Alexander von Humboldt's account of his monumental scientific expedition to South America and Cuba. Originally published in French between 1814 and 1825, this is the first edition in English ... This classic of scientific exploration was based on the researches of Humboldt and his companion, Aimé Bonpland, during their five-year excursion in South and Central America from 1799 to 1804. The volumes describe the voyage from Spain and the stop in the Canaries; Tobago and the first steps in South America; explorations along the Orinoco; Colombia and the area around Caracas; explorations in the northern Andes; and a visit to Cuba. "Humboldt and Bonpland traveled widely through South and Central America, studying meteorological phenomena and exploring wild and uninhabited country. At Callao, Humboldt measured the temperatures of the ocean current which came to bear his name ..."--Hill.
Alexander von Humboldt, sometimes called 'the last man who knew everything', was an extraordinary polymath of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1798 he received unprecedented permission from the Spanish Crown to explore its American and Caribbean colonies, which he did from 1799-1804. This is the journal of those explorations, in which he extensively covers the region's topography, geology, fauna and flora, anthropology and comparative linguistics. Volume I covers his preparations, stop at Tenerife, landfall at Cumana and journeys inland in what is now Venezuela.
A titanic figure in the scientific community, Alexander von Humboldt's contribution in the realms of geography, botany and philosophy cannot be overstated. Born in Berlin in 1769, the son of a Prussian minister, he traveled in four continents, wrote at least 36 books and 25,000 letters throughout his long and adventurous life. Known to sleep just four hours a night, and down coffee by the pint, Humboldt's boundless energy and enthusiasm were at times invigorating, at times trying for his travel companions. Yet so great were his contributions viewed that he has numerous plants, animals, geological features, astronomical features, schools and places named after him to this day. His approach to scientific exploration and observation inspired other notables such as Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau and John Muir.In Volume 1 of his Personal Narrative, Humboldt offers a firsthand account of histravels with French explorer and botanist Aimé Bonpland in the Americas."The most dangerous worldviews are the worldviews of those who have never viewed the world."― Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt's account of his monumental scientific expedition to South America and Cuba. Originally published in French between 1814 and 1825, this is the first edition in English ... This classic of scientific exploration was based on the researches of Humboldt and his companion, Aimé Bonpland, during their five-year excursion in South and Central America from 1799 to 1804. The volumes describe the voyage from Spain and the stop in the Canaries; Tobago and the first steps in South America; explorations along the Orinoco; Colombia and the area around Caracas; explorations in the northern Andes; and a visit to Cuba. "Humboldt and Bonpland traveled widely through South and Central America, studying meteorological phenomena and exploring wild and uninhabited country. At Callao, Humboldt measured the temperatures of the ocean current which came to bear his name ..."--Hill.
The legacy of Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) looms large over the natural sciences. His 1799–1804 research expedition to Central and South America with botanist Aimé Bonpland set the course for the great scientific surveys of the nineteenth century, and inspired such essayists and artists as Emerson, Goethe, Thoreau, Poe, and Church. The chronicles of the expedition were published in Paris after Humboldt’s return, and first among them was the 1807 “Essay on the Geography of Plants.” Among the most cited writings in natural history, after the works of Darwin and Wallace, this work appears here for the first time in a complete English-language translation. Covering far more than its title implies, it represents the first articulation of an integrative “science of the earth, ” encompassing most of today’s environmental sciences. Ecologist Stephen T. Jackson introduces the treatise and explains its enduring significance two centuries after its publication.
Alexander von Humboldt, sometimes called 'the last man who knew everything', was an extraordinary polymath of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1798 he received unprecedented permission from the Spanish Crown to explore its American and Caribbean colonies, which he did from 1799-1804. This is the journal of those explorations, in which he extensively covers the region's topography, geology, fauna and flora, anthropology and comparative linguistics. Volume I covers his preparations, stop at Tenerife, landfall at Cumaná and journeys inland in what is now Venezuela.
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 edition. Excerpt: ...which is considered to be higher than the mountain of the Brigantine, so well knovm by the sailors who frequent the coasts of Cumana. We measured, by angles of elevation, and a basis, rather short, traced on the round summit, the peak of Cucurucho, which was about 350 toises higher than our station, so that its abolute height exceeded 1050 toises. The view we enjoyed on the Turimiquiri is of vast extent, and highly picturesque. From the summit to the ocean we perceived chains of mountains extended in parallel lines from east to west, and bounding longitudinal valleys. These valleys are intersected at right angles by an infinite number of small ravines, scooped out by the torrents: the consequence i, that the lateral ranges are transformed into so many rows of paps, some round and others pyramidal. The ground in general is a gentle slope as far as the Imposible; farther on the precipices become bold, and continue so to the shore of the gulf of Cariaco. The form of this mass of mountains reminded us of the chain of the J ura; and the only plain that presents itself is the valley of Cumanacoa. We seemed to look down into the bottom of a funnel, in which we could distinguish, amidst tufts of scattered trees, the Indian village of Aricagua. Towards the north, a narrow slip of land, the eninsula of Araya, formed a dark stripe on the sea, which, being illumined by the rays of the sun, reflected a stro light. Beyond the peninsula the horizon was bounde, by Cape Macanao, the black rocks of which rise amid the waters like an immense bastion. The farm of the Cocollar, situated at the foot of the Turimiquiri, is in latitude 19 9' 32." I found the dip of the needle 42'1. The needle oscillates 229 times in ten minutes. Possibly masses of brown...
