496 



pire, the southern chain sinks abruptly towards 

 the Rio Arco and the Guarapiche ; but, in quit- 

 ting the main land, we see it again rise on the 

 southern coast of the island of Trinidad, which 

 is but a detached portion of the continent, and 

 of which the northern side indubitably displays 

 the vestiges of the northern chain of Venezuela, 

 that is of the Montana de Paria (the Paradise of 

 Christopher Columbus), the peninsula of Araya, 

 and the Silla of Caraccas. The observations of 

 latitude I made at the Villa de Cura (10 a 2' 47"), 

 the farm of Cocollar (10° 9' 37"), and the con- 

 vent of Caripe (10° 10' 14"), compared with the 

 position more anciently known of the southern 

 coast of Trinidad (lat. 10° 6') prove, that the 

 southern chain, south of the basins of Valencia 

 and of Tuy * and of the gulphs of Cariaco and 

 Paria, is still more constant in the direction 

 from west to east than the northern chain from 

 Porto Cabello to Punta Galera. It is highly 

 important to know the southern limit of the 

 Cordillera of the shore of V enezuela, because it 

 determines the parallel at which the Llanos or 



* The bottom of the first of these four basins bounded by 

 parallel chains, is from 230 to 460 toises above, and that of 

 the two latter from 30 to 40 toises below the present level 

 of the sea. Hot waters gush from the bottom of the gulph 

 of the basin of Cariaco (Vol. iii, p. 199), as from the bot- 

 tom of the basin of Valencia on the continent (Vol. iv, 

 p. 167). 



