290 
ATEKAGE OF THE ELEVATIOSa. 
thrice exceeding the height of Mont Blanc, belong onlv to 
the longitudinal chain which bounds the basin of "the 
Pacific Ocean, from 55° south to 68° north latitude, that is 
to say, the Cordillera of the Andes. Tlie only insulated 
group that can be coinunred with the snowj^ summits of the 
equinoctial Andes, ami which attains the height of nearly 
3000 toises, is the Sierra de Santa Marta ; it is not situated 
on the east of the Cordilleras, but between the prolongation 
of two of their branches, those of Merida and Veragua. 
The Cordilleras, where they boiuid the Caribbean Sea, in 
that part which we designate by the name of Coast Chain 
of Venezuela, do not attain the extraordinary height (2500 
toises) which they reach in their prolongation towards Chita 
and Merida. Considering separately the groups of the east, 
those of the shore of Venezuela, of the Parime, and Brazil, 
■we sec their height diminish from north to south. The 
highest summits of each group are the SiUa de Caracas 
(1350 toises), the peak of Duida (1300 toises), the Itacolumi 
and the Itambe ♦ (900 toises). But, as I have elsewhere 
observed, it would be erroneous to judge the height of a chain 
of mountains solely from that of' the most lofty summits. 
The peak of the Himalayas, accurately measured, is 676 
toises higher than Chimborazo ; Chimborazo is 900 toises 
higher than Mont Blanc; and Mont Blanc 653 toises 
higher than the peak of Hethou.J These differences do not 
furnish the relative average heights of the Himalayas, the 
Andes, the Alps and the P^^enees, that is, the height of the 
back of the mountains, on which arise the peaks, needles, 
pyramids, or rounded domes. It is that part of the back 
where passes are made, which furnishes a precise measure 
of the minimum of the height of the great chains. In com- 
paring the whole of my measures -with those of Moorcroft, 
Webb, Hodgson, Saussure, and Eamond, I estimate tlie 
average height of the top of the Himalayas, between the 
* According to the measure of MM. Spi.x and Martina, the Itarnbo de 
Villa de Principe is 5590 feet high. 
t The Peak lewaliir, lat. 30° 22' 19’ ; long. 77° 35' 7' east of Paris. 
Height 4020 toises, according to MM. Hodgson and Herbert. 
t This peak, called also peak of Anethou or Malahita, or eastern peak 
of Maladetta, is the highest summit of the Pyrenees. It rises 1787 toise» 
and consequently exceeds Mont Perdu by 40 toises. 
