Much less continuous, but nevertheless very important, is the great band of volcanoes which extends along the western side of the great American continent, and contains, with its branches, nearly a hundred active volcanoes. On the north this great band is almost united with the one we have already described by the chain of the Aleutian and Alaska volcanoes. In British Columbia about the parallel of 60° N. there exist a number of volcanic mountains, one of which, Mount St. Elias, is believed to be 18,000 feet in height, and several of these have certainly been seen in a state of eruption. Farther south in the part of the United States, territories drained by the Columbia River, a number of grand volcanic mountains exist, some of which are probably still active, for geysers and other manifestations of volcanic activity abound. From the southern extremity of the peninsula of California an almost continuous chain of volcanoes stretches through Mexico and Guatemala, and from this part of the volcanic band a branch is given off which passes through the West Indies, and forms a connection with the great volcanic band of the Atlantic Ocean. In South America the line is continued by the active volcanoes of Ecuador, Bolivia and Chili, but at many intermediate points in the chain of the Andes extinct volcanoes occur, which to a great extent fill up the gaps in the series. A small offshoot to the westward passes through the Galapagos Islands. The great band of volcanoes which stretches through the American continent is second only in importance, and in the activity of its vents, to the band which divides the Pacific from the Indian Ocean.