Identifier: travelsamongstg00whym (find matches)
Title: Travels amongst the great Andes of the equator
Year: 1894 (1890s)
Authors: Whymper, Edward, 1840-1911
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, Scribner
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
in, however, was neverperfectly free from clouds. It was steep, and so far as wecould see, it was almost completely covered by glacier. Wecould distinguish multitudes of crevasses — the essential anddistinctive feature of glaciers; and great schrunds which are theoutward and visible signs of the dislocation of these icy massesin their passage across unusually irregular ground. Over these i In this passage, Humboldt means the viceroyalty of Quito (embracing tin-whole of Ecuador), not the City of Quito. J give the passage at length in ChapterXIX. 2 The view facing p. 24 is from a photograph which was taken a few dayslater. For the purposes of our discussion I sketched the mountain. 3 The reader will be able to follow me upon the accompanying plate. The tamboof Tortorillas lies to the right, beyond the range of the engraving. The GreatArenal is behind the distant ridge, which stretches from one side to the other.The lowest part seen of Chimborazo is more than 16,000 feet above the sea.
Text Appearing After Image:
chap. ii. THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHIMBORAZO. 25 slopes and schrunds, clouds came and went ceaselessly. Wecherished the idea that we were unfortunate in the weather,and that presently they would he dissipated. It took time tolearn that they were a great and permanent feature of themountain, due to the condensation of damp air coming fromthe Amazonian region. A direct approach to the eastern summit from the side ofGuaranda could not be contemplated for a moment ; for theglaciers streaming from the two domes fell over cliffs, andabove nearly perpendicular precipices of rock there rose per-pendicular walls of ice, which broke away as the glaciersprogressed, and rolled into a basin, of which we only saw thehead. We could trace the grooves and scorings on the slopesbelow made by falling bodies, and knew that we could notventure there. Underneath the western summit, and leading nearly south-west, there appeared to be a ridge coming down to the Arenal,and to the west of this there was another basi

Note About Images