PACIFIC SLOPE OF ECUADOR. PERU AND CHILI. 505 



along the coast to the Gulf of Guayaquil. East of the coast range, 

 between the Guayas and the Esmeraldas rivers, lies a quaternary 

 plain 60 to 250 feet high and 30 to 50 miles wide. East of this 

 rises the Cordillera Occidental. About Guayaquil and along the 

 coast to the Rio Tumbez there are recent alluvial flat lands. The 

 coastal quaternary lands are drained by the Rios Chone and Porto- 

 viejo, two short rivers emptying into the Pacific between 30' and 40' 

 south.^ The interior quaternary lowlands are drained in the north 

 by the Quininde and Toachi which empty into the Esmeraldas. The 

 greater, southern part is drained by the af^uents of the Rio Guayas, 

 the Chan Chan, Chimbo, Caracoles, Vinces and Daule, with their 

 tributaries. I have elsewhere compiled an account of the Pacific 

 slope of Ecuador and need repeat only that the height of land be- 

 tween the Rio Esmeraldas and some of the head-waters of the 

 Guayas is negligible as a barrier to fresh-water fish migration. 

 The usual ability to drag a boat from one system to the other is 

 reported. (Sievers, " Slid und Mittelamerica," p. 459.) The fishes 

 should, therefore, be the same in the two streams. 



The Guayas basin differs from all others south of the Rio San 

 Juan of Colombia. The Guayas and the Vinces have a course 

 parallel with the general trend of the Andes and for many miles 

 flow through lowland. Farther north the Dagua and the Patia, and 



** Mr. Arthur Henn, who visited this region, reports : 



"As I recall the rivers at Chone and Portoviejo, they are approximately 

 of the same size. These rivers arise in seasonally humid hills of about 1,200 

 feet in height. The coastal area is quite arid. At Bahia v^^hen I was there 

 they were bringing in drinking water by tank car on the railroad from the 

 interior, and Manta on the coast west of Porto viejo is almost an absolute 

 desert. Water for cooking and washing was secured by means of wells 

 sunk in the sand. Water filtered in from the sea and was slightly saline. 

 Drinking water was brought in by donkey from the interior. South of 

 Manta, near Santa Elena, the same desert continues with vast arid dunes. At 

 Chone and Porto viejo which are more in the interior, the people can always 

 secure water from pools in the river. During the rainy months these rivers 

 are wide, deep, muddy streams and I believe it is possible to get up in a 

 small launch from Bahia to Chone. When I was there, however, the rivers 

 were small creeks with fords at numerous intervals, and numerous bamboo 

 bridges which would be washed out in time of flood. The only water over 

 waist-deep was the occasional deep pool. I understand from the people that 

 in times of severe drought the river disappears entirely except for these oc- 

 casional pools." 



