ABSTRACT
July 23dy 1834. The Beagle anchored late at night in the bay o f Valparaiso, the chief seaport o f Chile. When morning came, every thing appeared delightful. After Tierra del Fuego, the climate felt quite delicious - the atmosphere so dry, and the heavens so clear and blue, with the sun shining brightly, that all nature seemed sparkling with life. The view from the anchorage is very pretty. The town is built at the very foot o f a range o f hills, about 1600 feet high, and rather steep. From its position, it consists o f one long, straggling street, which runs parallel to the beach, and wherever a ravine comes down, the houses are piled up on each side o f it. The rounded hills, being only partially protected by a very scanty vegetation, are worn into numberless little gullies, which expose a singularly bright red soil. From this cause, and from the low whitewashed houses with tile roofs, the view reminded me of St Cruz in Teneriffe. In a north-easterly direction there are some fine glimpses o f the Andes: but these mountains appear much grander when viewed from the neighbouring hills; the great distance at which they are situated can then more readily be perceived. The volcano o f Aconcagua is particularly magnificent. This huge and irregularly conical mass has an elevation greater than that o f Chimborazo; for, from measurements made by the officers in the Beagle, its height is no less than 23,000 feet. The Cordillera, however, viewed from / this point, owe the greater part o f their beauty to the atmosphere through which they are seen. When the sun was setting in the Pacific, it was admirable to watch how clearly their rugged dunes could be distinguished, yet how varied and how delicate were the shades o f their colour.
