9 



and serene weather. This coincidence of phe- 

 nomena was probably not accidental ; for we 

 must not forget, that, notwithstanding the dis- 

 tance which separates these countries, the low 

 grounds of Louisiana, and the coasts of Vene- 

 zuela and Cumana, belong to the same basin, 

 that of the Gulf of Mexico. This Mediterranean 

 sea, with several outlets, runs from the south-east 

 to the north-west ; and an ancient prolongation 

 of it seems to be found in those vast plains, 

 rising gradually thirty, fifty, and eighty toises # 

 above the level of the ocean, covered with se- 

 condary formations, and watered by the Ohio, 

 the Missouri, the Arkansas, and the Missi- 

 sippi. When we consider geologically the basin 

 of the Caribbean sea 9 and of the Gulf of Mexico, 

 we find it bounded on the south by the chain of 

 the coast of Venezuela and the Cordilleras of 

 Merida and Pamplona; on the east by the moun- 

 tains of the West India islands, and the Allegha- 

 nies ; on the west by the Andes of Mexico, and 

 the Stony Mountains*^ ; and on the north by the 



* Cincinnati, situated on the Ohio, in latitude 39° 6', has 

 only eighty -five toises absolute elevation. 



t It is with regret I use this vague and improper denomi- 

 nation, which is given to the northern prolongation of the 

 mountains of New Mexico. I should prefer the name of 

 Chippewan Range, which Mr. Drake (Stat. View of Cin- 

 cinnati, p. 91) and other geographers of the United States, 

 begin to substitute for the received denomination of Stony 



