LETTER TO DON JOSE CLAVIJO Y FAJARDO (Director of the Royal Cabinet of Natural History of Madrid): the minerals found

Abstract

In this letter written from Quito, Humboldt informs Clavijo y Fajardo that his expedition has reached heights never before reached by any human being. He relates his journey through volcanoes such as Puracé in what is now Colombia, and others located in present-day Ecuador: Antisana, Cotopaxi, etc. The scholar reports that he has "drawn up the topographical plan of most of these giants, I have measured them barometrically and geographically, I have examined with careful care the rocks that compose them". Also, that he has collected and classified diverse that he will soon know.