CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



Sea. It is traversed by the great river Orinoco, 

 and by a branch of the Andes, and contains the 

 large lakes of Maracaybo and Valencia. The 

 northern part is mountainous ; but in the south, 

 on the Orinoco, are immense plains or llanos, 

 whose pastures support numerous herds of cattle. 

 The productions are sugar, coffee, indigo, cotton, 

 and tobacco. The year is completely divided 

 into the rainy and the dry seasons ; the former 

 commencing in November, and ending in April. 



The trade, which is comparatively small, is 

 carried on chiefly with Great Britain and the 

 United States. The chief article of export to 

 Britain is raw cotton, and the principal imports 

 are cotton and linen fabrics. The total imports 

 amount to about ,1,000,000, and the exports 

 to .1,200,000 annually. The chief towns are 

 Caracas, the capital (pop. 50,000) ; Cumana, a 

 sea-port; and Maracaybo, on the lake or gulf of 

 the same name. 



COLOMBIA. 



Area, 432,400 square miles ; population, 2,900,633 

 of European descent, 100,000 Indians. 



This federative republic, officially designated 

 ' The United States of Colombia,' was established 

 by the convention of Bogota, 2oth September 

 1 86 1, and consists of nine states, which formerly 

 composed New Granada. The central govern- 

 ment consists of a president, a senate, and a 

 house of representatives ; but each state has its 

 own local governor and legislature. Colombia is 

 bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea and 

 Costa Rica ; on the east, by Venezuela ; on the 

 south, by Ecuador ; and on the west, by the 

 Pacific. The Andes traverse this country in three 

 parallel ridges ; and the mountains are extremely 

 rich in gold and silver ; and there are also mines 

 of platina, copper, lead, and emeralds. The com- 

 merce is small. The chief exports are raw cotton, 

 caoutchouc, indigo, and Peruvian bark. The 

 imports are cotton, woollen, and linen fabrics. 

 A railway connects the port of Panama, on the 

 Pacific, with that of Aspinwall or Colon, on the 

 Atlantic, and an inter-oceanic ship-canal is being 

 constructed parallel to the railway. The yearly 

 revenue of the republic is somewhat over 

 1,000,000, while the debt is nearly ,10,000,000. 

 Santa Fe de Bogota (pop. 46,000) is the seat of 

 government. The other principal towns are 

 Popayan (pop. 20,000), Antioquia (pop. 20,000), 

 and Carthagena (pop. 25,000). 



ECUADOR. 



Area, 218,984 square miles ; population, 1,100,000 

 of European descent, 200,000 aborigines. 



Ecuador, extending from i 40' north to 5 50' 

 south lat. and from 69 to 81 20' west long, 

 is bounded on the north by Colombia ; on 

 the west, by the Pacific ; on the south, by Peru ; 

 and on the east, by Brazil. Intersected by both 

 chains of the Andes, this state presents great 

 diversity of surface and climate. In consequence 

 of their great elevation, the valleys enjoy a tem- 

 perate climate, and are extremely fertile ; but 

 they are not unfrequently visited by destructive 

 earthquakes arid volcanic eruptions, there being 

 no fewer than sixteen active volcanoes in the 

 department of Quito alone. Chimborazo, which 



324 



rises to a height of 21,440 feet above the sea, and 

 the volcanoes Cotopaxi, Antisana, and Pichincha 

 (from 16,000 to 19,000 feet high), are within the 

 territory of this republic. Gold and silver are 

 found in the mountains. 



Ecuador was constituted into an independent 

 republic in 1830 ; but its present constitution, 

 which is extremely democratic, dates from 1843. 

 The state is divided into three departments. 

 Quito, the capital (pop. 76,000), 9530 feet above 

 the sea, has a genial climate, and is the seat 

 of two colleges, and many churches and convents. 

 The revenue of Ecuador is about 370,000 ; the ex- 

 penditure frequently exceeds the revenue ; the debt 

 is about ^4,000,000. Commerce is principally 

 carried on with Great Britain by the port of 

 Guayaquil, the imports consisting of cotton 

 goods ; and the exports, of cocoa, caoutchouc, 

 and Peruvian bark. This state has very fre- 

 quently been the scene of civil war. 



PERU. 



Area, 502,760 square miles ; population, 

 3,199,000. 



Peru was declared an independent republic in 

 1821, after eleven years of war; but it was not 

 till 1867, and after a long series of political disturb- 

 ances, that its present constitution was adopted. 

 Under this constitution there is absolute political 

 freedom ; but all public religious services save 

 the Roman Catholic are prohibited. Peru is 

 bounded on the north by Ecuador ; on the east, by 

 Brazil ; on the south, by Bolivia ; and on the west, 

 by the Pacific. It extends from 3 30' to 22 S. 

 lat. and from 69 to 81 15' W. long. Its surface 

 is of the most varied description. Along the 

 shore of the Pacific stretches a belt of barrea 

 sand, of an average breadth of 30 or 40 miles, on 

 which no rain ever falls, but which contains many 

 oases of remarkable fertility, and which is inter- 

 sected by valleys equally fertile. Here are situ- 

 ated Lima and other large towns, the only sea-ports 

 of the republic. Beyond this belt is the slope of 

 the Andes, grooved by streams formed by the 

 melting snows. Higher still is the ridge of the 

 Cordillera, with its snowy volcanic peaks, from 

 14,000 to 18,000 feet high, and its rugged, cold, 

 and barren plains. Beyond this, towards the 

 south, is the lake basin of Titicaca ; while towards 

 the north and west, the plains slope downwards to 

 the valley of the Amazon. Here rise those vast 

 rivers the largest in the world which traverse the 

 whole continent of South America. Peru thus pre- 

 sents a great diversity of soil and climate, and pro- 

 duces every variety of vegetation, from the dwarf 

 plants of Lapland, on the lofty mountain-tops, to 

 the aromatic species of Sumatra, which shed their 

 odours at the base. The sloping plains to the east 

 of the Andes are almost unrivalled in fertility ; 

 and the mineral wealth of the country is immense, 

 comprising gold, silver, platina, tin, copper, lead, 

 quicksilver, precious stones, salt, alum, saltpetre, 

 coal, sulphur, and others. The most valuable of 

 these are in great plenty. 



Foreign trade is carried on chiefly with Great 

 Britain and the United States by the port of 

 Callao. The principal article of exportation ta 

 Britain is guano. It was calculated that the whole 

 stock of this article remaining in Peru (believed 

 to be about 3,000,000 tons) would be exhausted 

 within comparatively few years ; but a very 





