AMERICA. 



AMERICA. 



21K) 



their report it has been identified with the Kwichpack, whose 

 debouchure was visited by the officers of the Herald, and was 

 previously known to the Russians. Thia river falls into Behring's 

 Straits, between Cape Stephens and Cape Romanzoff. The Colville, 

 then, is reduced to a comparatively small river, and by far the greater 

 part of the country west of the Mackenzie is drained into Behring's 

 Straits, and very little into the Arctic Basin. 



These features have a very important bearing on the geography of 

 those regions, and they form, with the discoveries by Captain Penny 

 and Captain Kellett of Wellington Channel, and the islands and land 

 to the north of Behring's Straits, the most important geographical 

 facts resulting from the expeditions sent in search of Sir John 

 Franklin. 



Mountains, Rivers, Ac., of South America. The Andes, as we have 

 already remarked, is the great mountain system of South America, 

 presenting the longest unbroken range of lofty summits on the globe. 

 Its description is given in the article ANDES. There is a certain 

 analogy between North America and South America as to their 

 mountain-chains. The axis of the two continents, in each case, 

 approaches the western shore much more closely than the eastern ; 

 though, as already observed, the Rocky Mountains, which are the 

 true axis of the North American continent, are far removed from the 

 Pacific, compared with the chain of the Andes. The consequence of 

 this is, that North America possesses an extensive water-system on 

 the Pacific slope, including the Colorado, the Columbia, and other 

 large rivers ; but no considerable stream from the Andes enters the 

 western ocean. 



The Rio de la Plata flows in a great central valley running from 

 north to south, which may be compared with the valley of the Mimriiu 

 sippi, while the Amazonas is the great drain of the low-lands that 

 stretch from the Andes to the Atlantic, and may be compared with 

 the St. Lawrence of North America. Besides the offsets that shoot 

 out from the Andes, we find in South America several distinct moun- 

 tain systems. That which runs along the coast of Venezuela is, 

 however, an offset from the eastern Cordillera of Cundinamarca, 

 which runs down to the Caribbean Sea, along the east side of the 

 Lake of Maracaibo. From this system the Venezuela chain strikes 

 off at right angles, in two parallel chains, running due east, of which 

 the northern keeps close to the sea, and may be traced into the island 

 of Trinidad over the strait called the Dragon's Mouth. The highest 

 point of this chain is the Silla de Caracas, which has an elevation of 

 about 8632 feet. Besides this northern chain, which runs along the 

 island of Trinidad, terminating in Point Oalera on the north-east 

 shore, we find a chain parallel to it running along the southern shore 

 of this singularly formed island; both these chains are undoubted 

 prolongations of the Venezuela system. In consequence of this 

 conformation of the northern coast, no great river enters the Atlantic, 

 between the mouth of the Magdalena and that of the Orinoco. The 

 Magdalena rises in the Andes at the point where the mountains divide 

 into three branches, and like its affluent, the Cauca, runs in a longitu- 

 dinal valley through at least 9 degrees of latitude into the Caribbean 

 Sea. The high-land of Guyana, or Parime', lies between the lower 

 waters of the Orinoco and the Amazonas, and forms, with the high- 

 lands of Venezuela and the Andes, the boundary of that immense 

 plain which is drained by the Orinoco. This mountain system of 

 Parim6 runs from east to west perhaps for 600 miles : it consists of 

 several parallel chains, some of which in British Guyana rise to the 

 height of 4000 and 5000 feet, and Mount Roraima even to 8000 feet 

 Numerous streams descend from these mountains to the ocean, one of 

 which, the Essequibo, would be considered a large river in any other 

 part of the world. Its numerous tributaries, which descend from 

 remote parts of Guyana, run through almost impervious tropical 

 forests, and uniting in one main channel enter the sea hi about 7 N. 

 lat. The culminating point of the Sierra Parime' is Mount Maravaca, 

 situated in its western part, a little to the north of that remarkable 

 natural canal, the Cassiquiari, and attains the height of 8200 feet. 

 The high-lands of Brazil lie on the east side of the continent, between 

 the Amazonas and the Rio de la Plata. In their position and their 

 relation to the great basins of the continent, they present a most 

 striking analogy to the Alleghany system of Northern America. 

 Between the Andes and the high-lands of Brazil lies the extensive 

 plain drained by the Plata ; and between the mountains of Guyana 

 and those of Brazil lies spread the immense level that belongs to the 

 lower course of the Amazonas. 



