9 



and serene weather. This coincidence of phe- 

 nomena was probably not accidental; for we 

 must not forget, that, notwithstanding the dis- 

 tance which separates these countries, the low 

 grounds of Louisiana, and the coasts of Vene- 

 zuela and Cumana, belong to the same basin, 

 that of the Gulf of Mexico. This Mediterranean 

 sea, with several outlets, runs from the south-east 

 to the north-west ; and an ancient prolongation 

 of it seems to be found in those vast plains, 

 rising gradually thirty, fifty, and eighty toises * 

 above the level of the ocean, covered with se- 

 condary formations, and watered by the Ohio, 

 the Missouri, the Arkansas, and the Missi- 

 sippi. When we consider geologically the hasin 

 of the Caribbean sea, and of the Gulf of Mexico, 

 we find it bounded on the south by the chain of 

 the coast of Venezuela and the Cordilleras of 

 Merida and Pamplona ; on the east by the moun- 

 tains of the West India islands, and the Allegha- 

 nies ; on the west by the Andes of Mexico, and 

 the Stony Mountains f ; and on the north by the 



* Cincinnati, situated on the Ohio, in latitude 39° 6', has 

 only eighty-five toises absolute elevation. 



t It is with regret I use this vague and improper denomi- 

 nation, which is given to the northern prolongation of the 

 mountains of New Mexico. I should prefer the name of 

 Chippewan Range, which Mr. Drake (Stat. View of Cin- 

 cinnati, p. 91) and other geographers of the United States, 

 begin to substitute for the received denomination of Stony 



