Observing
that the water charged with gelatinous particles is in an impure
state, and that the luminous appearance in all common cases is
produced by the agitation of the fluid in contact with the
atmosphere, I am inclined to consider that the phosphorescence is
the result of the decomposition of the organic particles, by which
process (one is tempted almost to call it a kind of respiration)
the ocean becomes purified.
DECEMBER 23, 1833.
We arrived at Port Desire, situated in latitude 47 degrees, on the
coast of Patagonia. The creek runs for about twenty miles inland,
with an irregular width. The "Beagle" anchored a few miles within
the entrance, in front of the ruins of an old Spanish settlement.
The same evening I went on shore. The first landing in any new
country is very interesting, and especially when, as in this case,
the whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual
character. At the height of between two and three hundred feet
above some masses of porphyry a wide plain extends, which is truly
characteristic of Patagonia. The surface is quite level, and is
composed of well-rounded shingle mixed with a whitish earth. Here
and there scattered tufts of brown wiry grass are supported, and
still more rarely, some low thorny bushes.
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