Aspects of nature, in different lands and different climates (Vol. 2 of 2) / with scientific elucidations - Alexander von Humboldt

Determination of the longitude of Lima [323], [324]

INDEX

Adansonia digitata (monkey-bread tree), one of the largest and oldest trees of the globe, ii. [89].
Allco, the native Peruvian dog, i. 108.
Aloë, ii. [27], [180].
Altai, one of the four parallel mountain chains in Central Asia, i. 86.
American races, connection between the inhabitants of Western America and Eastern Asia probable, but its nature and period uncertain, i. 176.
Andes, etymological considerations connected with the word Andes or Antis, ii. [303].
Animal life, its universal diffusion, ii. [1].
Asia, Central, general review of its mountain systems, i. 85.
Atlas.—The position of the ancient Atlas discussed, i. 144.
Atahuallpa, site of his ancient palace, ii. [289];
his prison, [290];
death, [291];
descendants, [292];
notice of the comet which appeared in the year on which the Inca was put to death, [313].
Banks, slightly elevated portions of the Llanos, called “Banks” by the natives, i. 2, 33.
Boa, swims in the South American rivers, and carries its head above water like a dog, i. 190.
Bogota, the seat of an ancient civilisation of the Muyscas or Chibchas, ii. [309].
Cactus, ii. [24], [147].
Camel, i. 68;
Ritter’s memoir on the diffusion of the camel, present existence in a wild state, i. 70;
fossil in the Sewalik hills, i. 71.
Casas grandes, ruins of an Aztec palace, i. 168.
Casuarineæ, ii. [25], [152].
Caxamarca, the ancient capital of the Incas, ii. [267], [287].
Cereals.—Original country of the principal Cereals discussed, i. 169.
Chibchas, ii. [309].
Chimborazo, conjectures as to the origin of the name, ii. [37].
Chota, silver mines of, ii. [282].
Cinchona, fever-bark, or quina, ii. [267], [305].
Climate of the eastern or flat portions of South America widely different from that of Africa in the same latitudes, causes of the difference, i. 8, 123;
the southern hemisphere cooler and moister than the northern, 139.
Climatic effects of extensive forests, i. 126.
Cœlebogyne, produces perfect seeds without any trace of pollen having been discovered, ii. [51].
Condor.—Discussion of the height in the atmosphere to which the condor ascends, ii. [40].
Coniferæ, or needle trees, ii. [25], [175].
Coral reefs, classified by Darwin, ii. [64];
his hypothesis of the origin and growth of coral reefs, [76].
Correo que nada, the “swimming post” in the upper waters of the Amazons river, ii. [277].
Curare, plant from which the poison is obtained, i. 203.
Current.—Great revolving current of the Atlantic Ocean discussed, i. 159.
Dogs.—European dogs have become wild in South America, and live in troops in the Pampas, i. 107;
native Peruvian dogs, 108;
Tschudi’s remarks on the indigenous races of dogs in America, 111.
Dragon-tree of Orotava, ii. [16], [85].
Esquimaux, instances recorded of their having been carried across the Atlantic to the shores of Europe, i. 162.
Ferns, ii. [28], [188].
Figured rocks, i. e. figures engraven on rocks in an extensive district of South America, i. 196.
Fresh-water springs in the ocean near Cuba, i. 233.
Fournel, recent contributions to the physical geography of Northern Africa, i. 115.
Frémont, Captain, importance of his geographical memoirs on our knowledge of the geography of North America, i. 37, and generally in Note[⁵], also i. 280.
Geographical distribution of plants, laws of the, ii. [102].
Gobi, the plateau of, i. 74, 79.
Gramineæ, ii. [27], [183].
Guaranis, a tribe inhabiting the sea-coast and rivers near the mouth of the Orinoco, i. 178.
Granite, leaden-coloured rocks of, in the Orinoco, i. 188.
Great basin, the elevated plain so called, between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada of California, i. 44;
forms an inland closed river basin, 280.
Gymnotus, description of its capture in South America by means of horses, i. 22.
Heat in plants developed during inflorescence, ii. [175].
Heaths, ii. [23], [145].
Himalaya, one of the four parallel mountain chains of Central Asia, i. 92.
Hiongnu, i. 101.
Hooker, Dr. J., recent determination of the elevation of the Kinchinjinga, one of the highest peaks of the Himalaya, i. 93;
on the production of perfect seeds by the Cœlebogyne, ii. [51];
remarks on the geographical distribution of plants in Antarctic floras, ii. [122].
Illimani and Sorata, their height above the sea recently corrected, i. 57, 96, 277.
Kashmeer, valley of, i. 80.
Kinchinjinga, one of the highest peaks of the Himalaya, its elevation recently determined, i. 92.
Kuen-lün, one of the four parallel mountain chains in Central Asia, i. 72, 90.
Lama, alpaca, and guanaco, three originally distinct species of animals, described, i. 166.
Laurels as a characteristic form of vegetation, ii. [28], [200].
Lianes, ii. [26], [178].
Liliaceæ, ii. [28], [193].
Llanos, their description, i. 7;
climate strongly contrasted with that of the African plains, 8;
animals which inhabit them, 15;
their prevalent vegetation, 120.
Luminosity of the ocean, ii. [53].
Malvaceæ, ii. [22].
Marañon, or Amazons, upper valley of, ii. [281].
Mauritia palm, i. 16, 181.
Melastomaceæ, ii. [28], [200].
Mimoseæ, ii. [22], [145].
Mississipi, river, its source correctly ascertained, i. 52.