The main mountain-mass of the Brazilian system lies between 18 

 and 25 S. lat., and consists of several parallel chains with a length of 

 about 700 miles, and a breadth of 400 miles. The range nearest the 

 sea is called the Serra do Mar ; next to this, and joining on to the 

 Serra do Mar in about 22 30' 8. lat., we find the central chain, which, 

 running as far north as about 10 8. lat, contains the highest points 

 of the Brazilian system. This chain is called the Serra Espinhaco, 

 except a small portion in its southern extremity, the Serra Manti- 

 queira, which contains the Serra Jnruoca, the culminating point of 

 the Brazilian mountains, rising to 8400 feet. The western chain, 

 which is of small elevation, separates the affluents of the Parana and 

 Francesco from those of the Aragimy and Tociuitins. It does not 

 appear that any mountain system stretches across, and connects these 

 high-lands of Brazil with the Andes ; and consequently the waters of 



OEOO. DIV. VOL. I. 



the Paraguay are separated from the southern trilmturies of the 

 Amazonas by a watershed of no great elevation. In no part of the 

 world do we find three such river-basins as those of the Orinoco, "the 

 Amazonas, and the Plata, separated by such slight elevations. The 

 mountains of Guyana indeed hardly can be said to separate the 

 Amazonas and Orinoco ; they form an almost insulated mass, and 

 only fill up the space between the lower courses of the two rivers, 

 while the small difference between the levels of the upper parts of 

 these streams is shown by the Cassiquiari, a natural canal which 

 connects the Rio Negro, one of the large affluents of the Amazonas, 

 with the Orinoco. From the basin of the Amazonas to that of the 

 Plata, it is not probable that the ascent is greater than from the 

 upper waters of the Mississippi to the level of the Canadian Sea. 



Between the Amazonas and the Plata, we find no rivers entering 

 the Atlantic of any very considerable size, except the Paranahyba and 

 the San Francesco. The San Francesco runs in a longitudinal valley 

 parallel to the mountains and the sea, for the greatest part of its 

 course ; it then turns to the east and south-east, and enters the 

 Atlantic. The rest of the Brazilian streams that flow to the Atlantic 

 present, in their course and magnitude, a striking resemblance to the 

 Atlantic waters of the Alleghany system. 



The Orinoco is navigable upwards from its mouth, with only one 

 interruption of rapids, for about 1000 miles; the Amazonas is navi- 

 gable for above 2000 miles ; and the Paraguay, which is navigable 

 through 1 9 degrees of latitude (from its confluence with the Jurua, 

 16 20' S. lat, to Buenos Ayres, where the name of Plata prevails), 

 is said to be separated from the Guapure (a feeder of the Madera, 

 which is a branch of the Amazonas), by a portage of only three miles, 

 on a level, the height of which, it is said, does not exceed 2500 feet 

 above the sea, and, we are inclined to conjecture, may be less. Such 

 a natural system of water communication, capable of being turned to 

 the benefit of man, certainly exists nowhere else in the world, except 

 perhaps in the northern division of the American continent. 



The Amazonas, the largest river in the world, and the Plata, which 

 is scarcely inferior in the area that it drains and the magnitude of its 

 affluents, are described under their respective heads. The following 

 statements as to their supposed lengths may be useful : 



The length of the Amazonas . 

 Its tributaries, riz. : 



Ucayali . 



Jutai .... 



Jurua 



Madcia .... 



Tapajus 



Xingu .... 



Napo ... 



Rio Negro 



Tocantins . 



The Parana, or Rio de. la Plata 

 Its tributaries, riz. : 



Paraguay 



Pilcomayo 



Vermoj< 



Salado 



Uruguay ........ 



The Magdalena, discharging itself into the Caribbean Sea 

 The Orinoco ......... 



The Essequibo 



The Paranahyba ........ 



The San Francesco ....... 



The Cusu Lcvon, or Rio Negro ..... 



The Morale Lcvon, or Rio Colorado .... 



*j . 



* yo J tributaries of the preceding . 



Mil. 

 3300 



1350 



750 



760 



1800 



1000 



1080 



800 



HOO 



1500 



2130 



. 1200 

 ( 1020 

 ( 6CO 



750 

 . 660 



750 

 . 1440 



400 



700 



. 1275 

 . 540 

 . 1080 



The South American lakes are not numerous ; and being, in many 

 cams, caused by the overflowing of the immense rivers, they appear 

 in the rainy season, and are dry in the summer. The Lake of 

 Maracaibo, into which the waters of the Gulf of Venezuela enter at 

 high tides, is 120 miles long, and 90 miles wide. The great fresh- 

 water Lake of Titicaca, situated high in the Andes of Peru, has an 

 area of 2225 square miles, is more than 120 fathoms deep, and 

 12,846 feet above the sea. The river Desaguadero, which flows out 

 of it, is partly lost by evaporation and infiltration, and terminates in 

 the lake or marsh of Uro or Axillagas. Salt lakes and salt streams are 

 occasionally found ; as, for instance, on the route from Buenos Ayres 

 through the great plain to Mendoza. There are also many lakes of 

 no very great dimensions in Chili, and parts of the Andes system. 



South America presents the most striking contrasts of lofty moun- 

 tains and extensive plains in the whole world. It exhibits also a 

 no less remarkable variety of climate from the summit of its snow-clad 

 mountains to the low burning level of its interminable plains ; from 

 the woodless plateaus of Quito and Potosi, where the moderate 

 temperature and even the cold of a northern climate are felt at 

 elevations ranging from 8000 to 12,000 feet above the level of the 

 sea, to the low flats of the Orinoco, the Essequibo, and the Amazonas, 

 covered with forests which almost exclude the light of day, adorned 

 with all the magnificent foliage of a tropical climate, and swarming 

 with almost endless, forms of animal life. 



Plaint of Sou'h America. The great plains, called in the native 

 language ' Pampas,' and by the Spaniards ' Llanos,' may be in some 



u 



