INTRODUCTION. 85 



Guiana, or Guayana,* famed through Sir "Walter 

 Raleigh's attempt of discovering in its territory the 

 fabled El Dorado, is that part of South America 

 which lies between 8 deg. 40 min. north latitude 

 and 3 deg. 30 min. south latitude, and the 50th 

 and 68th degree of longitude west of Greenwich. 

 It is bounded on the north by the Atlantic and the 

 eastern course of the river Orinoco ; on the east like- 

 wise by the Atlantic ; on the south by the rivers 

 Negro and Amazon ; on the Vest by the northern 

 course of the Orinoco, the natural canal of Cassi- 

 quiare, and the southern course of the Rio Negro ; 

 and its greatest extent, between Cape North and 

 the confluence of the Rio Xie with the Rio Negro, 

 is 1090 geographical miles; its greatest breadth, 

 between Punta Barima, at the mouth of the Ori- 

 noco, to the confluence of the Rio Negro with the 

 Amazon, is 710 geographical miles. Its line of 

 sea-coast extends between the Amazon and tlie 

 Orinoco, and is divided into Brazilian, French, 

 Dutch, British, and Venezuelan Guiana. 



The coast lands consist in general of alluvial flats, 

 which extend from ten to twenty, and in some in- 

 stances even to forty miles inland, and are termi- 

 nated, so far as this territory has been under my 

 personal investigation, by a range of sand-hills of 

 moderate height. Almost parallel with the ridge of 



* The British portion is called Guiana in official docu- 

 ments ; Guayana is the Spanish name ; Guianna the Portu- 

 guese. It is said to have received its name from a small river 

 or tributary of the Orinoco. 