Moon, mountains of the, their existence, extent, distance from the Equator, and general direction, discussed, i. 149.
Mountain chains in Asia, in the direction of parallels of latitude, i. 85;
those coinciding nearly with meridians, i. 94.
Muyscas, ancient civilisation of the, ii. [308].
Myrtaceæ, ii. [28], [196].
North America, general aspect of its natural features, and considerations on its physical geography, i. 39.
Orchideæ, ii. [24], [151].
Orinoco, i. 207;
magnitude of the river compared with that of the rivers Plate and Amazons, 211;
its sources yet unvisited, 213;
general description of its course, 214;
“black waters” of the Upper Orinoco, 215;
cataracts of Atures and Maypures, 217;
discussion of questions concerning its sources, 239;
supposed origin in a lake, 243.
Otomacs, a tribe on the Orinoco who use earth as food, i. 190.
Pacific, the author’s gratification at first seeing the Pacific from the Alto de Guangamarca, ii. [300].
Palms, ii. [20], [128].
Panama.—Communication by canal or railroad across the Isthmus of Panama discussed, ii. [319].
Paramo, a mountainous region in South America so called, i. 105;
its climate and vegetation, i. 105, ii. [269].
Pastoral life almost unknown to the original inhabitants of America, i. 13.
Plants, physiognomy of, essentially distinct from a botanical arrangement, ii. [14], [17], [208];
is the principal element in the characteristic aspect of different portions of the earth’s surface, [16];
about sixteen different forms of plants enumerated, which are chiefly concerned in determining the aspect of Nature, [18];
Palms, [20];
Plantains or Bananas, [21];
Malvaceæ and Bombaceæ, [22];
Mimosas, [22];
Heaths, [28];
Cactuses, [24];
Orchideæ, [24];
Casuarineæ, [25];
Coniferæ, [25];
Pothos, [26];
Lianes, [26];
Aloes, [27];
Grasses, [27];
Ferns, [28];
Liliaceæ, [28];
Willows, [28];
Myrtaceæ, Melastomaceæ, and Laurineæ, [29];
number of species contained in herbariums, [97];
points of view in which the laws of the geographical distribution of plants may be regarded, [102];
conjectures as to the whole number of species on the globe, [119];
more than half the number of species are probably yet unknown, [121];
heat developed during inflorescence, [175];
general remarks on a physiognomic classification, [205].
Pothos, ii. [26], [175].
Quina (or fever bark), ii. [267].
Roads, old Peruvian, of the times of the Incas, ii. [270].
Rotiferæ, their revivification, ii. [45].
Sahara (African desert) composed of several detached basins, i. 114.
Sand-spouts a phenomenon characteristic of the Peruvian Sand Desert, i. 183.
Sargasso, Mar de; its geographical position discussed, i. 63;
is the most remarkable assemblage of plants of a single species yet known on the globe, i. 64.
Schomburgk.—Travels of the brothers Robert and Richard Schomburgk important in many respects in regard to the physical geography of Guiana and the bordering countries, i. 178, 197, 236, 250.
Sleep, summer and winter, of animals, i. 18, 185; ii. [48].
Snow, limit of perpetual; inequality of this limit on the northern and southern declivities of the Himalaya, i. 98.
Sorata and Illimani; their heights above the sea recently corrected, i. 57, 96, 277.
Steppes and Deserts, Characteristics of the European, i. 2;
African, i. 3;
Asiatic, i. 4;
South American, i. 7;
analogies and contrasts between the steppes and the ocean, i. 2, 35.
Strato, his sluice theory, ii. [78].
Sugar-cane; of Tahiti, of the West Indies, and of Guiana, i. 31.
Tacarigua, Lake of, i. 1;
its scenery and vegetation, i. 27.
Temperature.—Contrast between the temperature of the east coast of America and the west coast of Europe in the same latitudes, i. 129;
general remarks on the temperature of the United States of America, i. 131.
Thian-schan, one of the four parallel mountain chains in Central Asia, i. 72, 82.
Thibet, occupying the valley between the great chains of the Kuen-lün and Himalaya, divided into Upper, Middle, and Little Thibet; its mean elevation and description, i. 81.
Tibbos, i. 67.
Timpanogos, Laguna de, i. 44;
is the Great Salt Lake of Frémont, 280.
Traditions of Samothrace, ii. [78].
Trees, age of, ii. [86];
trees of highest growth, ii. [165].
Trisetum subspicatum, an inhabitant both of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, ii. [186].
Tuaricks, i. 67.
Urwald, or primeval forest, a name too lightly used, i. 261;
true character of a primeval forest, 262;
description of the nocturnal life of wild animals in the Urwald, 266.
Vegetation, its propagation and extension over newly formed lands, ii. [8];
the absence of trees erroneously supposed to characterise hot countries, [10];
extensive arid tracts in countries otherwise of luxuriant vegetation a geological problem which has not been sufficiently considered, [12];
characteristic aspect of vegetation in the tropics, [30];
characteristic vegetation of the Alps and Andes at great elevations, [35].
Vesuvius, measurements of height at different periods, ii. [225], [243];
particulars of the eruption of 1822, [228].
Vital force, the, or Rhodian Genius, ii. [251].
Volcanos of the Thian-schan chain situated in the interior of Asia far distant from the sea, i. 88;
structure and mode of action of, ii. [213];
instances of extensive volcanic connection, [221];
importance of repeating exact measurements of the heights of craters, [224].
Willows, ii. [28], [193].

