214 



The serni of Erere is a liigli, narrow, rugged, irregular ridge, four 

 or five miles long, trending about east-north-east and west-sonth- 

 west, and with abrupt and often precipitons sides. The upper part 

 of the serra is formed of very heavy beds of sandstone, that dip 

 to the south-south-east at an angle varying from 5°-20°. The top 

 of the ridge is very irregular, ragged and picturesque, the sandstone 

 being often exposed, in situ, in bare ledges or ridges, or lying strewn 

 about in enormous blocks over the surface, which is so rough that 

 it is no easy task to traverse the mountain from one end to the other. 

 Along the northern side of the serra the sandstone forms a broken 

 line of bluffs, varying in height from a few feet to several hundred; 

 and just opposite the little village, and shown in the cut, there is a 

 splendid precipice, remarkable for being rent by fissures from top to 

 bottom. Below these bluffs the side of tJie serra slopes very steeply, 

 presenting the appearance of a talus, the surhice being covered with 

 loose fragments of sandstone. 



At both ends the serra is cut squarely off, but on the east the 

 sandstone exteuds downwards, with a strong dip, disappearing under 

 the more modern clays and sands of a swelling ridge like that of 

 Monte-Alegre, that stretches eastward to the igarape, covered with 

 the characteristic vegetation of the high, sandy campos. 



,^— ?— f. 



Serra of Erer6 from the East. 



On the southern side of the serra, and near the eastern end, these 

 sandy campos rise by a gentle incline nearly to the summit, so that 



