56 
leras. The traveller must feel a passionate en- 
thusiasm for the beauties of nature, who prefers 
the dangerous descent of the desert of San For- 
tunato, and the mountains of Fusagasuga, lead- 
ing towards the natural bridges of Icononzo, to 
the usual road from the elevated plain of Bogota, 
by the Mesa de Juan Diaz to the banks of the 
Magdalena. 
The deep crevice through which rushes the 
torrent of the Summa Paz, is in the centre of 
the valley of Pandi. Near the bridge the waters 
keep their direction from east to west, during a 
length of four thousand mefres. The river forms 
two beautiful cascades at the point where it enters 
the crevice on the west of Doa, and where it 
escapes in its descent towards Melgar. This 
crevice was probably formed by an earthquake, 
and resembles an enormous vein, from which the 
mineral substance has been extracted by the 
labor of miners. The neighbouring mountains 
are of gritstone, with a clay cement ; this forma- 
tion, which reposes on the primitive schists 
(thonschiefer) of Villeta, extends from the moun- 
tain of rock salt of Zipaquira to the basin of the 
river Magdalena. This mountain contains also 
the strata of coal of Canoas, or Chipa, which 
are worked near the great fall of Tequendama 
In the valley of Icononzo, the gritstone ( sand- 
^ See Plate Vt, French folio edition. 
