BRAZIL. 



Uor 20miU>.a. 



of th. Rw Doe* a W*i 



f 



th* Bio Doe* and UM Bahi* de Todos as 

 UM mountains approach the see, within 

 UM Bay of Santo* aad Cap* Frio. 



Bay of 8aato* aod Oap* Fri"- North 

 /extead* .pward. of 80 miU. inland, 

 HMkBbMMWdkMMKlteMMM 



by UM Ugh tides, and UM traveller 



nail tracts which hare been cultivated 

 nodonte, the aid*, of the inoun- 

 i WO* aad Blabs* art omrad by intenninabl* forest*, 

 a in th* valUy* aluag UM banks of UM riven nearly to 

 on UM high land. North of Cap* Krio the tree* and 



ir lo a tropical climate an common, but south of it they 



rlft|iUy. Th. Mil in no* place, of great fertility, 



and product* sugar, nnn, cotton, and cacao, mandioc, maixe, and 



Th. nrer. in thu tract are very numerous, but bar* a abort course, 

 alia** HoniHaf 100 mil**. They ar* generally navigabl* to from 

 90 to tt arilss JatlBTl Th* bank* of nearly all of them are skirted 

 by tow ground, which ar* inundated after the rain* hare begun. 

 Th* rivers bagw to ri*. in November, and th* inundation cease* in 

 UM middle or toward* the end of January : iii Home it last* two 

 aaatha. to others only a fortnight As the mouths of these rivers 

 ar* eoBBoaly fonn*d by a soft soil they are subject to many changes, 

 which mr* produced by UM variable winds and by the current pre- 

 nOiaw on this coast. Tb* Urgest of these river sare the Parnahyba, 

 UM Doe*, aod UM Bio Belmonto. Th* waters brought down by the 

 I>oe* |<mn their ftuhneai for a considerable distance into the 

 ae*aa. and brace it has received th* name of Dooe (soft or fresh). 



Th* Bio Helmoote, in trarening a mountainous range called Sen* 

 do* Aimon*. is contracted by two high steep rocks, and descends on 

 *odd*a from a height of more than 120 feet with tremendous noise 

 into a whirpool : 1ft mites lower down it has a little fall, after which 

 It low* through a flat and wooded country to the sea, describing 

 nrioos winding*, with a current rapid and wide, but of little depth. 

 It malata* many flat islands, and receives no considerable stream 

 after it d~c*nds UM fall About 20 mile* from the ma the Hio 

 Bahnnarts is united to the Rio Patype, it* nearest neighbour to the 

 aorta, by a natural channel called Salsa. 



This country though mostly within th* tropics enjoys a moderate 

 . la Porto 8*guro UM medium heat, according to Freyrais*, 

 T'T Kahrenh.it, but at Kio Janeiro 74% which he attributed 



boat) 



to UM neighbourhood of th* Rocky Mountains. 



- 



At the latter place 



occasionally rises to 100', 110, and even 

 to HO". IB anmaxr (D*o*mh*r, January, and February) the average 

 h**t at noon is 8o~, and in the morning 72 ; and in the winter (June, 

 July, aod August) it U 72' st noon, and in the morning 69*. Another 

 peculiarity i* UM gnat humidity, which arise* probably partly from 

 UM country being almost entirely covered with high trees and exu- 

 berant vcgeteiioa, and partly from the regular change of the land and 

 s*a wind*. Tb* ** wind* commonly begin at noon, rarely sooner, 

 more frequently at two o'clock, ami blow till nightfall. In the other 

 part* of UM 



day UM wind* from the west prevail. The effect of this 

 umdity of UM atmosphere is that the coast of Brazil has not 

 regular snecassioii of dry and rainy season* as other tropical 

 iam, No part of the year is entirely exempt from rain, though 

 UM winter is often dry and the sky cloudless ; and the rains in the 

 sanamsr ar* generally very abundant, especially in January. In sum- 

 BMT th under I* vary frequent, and always accompanied with violent 

 atoms, which however never cause damage to be compared with that 

 U UM hurricane, in UM West Indies. 



