479 



terraneous fires, at its two extremities; towards 

 the north, in 60° of latitude, and towards the 

 south in 28° in the volcano of the Virgins *. If it 

 were certain that the mountains of California 

 belong to the western branch of the Andes of 

 Anahuac, it might be said that the volcanic 

 fire, still burning, abandons the central Cordil- 

 lera when it removes from the coast, that is 

 from the volcano of Colima ; and that the fire is 

 borne on the north-west by the peninsula of Old 

 California, Mount Saint Elie, and the peninsula 

 of Alaska, towards the Aleutes Islands, and 

 Kamtschatka. 



I shall terminate this sketch of the structure 

 of the Andes, by recapitulating the principal 

 features that characterize the Cordilleras on the 

 north-w r est of Darien. 



Lat. 8°-ll°. Mountains of the isthmus of Pa- 

 nama, Veragua, and Costa Rica, slightly 

 linked to the western chain of New Grenada, 

 which is that of Choco. 



Lat. 11°-16°. Mountains of Nicaragua and 

 Guatimala ; line of volcanoes N. 50° W., for 

 the most part still burning, from the gulph of 

 Nicoya to the volcano of Soconusco. 



* Volcanes de las Virgenes. The highest summit of 

 Old California, the Cerro de la Giganta (700 toises), appears 

 to be also an extinguished volcano. {Manuscript of Colonel 

 Costanzo.) 



