The destruction must have been more complete even than at Talcahuano.
Quantities of shingle almost conceal the foundations of the walls, and vast masses of brickwork appear to have been whirled about like pebbles by the retiring waves.

It has been stated that the land subsided during this memorable shock: I could not discover any proof of this; yet it seems far from improbable, for the form of the coast must certainly have undergone some change since the foundation of the old town; as no people in their senses would willingly have chosen for their building place the narrow spit of shingle on which the ruins now stand.

Since our voyage, M.Tschudi has come to the conclusion, by the comparison of old and modern maps, that the coast both north and south of Lima has certainly subsided.
On the island of San Lorenzo there are very satisfactory proofs of elevation within the recent period; this of course is not opposed to the belief of a small sinking of the ground having subsequently taken place.

The side of this island fronting the Bay of Callao is worn into three obscure terraces, the lower one of which is covered by a bed a mile in length, almost wholly composed of shells of eighteen species, now living in the adjoining sea.

The height of this bed is eighty-five feet.