The Hem, gsjdiihayn, which bounds on th* west the countries on 

 shore, divides thorn from UM highest part of the teble-Und of 

 tail This .xtenaiv. country, which extend* west to the north 

 > of th* 8*m Panci*. U an uneven plain, on which numerous 

 MBiathn** isolated, sometimes in groups, and sometime* in 

 _ , ris* to a moderate height, commonly with a gentle ascent 

 Along UM wrtemuuiBSi ar* depressions or valleys, but generally of 

 awll uteot Th* plain has an *Urati<m of upwards of 2000 feet, 

 awl UM hill* ri*. above it only a few hundred, and perhaps never 



> than 1000 fe*t 



M l*> sou,, plaos* covered with sand, 

 tea. rocko, but it i. generally clothed 

 a* atari. rtaodiB. tr***. Th* valten 



*"J * 



Th* nirface of the plain, a* well as of the bills, 

 and in < 



others with bare sand- 

 with a coarse grass, bushes, 



aad *togU staniting trees. The valley, along UM watercounw have a 

 eh awr. frrtil* wO. and h*r* UM high trM* and thick foliage 

 which *vor th* maritime district* occur again. These vall.ys ar* 



i*ir<ilto^tur.andforraiauigB*ariyalllI7producUoftheooast 

 The pJaia* yiOd only p**ure for oUtte. 



Tail plate is drained by four river* of conaioerobl* extent, the 

 Haa rVaniiu, UM Toeantin*. UM Xingu, and the Tapajon. The 

 IV* otvaehes of th* & /TB<*K ria* on th* north declivity of 

 th* Marra das V*rtenta* about 8000 fait above UM MB, and b*tw*en 

 SI' Bad 20- H lei The* ar* principally two-tbe Paraop.be, and 

 that awr* properly eafied the & FranosMo, which unite after a 

 MM of above 1(0 mite* la about !' 80' H. Ut The river then 

 ow. la Marly do* north direction to it* junction with th* Rio das 



X****? .<~* !!" * ^IL 1 - 1 -f" "-* " P"*"* ' fo" 



UMa*amet.ofPinpora, The Bio do* V*lha* rtes* in tWtteighbour 



hood of Villa Rica, on the north declivities of the Kerra Mantigueira, 

 and runs upward* of 250 miles. From this point the Francesco con- 

 tinues to flow north with a slight declination to the east, and its 

 current is much less rapid. It has here numerous windings, and is 

 navigable down to Vargttn Redonda, 800 miles below loazeiro where 

 the navigation is interrupted by several falls. In all this course it is 

 net joined by any considerable tributary, and on its banks there 

 extend for about 250 miles salt steppes, in which the mineral appears 

 in the form of an efflorescence, and is collected by the inhabitant*. 

 Not far from this place the river is narrowed by high rocky cliff* on 

 both aides, runs with great rapidity, and forms several falls, of which 

 the Cachoeira de Affouso, the most considerable, is said to be 60 feet 

 in perpendicular height. The cataract* and rapids occupy a space of 

 nearly 70 miles, and terminate at the Aldea <l < :iinii<l<. .hence a 

 road leads to Vargem Redonda for the transport of merchandi 

 the interior of Brazil. From the Aldea do ( 'unhide to ils mouth tln> 

 river runs still about 200 miles, and iU navigation is not iutert 

 but the current is rapid. Though a deep river in tin- int<-rir of the 

 continent, the Rio de S. Francesco enters the sea by two compara- 

 tively shallow mouths of unequal aize, of which the north ami tlu> 

 larger is nearly two miles wide, but with so little depth tli.it only 

 Teasels of 60 toua burden can enter it at high water, and inu.-t wait 

 for the full tides to go out The inundations are considerable, espe- 

 cially above the falls. They fertilise the country, and are particularly 

 favourable to the cultivation of the sugar-cane. 



