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VIEW 
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CHIMBORAZO AND CARGXJAIRAZO». 
PLATE XVI. 
A PART of the Cordillera of the Andes is di- 
vided into several branches, separated from each 
other by longitudinal valleys : another part 
forms only a single mass beset with volcanio 
summits. In the description of the passage of 
the mountain of Quindiu (plate 5th) we have 
attempted to give a geological sketch of the 
ramifications of the Cordilleras in the kingdom 
of New Grenada, between 2° 30' and 5° 16' of 
northern latitude. We observed at the same 
time, that the great valleys, placed between the 
two lateral branches and the central chain, were 
the basins of two considerable rivers, the bed 
of which is yet less elevated above the level of 
the ocean than that of the Rhone, the waters 
of which have hollowed out the valley of Sion 