THE END.

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Transcriber's Note

Duplicate chapter headings have been removed.

The following apparent errors have been corrected:

p. i "BY." changed to "BY"
p. 13 "heat, But," changed to "heat. But,"
p. 52 "as follows:—Un" changed to "as follows:—”Un"
p. 60 "of a line,) S. xix." changed to "of a line,)” S. xix."
p. 64 "of the Carolinas;—and" changed to "of the Carolinas);—and"
p. 81 "“A more richly varied" changed to "A more richly varied"
p. 93 "have been counted.”" changed to "have been counted."
p. 100 "entitled “De distributione" changed to "entitled De distributione"
p. 113 "acccording to" changed to "according to"
p. 126 "Muskel-und Nervenfaser" changed to "Muskel- und Nervenfaser"
p. 127 "Chæmerops and Cocos" changed to "Chamærops and Cocos"
p. 133 "systematically 12. “How interesting" changed to "systematically 12. How interesting"
p. 134 "concentric rings.”" changed to "concentric rings."
p. 134 "Rio Atabapo.”" changed to "Rio Atabapo."
p. 135 "Nature has lavished" changed to "“Nature has lavished"
p. 145 "10.°5 Reanmur" changed to "10.°5 Reaumur"
p. 146 "in the Canaries.”" changed to "in the Canaries."
p. 160 "aus Indien wahrend der" changed to "aus Indien während der"
p. 160 "torulosa (Don)," changed to "torulosa, Don),"
p. 172 "Tännen-stöcke" changed to "Tannenstöcke"
p. 184 "Asiat Res." changed to "Asiat. Res."
p. 210 "organic devolopment" changed to "organic development"
p. 239 "study of fosssils" changed to "study of fossils"
p. 307 "fortress of the Cañar" changed to "fortress of the Cañar."
p.311 "native of New Granada" changed to "native of New Granada."
p. 313 "164000 French" changed to "16400 French"
p. 315 "p. 424)." changed to "p. 424."
p. 323 "p. 300" changed to "p. 300."
p. 323 "79° 34" changed to "79° 34´"
p. 341 "Alöe" changed to "Aloë"
p. 344 "Maranon" changed to "Marañon"