The Kio TotantiiH i divided from the Rio de S. Francesco by 

 a table-land, which towards the upper branches of the river, and also 

 towards its confluence with the Antguay, is overtopped by groups of 

 hills of considerable height The upper branches of the Tocantins 

 rise in the Monte* do* Pyrineos and in the Serra Doirada, both por- 

 tions of the Serra dos Vertentes. In the Serra Doirada rise* the 

 Urubu, which is considered as the true source of the river, and after a 

 course of 70 miles joins the Rio das Alma*, which in not inferior to it, 

 and deaccnds from the Monte* dos Pyrineos. The river preaen 

 name of Rio das Almas to its confluence with the Maranhao, which juinx 

 it 90 milea farther down. The Maranhao rises in Lake Formosa, 

 which is 16 miles in length and 2 miles in width, and flows to the 

 west and then to the north. Hence the united river ia colled Maran- 

 hao to its junction with the Poranatinga, about 140 miles lower down 

 (12 20'). The Paranatinga is formed by the junction of two 

 considerable riven, the Ponuiam and the Pnlma, the former of which 

 flows nearly 300 miles. Hence the river is called Tocuitiii*, and 

 becomes navigable at the Porto Real de Pontal, where it U 374 

 fathoms wide. The number of its affluents lower down is great, but 

 none of them is very considerable except the Rio Araguay, which 

 joins it at about 6 S. lat Before the Tocantins arrives at this point. 

 its navigation U interrupted by Rome cataracts between 7 and 6*, 

 among which the most considerable are the Cachoeira de S. Barto- 

 lomeo or das tres Barms, and the Cachoeira de S. Antonio. After 

 its junction with the Rio Araguay the Tocantins flows between rocks 

 and cliffs, forming many rapids and small cataracts, and this part of 

 its course is called the channel of Taniri Issuing from this channel 

 it has near Itaboca (3 30') more considerable cataracts, which rise 

 above one another like terraces, and then the river enters the low 

 country skirting the Amazonas. Its whole course is in a northern 

 direction : at about r 30' S. lat it unites with the south branch of 

 the Rio das Amazonas, and takes the name of Rio da Para. At the 

 point of junction is an island about 16 miles long, and low and flat, 

 called I'ararahy, which divides the mouth of the TocantiiiH into two 

 arms ; of which the east is called Bahia de Marapatd, and the west 

 Bahia d>- Liiiiooiro : the width of the river is here upwards of 15 

 miles. The Rio da Pard, which divides the island of Marajo or loaues 

 from the continent, widens in its progress to the north still more, and 

 may bo above 60 miles where it falls into the sea (about 20' S. lat). 

 The whole course of the Tocantins is at least 1600 mile*. 



The A rayuay, the largest tributary of the Tocantins, rises on the 

 north declivity of the Serra Seiada, about 18 S. lat, where it is called 

 Bonito, which name is changed into that of Rio Oronde, after it has 

 united with the Rio Barreiros and Rio Cajapo. Its waters are lower 

 down increased by those of the Rio Claro, Rio Vermelho, Rio 

 TUoiras, and Rio Crixa. All these rivera flowing from the south-east 

 join the Araguay on the right, and neither of the last three runs less 

 tlmu 200 miles. About 80 miles from the mouth of the Crixa, the 

 in. r divide* itnolf in 12 30' into two branches nearly equal, which 

 re-unite in 9* 86', inclosing the island of 8. Anna, perhaps the largest 

 river inland in the world. It is more than 200 miles in length, and 

 of considerable width. The west arm preserves the name of Araguay, 

 and the east takes that of Furo : barges generally go through the 

 latter ; but both contain small falls and rapids. The branch called 

 Araguay receives about 40 miles north of the south point of the 

 island of S. Anna, the Rio das Morten, which runs nearly 300 mile*. 

 At about 6* the Araguay joins the Tocantins after a course of above 

 l 



Th* Km Xing* rises iu the Serra do* Vertentes somewhere about 

 15' 8. lot Between 6' and 4 a lat its bed is narrowed and traversed 

 by a chain of rocks, and thun the cataracts are produced which occur 

 in this part of the river. These rock* make the river form a large 

 bend to the touth and east, though in general the direction of its 



