Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

348 LAVA DisTracT — ' basalt glkn/ April ments had in falling not only scattered themselves over the adjacent plain, but into the bed of the river, in such a manner as to make the passage exceedingly dangerous ; because large angular masses, in some places showing above the stream in others hidden beneath, but so near the surface that the water eddied and swelled over them, menaced destruction to the boats as they were with difficulty dragged through the eddy- ing rapid ; sometimes the rope caught under or around one of those masses, and caused much trouble. Near the spot where we stopped at noon there is a glen, quite different in character from any place we had passed.* Indeed, vipon enter- ing the lava district, or that part of the country over which lava formerly flowed, there was no longer a Patagonian aspect around. Steep precipices, narrow, winding vallies, abundance of huge angular fragments of lava, a more rapid and nar- rower river, and plains of solid lava overlying the whole sur- face of the country, make this district even worse in its appear- ance than the eastern coast of Patagonia. Excepting in an occasional ravine nothing grows. Horses could not travel far, the ground being like rough iron ; and water, excepting that of the river and its tributary in Basalt Glen, is very scarce. The glen above mentioned is a wild looking ravine, bounded by black lava cliffs. A stream of excellent water winds through it amongst the long grass, and a kind of jungle at the bottom. Lions or rather pumas shelter in it, as the recently torn remains of guanacoes showed us. Condors inha- bit the basaltic cliffs. Near the river some imperfect columns of basalt give to a remarkable rocky height, the semblance of an old castle. Altogether it is a scene of wild loneliness quite fit to be the breeding place of lions.f No signs of human visitors were discovered : indeed, the nature of the country must almost prevent horsemen from traversing these regions, there is so little food and such bad ground : only in glens or ravines such as this can any grass or bushes be found. Guanacoes absolutely swarm upon the * ' Basalt Glen.' + " Loonum arida nutrix."