SKETCH OF A GEOGNOSTIC VIEW 



OF 



SOUTH AMERICA, 



On the North of the River of the Amazons, and 

 on the East of the Meridian of the Sierra Ne- 

 vada de Merida. 



The object of this memoir is to concentrate 

 the geognostic observations which I was en- 

 abled to collect in the course of my journeys 

 among the mountains of New Andalusia, and 

 Venezuela, on the banks of the Oroonoko, and 

 in the Llanos of Barcelona, Calabozo, and the 

 Apure ; consequently, from the coast of the 

 Caribbean sea, to the valley of the Amazons, 

 between the parallels of 2° and 10l 6 north lati- 

 tude. In describing objects as they successively 

 appear to the traveller, every fact remains in- 

 sulated ; he relates what he has seen in follow- 

 ing the windings of roads, and a knowledge is 

 thus acquired of the succession of formations 

 in such or such a direction; but we cannot 

 seize their mutual connexion. The order of 

 ideas to which the personal narrative of a jour- 

 ney should be restrained, has the advantage of 



VOL. VI. 2 D 



