INFLUENCE OF THE FOREST ON SPRINGS. 203 
Humboldt found this city 5,260 metres [= 3^ English miles] 
from the shore. 
“ The aspect of the soil furnished new proofs. Many hil¬ 
locks on the plain retain the name of islands, which they more 
justly bore when they were surrounded by water. The ground 
laid bare by the retreat of the lake was converted into admi¬ 
rable plantations of cotton, bananas, and sugar cane; and build¬ 
ings erected near the lake showed the sinking of the water 
from year to year. In 1796, new islands made their appear¬ 
ance. An important military point, a fortress built in 1740 on 
the island of Cabrera, was now on a peninsula; and, finally, 
on two granitic islands, those of Cura and Cabo Blanco, Hum¬ 
boldt observed among the shrubs, some metres above the 
water, fine sand filled with helicites. 
u These clear and positive facts suggested numerous expla¬ 
nations, all assuming a subterranean outlet, which permitted 
the discharge of the water to the ocean. Humboldt disposed 
of these hypotheses, and, after a careful examination of the 
locality, the distinguished traveller did not hesitate to ascribe 
the diminution of the waters of the lake to the numerous clear¬ 
ings which had been made in the valley of Aragua within half 
a century. * * * 
“ In 1800, the valley of Aragua possessed a population as 
dense as that of any of the best-peopled parts of France. 
* * * Such was the prosperous condition of this fine coun¬ 
try when Humboldt occupied the Hacienda de Cura. 
“ Twenty-two years later, I explored the valley of Aragua, 
fixing my residence in the little town of Maracay. For some 
years previous, the inhabitants had observed that the waters 
of the lake were no longer retiring, but, on the contrary, were 
sensibly rising. Grounds, not long before occupied by planta¬ 
tions, were submerged. The islands of Huevas Aparecidas, 
which appeared above the surface in 1796, had again become 
shoals dangerous to navigation. Cabrera, a tongue of land on 
the north side of the valley, was so narrow that the least rise 
of the water completely inundated it. A protracted north 
wind sufficed to flood the road between Maracay and Hew 
