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dilleras, and above all, the spreading of their 

 branches, have a powerful influence on the 

 prosperity of the nations of New Grenada. The 

 diversity of the superposed table-lands and cli- 

 mates varies the agricultural productions as 

 well as the character of the inhabitants ; it 

 gives activity to the exchange of products, and 

 renews on a vast surface, on the north of the 

 equator, the picture of the sultry vallies, and 

 the cold and temperate plains of Peru. It is 

 also worthy of remark that, by the separation 

 of one of the branches of the Cordilleras of 

 Cundinamarca, and the deviation of the chain 

 of Bogota towards the north-east, the colossal 

 groupe of the mountains of Merida is enclosed 

 in the territory of the ancient Capitania-general 

 of Venezuela, and that the continuity of the 

 same mountainous land from Pamplona to Bar- 

 quesimeto and Nirgua, has, it may be said, fa- 

 cilitated the political union of the Columbian 

 territory. As long as the central chain (that of 

 Quindiu) displays its snowy summits, no peak 

 of the eastern chain (that of La Suma Paz) 

 rises, in the same parallels, to the limit of per- 

 petual snows. Between 2° and 5h° of latitude, 

 neither the Paramos, situated on the east of 

 Gigante and Neiva, nor the tops of la Suma 

 Paz, Chingasa, Guachaneque, and Zoraca, sur- 

 pass the height of 1900 to 2000 toises ; while 

 on the north of the parallel of Paramo d'Erve 



