ge passes through Peru till it again divides in
three portions at the confines of the equator, where it once more forms
two lines, which rise in that magnificent congregation of mountains
which surround the famous Valley of Quito. Here no less than twenty-one
volcanoes rear their lofty summits, many of them crowned with perpetual
snow, amid which Chimborazo and Cotopaxi are pre-eminent.

To the north of the equator, the Cordilleras again form one vast ridge,
and passing through New Granada, spread out like the branches of a palm
through Venezuela and along the northern shores of the continent washed
by the Caribbean Sea.

The whole of this vast range, from Cape Horn to Panama, gives evidence
of the hidden fires which glow beneath its base, and by which it was
originally created. Fifty-one volcanoes are found along the line. Of
the twenty which surround the Valley of Quito, three are active, five
dormant, and twelve are supposed to be extinct. By far the larger
number rise out of the eastern range; indeed, the western contains only
one active volcano, but out of it tower the peerless Chimborazo, and
Pichincha with its deep crater. The whole region is subject to terrific
earthquakes, which have from time to time shaken down its cities, caused
huge waves to flow over the level land, and destroyed countless
thousands of its inhabitants. Chimborazo was long supposed to be the
most lofty mountain on the globe. It is 21,420 feet high; but Aconcagua
in Chili rises to the height of 23,200 feet. Several of the summits of
the Himalayan range in Asia are over 25,000 feet; and Kilima Njaro, the
most lofty peak in Africa, is about the same altitude as Chimborazo.
Chimborazo, for solitary grandeur--and from the excessive steepness of
its sides, which has prevented the foot of man from reaching its
summit--stands, however, unrivalled.

From the lofty heights over which we have thus rapidly passed,
numberless streams take their rise, rushing and foaming down their steep
sides to feed those mighty rivers which, flowing across the continent,
seek an outlet in the far-distant Atlantic. On the western side,
comparatively few and insignificant rivers cross the narrow plains into
the Pacific. Thus the inhabitants of the tropical portions have to
depend on artificial irrigation for the cultivation of the land.

What mighty force must have been required to raise those mountains to
their present elevation,--and how fearful must be t