235 
ground of the sixteenth plate, and in which I 
have sketched, near Riobamba-Nuevo, the group 
of Chimborazo and Carguaiazo, has an abso- 
lute elevation of 2891 metres (1493 toises) ; it 
is only a sixth less elevated than the top of Etna. 
The summit of Chimborazo does not therefore 
surpass the height of this plain more than 3640 
metres, which is 84 metres less than the height 
of the top of Mount Blanc above the priory of 
Chamonix ; for the difference between Chim- 
borazo and Mount Blanc is nearly equal to that 
which is observed between the elevation of the 
plain of Tapia, and the bottom of the valley of 
Chamonix. The top of the Peak ofTeneriffe, 
compared with the level of the town of 
Oratava, is still more elevated than Chimbo- 
razo and Mount Blanc above Riobamba and 
Chamonix. 
Mountains which would astonish as by their 
height, if they were placed near the sea-shore, 
seem to be but hills when they rise from the 
ridge of the Cordilleras : Quito, for instance, is 
backed by a small cone called Javirac, which 
does not seem higher to the inhabitants of that 
city, than Mountmartre, or the heights of 
Meudon, appear to the inhabitants of Paris^ 
This cone of Javirac, according to my measure- 
ment, is, however, 3121 metres (1600 toises) of 
absolute height ; and is almost as lofty as the 
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