168 



pendicular fissures into prismatic masses. It 

 would seem as if the primitive rock were 

 crowned with columns of basaltes. In the time 

 of rains, a considerable sheet of water rushes in 

 the form of a cascade from these cliffs. The 

 mountains connected toward the East with the 

 Devil's Wall are much less lofty, and contain, 

 like the promontory of La Cabrera, and the 

 little distinct hills in the plain, gneiss and mica- 

 slate, including* garnets. 



It is in these lower mountains, two or three 

 miles North-East of Mariara, we find the ravine 

 of hot waters, quebrada de aguas calientes. This 

 ravine, running N. 75° W., contains several 

 small basins* Of these the two uppermost, 

 which have no communication with each other, 

 are only eight inches in diameter ; the three 

 lower, from two to three feet. Their depth 

 varies from three to fifteen inches. The tem- 

 perature of these different funnels (pozos) is 

 from 56° to 59° cent. ; and, what is remarkable, 

 the lower funnels are hotter than the upper, 

 though the difference of the level is only seven 

 or eight inches. The hot waters, collected 

 together, form a little rivulet, (rio de aguas cali- 

 entes J which, thirty feet lower, has a temperature 

 of only 48°. In the seasons of great drought % 

 the time at which we visited the ravine, the 



The 18th February, 1800. 



