Mount Chimborazo Analysis

Humboldt, along with Bonpland and Carlos Mountufar, ascended Mount. Chimborazo, Ecuador on June 23, 1801. According to Humboldt (1872), he climbed the mountain to a height of 19,286 feet and measured the vertical height to be 21,422 feet using a barometer and triangulating the altitude. While climbing up the eastern side, he noticed the presence of Diptera, an insect resembling flies at elevations of 18,225 feet (Humboldt, 1872). In addition, Humboldt notes that Bonpland found yellow butterflies above the snow at 16,626 ft altitude. Humboldt found that Saxifraga Boussingaulti, the highest growing phanerogamic plant, grows on snow covered stone at 15,770 feet, not at 17,000 feet previously set by English journals. With all the observations of plants and insects that he finds climbing Chimborazo, Humboldt
Humboldt created images of his travels, including several depictions of Chimborazo. With highly detailed labels appealing to scientists, as well as lush green and snow-capped scenes engaging to artists and travelers, Humboldt knew his audience well. Along with being artistic, Humboldt appeared to be very linguistic and wrote very poetically, understanding and incorporating aesthetic from his observations. While talking about Mount Chimborazo, Humboldt goes into detail about his efforts to determine the origin of the word “Chimborazo”. Natives of the area informed him that it is simply, and fittingly, “the snow of Chimbo” (Humboldt, et al., 1872 p. 235). “Chimbo,” he learns also means “to cross a river” due to the presence of a bridge overseeing a brook (Humboldt, et al., 1872, p. 235). These details are important to Humboldt as he tries to convey the wonder he sees around him through poetic works. Indeed, the artist and linguistic within Humboldt allowed him to communicate his ideas effectively to a wider range of audiences than most other scientists were able to