Complete document

4
going to relate will serve to elucidate the theory of volcanic reactions, or the influence of a system of
volcanoes on a vast space of circumjacent country.
At the time that Mr. Bonpland and myself inhabited the provinces of New Andalusia, Nueva-
Barcelona, and Caraccas, a general opinion prevailed, that the easternmost parts of these coasts were the
most exposed to the destructive effects of earthquakes. The inhabitants of Cumana dreaded the valley of
Caraccas, on account of its damp and variable climate, and its gloomy and foggy sky; while the
inhabitants of that temperate valley considered Cumana as a town, where only a burning air was breathed,
and where the soil is periodically agitated by violent commotions. Forgetful of the overthrow of
Riobamba, and other very elevated towns; ignorant that the peninsula of Araya, composed of mica-slate,
has partaken of the commotions of the calcareous coast of Cumana; well-informed persons thought they
perceived motives of security in the structure of the primitive rocks of Caraccas, as well as in the elevated
situation of this valley. Religious ceremonies celebrated at La Guayra, and even in the capital, in the
middle of the night*, recalled no doubt to their memory,
* For instance, the nocturnal procession of the 21st of October, instituted in commemoration of the
great earthquake,