167 



Valencia some owe their origin to thermal 

 springs, and deserve particular attention. These 

 springs gush out at three points of the granitic 

 Cordillera of the coast ; near Onoto, between 

 Turmero and Maracay; near Mariara, to the 

 North-East of the Hacienda de Cura ; and near 

 Las Trincheras, on the road from Nueva Valen- 

 cia to Porto Cabello. I could examine with care 

 only the physical and geological relations of the 

 thermal waters of Mariara and Las Trinche- 

 ras. In going up the small river Cura toward 

 it's source, the mountains of Mariara are seen 

 advancing into the plain in the form of a vast 

 amphitheatre, composed of perpendicular rocks, 

 crowned by peaks with rugged summits. The 

 central point of the amphitheatre bears the 

 strange name of the Devil's Wall or Nook 

 (Rincon del Diablo ). The range stretching to 

 the East is called El Chaparro ; that to the 

 West, Las Viruelas. These rocks, in ruins, com- 

 mand the plain ; they are composed of a coarse- 

 grained granite, nearly porpbyri tic, the yellowish 

 white f eld-spar crystals of which are more than 

 an inch and a half long. The mica is rare in 

 them, and of a fine silvery lustre. Nothing can 

 be more picturesque and solemn than the aspect 

 of this group of mountains, half-covered with 

 vegetation. The peak of Calavera, which unites 

 the Devil's Wall to Chaparro, is visible from 

 afar. In it the granite is separated by per- 



