462 



rounded by lofty mountains. An immense Al- 

 pine lake characterizes the basin of Tiahuanaco, 

 or Titicaca ; this phenomenon is so much more 

 worthy of attention, as in South America those 

 reservoirs of fresh water are almost entirely- 

 wanting, which are found at the foot of the 

 Alps of Europe, on the northern and southern 

 descent, and which are permanent during the 

 season of drought. The other basins of the 

 Andes, for instance, those of Jauja, the Upper 

 Maragnon, and Cauca, pour their waters into 

 natural canals, which may be considered as so 

 many crevices placed either at one of the ex- 

 tremities # of the basin, or on its banks "f-, 

 nearly in the middle of the lateral chain. It 

 was proper to dwell on this articulated form of 

 the Andes, on those knots or transversal ridges 

 and that long succession of inland basins, from 

 Potosi in Upper Peru, as far as Salto de San 

 Antonio in the province of Antioquia, because, in 

 the continuation of the Andes called the Cordil- 

 leras of the shore of Venezuela, we shall find 

 the same transversal dykes, and the same pheno- 

 mena. 



The ramification of the Andes and of all the 



* Basin of the Amazon and Cauca. 

 + Basin of Tarma or the Rio Jauja, broken laterally on 

 the east by the Mantaro. Basin of Almaguer, broken late- 

 a-aUy on the west by the Rio de Patias. 



