1804.] 
prefented by Canada and Yutacan, the 
ifland of St. Domingo, the north of Siera 
de %. Martha, the proviaice of Bircelon, 
and the land between Monte-Video and 
Mendoza, New. Holland, the eaftern part 
of Hungary, and the country of Hano- 
ver. They are feparated trom each other 
by the cordilleras, and are as far from ly- 
ing in the fame plane as the defarts of 
Africa, and the fteppes of Tartary, 
which rife by gradations, according to the 
diftance from the fea-coat, 
When one confiders the irruptions 
which the North Sea, the Mediterranean, 
&&c. have made into the Old World, the 
direction of its cordilleras aprears not to 
be very different from that of tho/e in the 
New Worlds as moft naturaliits have affert. 
ed. 
traces of feveral high chains of mountains’ 
which extend’ from ‘north to fouth; and 
run out from thofe which extend eaft and 
weft. The garnet and micaceous fehiftus 
of Norway, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, 
the province of Gallicia, Alemtego, Cape 
‘Bogador, (I have: found’ the fame with 
‘pranite on Veneriff,) the upper part'cf 
Guinea, Conge, and the Table Moun- 
tain, as allo the original mountains of 
Orenburg, Caucafus, Lebanon, of Aby!- 
ftnia, and Madagalcar, feem at fir to 
have formed nothing’ elfe than two large 
cordilleras parallel tothe meridian. 
In the New World thefe cordilleras run 
paraliel:to the meridian frem Cape Pilar 
to the north of California beyond Nvotka 
and Prince William’s Sound towards the 
Aleganhey mountains, which were difco- 
vered in 1792 by Mr. Stewart, on his 
journey to the fources of the Mifloury, 
the northern part of the Andes, which is 
inhabited by Indians nearly as much civil- 
ized asthe Peruvians were fifteen hundred 
yearsago. From this cordillera proceed 
ramifications of the original mountains, 
which extend’ from weft’ to eat. With 
thofe of North America I am not ac- 
quainted, but it appears that fomeexift’ 
in’ Canada under the latitade of 50°, and 
42° north latitude, as in the dettroy- 
ed continent of the Gulf of Mexico un- 
der 19° and’229, as is: proved by the 
mountains of Cuba and Saint Domingo. 
Yn South America there are three chains 
of original mountains which run parailel 
to the equator: the chain of the coift_un- 
der 9? and 10% 5 that chain which is in 
the great catara&ts of Autures (in iati- 
tude 5° 39’) is between latitude 3° and 
7°; and that in’ Maipure in 5° 12! 50", 
which I'therefore cal! the chain’ of the ca- 
taracts or that of Purime, and the chain 
: 
Geolovical Dofeription of South America. 
We are acquainted alio with the’ 
63% 
of Chequites under 15° and 20° fouth las 
titude. , 
Thefe chains in the old continent om 
this fide cf the Weftetn Ocean can be 
traced, and'it ts feen' Row the origwiad 
mountains of Fernambouc, Minas, Ba 
Bahia,and Janeiro, correfpend, uader the 
fame latitude, to thofe of Congo, as the 
immenfe plains near the river Amazon Hie 
oppofite to the plains of Lower Guinea, 
the’ cariiilera of the cataracts oppcfite ta’ 
thofe of Upper Guinea, and the Llanes of 
the Miiifiipoi, fince’ the irruption of the 
Gulf of Mexico, a property of the fea, 
oppofite to the Defart of Serah, This 
view will appear to be lefShezarded when 
one refl&s in what manner the old’ conti. 
Dent has been feparated from the new one 
by the force of the water, The form of 
the ‘coats, and ‘the falient and re-entering 
angles of America, Africa, and Eutope,; 
are a fufficient proof of: this cataflrophe, 
J 
Wat we call t8e Atlantic Ocean is no. 
thing elfe than a valley fcooped' out by che’ 
fea. The pyramidal form'of all the con-’ 
tinents, with their fammits turned fouths 
wards, the great flattening‘of the ‘earth’ 
atthe fouth pole, and other phenomena, 
oblerved by Dr. Forfter, feem to thew 
that the influx of the water was from the’ 
fouth. On the coat of Brafil, from Rio 
Janeiroto Fernamb uc, it found refiftance, 
and taking ‘a dire€tion fromthe latitude of 
50” north towards the north es, where’ 
it feooped out che Gulf of Guinea; near® 
Goango Benin and Mine, it was obliged 
by the mountains of Upper Guinea to di- 
rect itfelf north-weft, and feparated; to 
the latitude of 23° north, the coat’ of 
Guinea from Mexico and Florida. The 
force of ‘he waters was ftill broken by the 
cordillera of the United States of America, 
and once mote turned towards the north- 
eaft, and feems to have fpared lefs the 
weftern coaft of Europe than the northern 
ot America. The lJeaft’ breadth of this 
channel is at the, Brafils and Greenland ; 
but, agreeably to the ‘geographical ‘hittory 
of plants and animals, it feems to have’ 
been formed at a time when the’ organic 
creation had not been properly expanded. 
Tt would be of great importance to geo~ 
logy if a fea voyage were undertaken, at’ 
the expence of fome government, to exa- 
mine the rifing and depreffion and the re- 
lative ftuation of the’ mountains<to the 
falient and re-entering angles of America’ 
and Africa. Thefame analogy would be 
found here as is obferved in the Engtith' 
Channel, in the Sound, the Straits of Gib-’ 
raltar, and the Hellefpont ; fmmall creeks’ 
Which areas new as the fecundary fernra> 
tion 
’ 
