The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-07-18
Mountains of the Western Hemisphere

Mountains Of the Western Hemisphere
The Richmond Dispatch says:
The Nation groups some very inter
esting information regarding the height
Of mountains in this hemisphere. The
results, it tells US. Of the hypsometric
measurements recently made by Sir
William Martin Conway. Of the High
Andes of Bolivia. seem to determine
definitely that Aconcagua, in Argen-
tina, is the Hottest summit OF the
American COrdilleras, and accordingly
the eliminating point Of the entire
Western Hemisphere. Although. con
tinues our contemporary, this was the
general assumption Of geographers, the
rival claims of the Nevada de Sorata
and Illimani, which in the older geogra.
phies were represented to have attitudes,
respectively, Of % 200 and nearly -, 900
feet, and even quite recently to approx
mate these heights, have left the ques-
tion an open one. The present observa-
tions reduce these elevations 10 81, 10
for the highest peak Of the S0rata or
lllampu) and 81 .Olj feet "A result strik-
ingly in accord with that obtained by
Minchin-2l, 40 and 81 22l fect-and
about equally correspondent with that
derived by the English geologist Pent-
land. from his revised triangulation
conducted in 1898, which gave 81, 2S6
feet for the Sorata and 2l 10 feet for
Illimani The absolute altitude of
Aconcagua is, perhaps. still in doubt,
but the measurements Of FitZerald and
Zurbriggen. made during their late sue
cessful and unsuccessful attempts to at
tain the SUBMITS. would seem to give
the mountain height fully equal to
that which had been assumed for II Ivy
Fitzroy and Darwin, % POO feet, and
about thousand feet more than was
claimed by the Spanish engineer Plssis
(22 1872 feet). The Sorata and lIlimani
now not impossibly also yield second
place, a. a number Of SUBMITS, both in
Northern Chile and in Bolivia, are close
and have 1T least the adj
vantage Of being reputed to be more
lofty.
Together with these revised measure
ments, adds the Nation, It is competent
TO state that the North American noun
tains have likewise suffered some change
rs regards their respective claims to
supremacy Mounts Brown and Hooker,
which for a long time occupied on the
map position among the Canadian
Rockies as generous rivals Of the high
est peaks Of the Alps, have. 50 far as it
has been possible TO identify these
in the field, suddenly with
drawn 4, 900 to G. 600 feet Of their ac-
credited heights, and are now only
modest elevations Of less (perhaps con-
siderably less) than II 600 feet y
somewhat similar fate. it Is noted
befell Mount Hood, in Oregon, the
better part Of quarter of a
century ago, when its sudden fall from
stages Of II 600, - 600, and -, 900 feet
brought out the saying that q new
subsequently made by
Lieutenant williamson would reduce
the volcano to hole in the ground.
Fifteen hundred feet has been taken
off the summit Of Mount ST. Elias, in
Alaska, as result of recent measure
ments, leaving il second in height TO
Orizaba, in Mexico, as one Of the cul-
points Of the North Ameri-
can Continent A com pensatlOn for
this loss is, however, had in the
superior height Of Mount Logan,
which stands near to it in British ter
ritory assumed to be 10. 500 feet and |
in that of the giant mountain of Gen.
trail Alaska, south Of the middle course
Of the Yukon, which has been "degel-
oppd" as the result Of recent exodus to
the gold regions A late government sur
vey gives to this mountain (the Mt
Mckinley Of the newer maps Bolshaya |
Of the Russians -an elevation Of 90
AGA feet, and, therefore, the highest
eminence north Of South America.