Notes on the Influence 



LNo: 36, 



study of such will also lead to very precise results. Before pro- 

 ceeding farther, I shall say a few words on the meaning I attach to 

 the phrase, change of level. 



It will not be disputed that one of the most interesting districts 

 of the kingdom of Venezuela is the valley of Aragua situated at no 

 great distance from the coast, possessing a warm climate, and a 

 fertility of soil which can scarcely be surpassed. In it we observe 

 every species of cultivation which distinguishes the tropics and 

 upon the lesser hills which rise from the valley we observe with 

 astonishment crops which remind us of European farming ; corn 

 grows admirably upon the heights which surround Vittoria. The 

 valley is bounded on the north by the high land which forms the 

 coast, on the south by the chain of mountains which separate it 

 from Llanos, and both on the east and west a range of hills com- 

 pletely encloses it. By this very singular confirmation the rivers 

 which take their rise within its enclosure have no issue, either 

 towards the ocean or otherwise. Their waters therefore accumu- 

 late in the lowest part of the valley and form by their union the 

 beautiful lake of Tacarigua, otherwise denominated Valencia. 

 This sheet of water according to the testimony of M. do Humboldt 

 exceeds in dimensions that of Neufchatel in Switzerland ; it is 

 elevated more than 1,300 feet above the level of the sea: its 

 length is about thirty miles and its greatest breadth does not ex- 

 ceed seven or eight. At the time when M. de Hupciboldt visited 

 this valley the inhabitants had long remarked the gradual drying 

 up of the waters of the lake , which had excited their attention for 

 thirty years. But, in truth, it is only necessary to compare the 

 descriptions supplied by the older historians with its present 

 state, to recognise after allowing the largest deductions for exag- 

 gerations, that the waters have very considerably fallen. The 

 facts themselves speak most distinctly. 



Oviedo,* who towards the end of the fifteenth century, so often 

 traversed the valley of Aragua, positively affirms that New 

 Valencia was founded in 1555, at the distance of half a league 

 from the lake of Tacarigua ; and M. de Humboldt found, in the 

 year 1800, that town was more than three miles (2700 toises) 

 distant from its banks. The aspect of the district exhibits addi- 



* His Ilistoria clc la provincca dc Venezuela was published in 1723. 



