506 Dr Webster’s Account of the Hot-Springs of Furnas, 
which belong to it, will be found in the London Journal of Arts, 
vol. ii. p. 411 
Art. XIII. — Account of the Hot-Springs of Furnas, in the 
Island of St Michael, By J. W. Webster, M. D. Cor. Sec. 
L. S. N. E., M. W. S., &c. ♦. 
The Hot-springs of the Valle das Furnas render this the 
most interesting spot in St Michael. The valley is nearly 
twelve miles in circumference, and is bounded on every side by 
mountains of various height. Its form, like that of the other 
inclosed valleys, which have already been described, is nearly 
circular, but its surface has considerable irregularity, rising 
here and there into small hills. A part of it is under tolerable 
cultivation, and it is inhabited by a few peasants. It is watered 
by many streams that wind through the plantations, till they 
unite to form a small river, called Kibeira Quente, or Warm 
River. After a circuitous course, the Ribeira Quente flows 
through a deep ravine, and empties itself into the sea on the 
southern side of the island at the base of Pico da Vigia, 
The mountains surrounding this valley are composed chiefly 
of pumice ; but compact lava and rocks of the trachyte family 
are seen on the face of many of the precipices. The colum- 
nar structure and vertical arrangement of these rocks are quite 
distinct in some places ; in others, beds of the porphyry and 
pumice appear to alternate. They are sometimes separated by 
layers of fine sand or ashes. A few pieces of slaggy lava and 
scorise, are occasionally found at the foot of the mountains, but 
there are no large collections or beds of them. 
At the bottom of one of the precipices, 1 found a number 
of pieces of a rock analogous to amygdaloid, and at the same 
• This description of the Springs of Furnas, is extracted from an interesting 
account of the Island of St Michael’s, one of the Azores, published in America, by 
our former pupil Dr Webster. — R. J. 
•f* The Portuguese word “ FurnasP means caverns. 
