

 lity. The gulf of Cariaco nevertheless is only 

 sixty or eighty fathoms deep. 



It has been thought from observations made 

 both on the continent and in the islands, that 

 the western and southern coasts are most expos- 

 ed to shocks *. This observation is connected 

 with the ideas which geologists have long form- 

 ed of the position of the high chains of moun- 

 tains, and the direction of their steepest declivi- 

 ties : the existence of the Cordillera of Caraccas, 

 and the frequency of the oscillations on the east- 

 ern and northern coast of Terra Firma, in the 

 gulf of Paria, at Carupano, at Cariaco, and at 

 Cumana, are proofs of the uncertainty of this 

 opinion. 



In New Andalusia, as well as in Chili and 

 Peru, the shocks follow the course of the shore ; 

 and extend but little inland. This circumstance, 

 as we shall soon find, indicates an intimate con- 

 nection between the causes that produce earth- 

 quakes and volcanic eruptions. If the earth 

 was most agitated on the coasts, because they 

 are the lowest part of the land, why should not 

 the oscillations be equally strong and frequent 

 on those vast savannahs or meadows -f-, which 



* Courrejolles, in the Journ. de Phys. t. liv, p. 104. 



+ The Llanos of Cumana, of New Barcelona, of Calabozo, 

 of Apura, and of Meta. 



