RIO DE ORO 



6628 



RIO GRANDE 



Rio de Janeiro. Flan of the central districts of the capital city of the United 

 States of Brazil 



and laid out in gardens and walks 

 to an extent of 4 m. 



Rio de Janeiro has many fine 

 ancient buildings, e.g. the Cande- 

 laria church, while the Monroe 

 palace, national library, and 

 national museum are excellent 

 specimens of modern architecture. 

 The national telegraph office, 

 which was formerly the royal 

 palace, is a notable edifice. The 

 Carioca aqueduct, in which the 

 water of Rio is brought, extends 

 from the mountains of Santa 

 Thereza to those of Santo Antonio, 

 and has been described as the only 

 fine specimen of arc'hittectfure left 

 by the Portuguese in Brazil ; it 

 was completetl in IT'KO". The 

 hospital, SaWta Gasa da Mis'eri- 

 cbYdia, is one tif the largest institu- 

 tions in the world. T-heTe are 

 schools of medicine and law, a 

 polytechnic school, conservatory 

 of music, and various academies 

 for art, science, and c'tfmmeYce. 

 The exchange and government 

 offices are imposing st'ruc'tuf es. In 

 the newer setrtidh of the city the 

 streets are fairly broad and lit by 

 electric light. 



There are many squares and 

 public places, such as the Praca 

 do 15 de Novembro, the botanical 

 gardens, the Passeio Publico, and 

 the Praca Tiradentes, adorned 

 with a statue of Dom Pedro I. 



Extensive harbours have been 

 constructed. The principal ex- 

 port is coffee ; imports are cereals, 

 coal, and manufactured goods. 

 It is estimated that the population 

 of the Federal District, which is 

 administratively co-extensive with 

 Rio, is 1,300,000. 



Rio de Janeiro was discovered 

 by the Portuguese and Italian 

 navigators Gongalves and Ves- 

 pucci in 1502. A settlement was 

 made there in 1504 by Coelho, a 

 follower of Gon9alves, but it was 

 destroyed by the Tamoyo Indians 

 soon afterwards. In 1555 a French 

 nobleman, Villegaignon, estab- 

 lished a Settlement at Rio on the 

 mainland attd the island of his 

 name, but it was taken by the 

 PoYt'ugu^e governor, Mem de Sa, 

 in 15t>8, who then established the 

 towln df Sao Sebustiao do Rio de 

 Janeiro on the Morne do Castello. 

 The to-wn was bombarded by the 

 Fre'nch admiral, Duguay-Trouin, 

 in 1711. Rio de Janeiro tbok the 

 plaCe of Bahia as capital of Brazil 

 in 1762, and became the capital of 

 the empire of Brazil in 1822. In 

 1889, after the proclamation of the 

 republic, it was made, with the 

 surrounding territory, federal 

 district and federal capital of the 

 republic. It is governed by a pre- 

 fect appointed by the government 

 and assisted by a municipal 



council. See The Beautiful Rio de 

 Janeiro, A. G. Bell, 1914. 



Rip de Oro (Sp., river of gold). 

 Spanish colony along the coast of 

 W. Africa, S. of Morocco. The 

 country is mainly desert, and 

 forms an E. extension of the 

 Sahara, and the climate is exceed- 

 ingly hot. The territory is adminis- 

 tered by the governor of the 

 Canary Islands ; Villa Cisneros is 

 the capital. Its area is 73,000 sq. 

 m. Pop. 12,000. 



Rio Grande. Name of two 

 rivers of Brazil. One rises in the 

 mts. on the W. border of Bahia 

 State, flows N.E., and joins the 

 Sao Francisco at Barra. From 

 the N.. it receives several affluents. 

 Its length is about 300 m., and it is 

 navigable for 130 m. The other 

 rises in the Serra de Mantiqueira 

 in the S. portion of the state of 

 Minas Geraes, flows along the 

 frontier of Minas Geraes and Sao 

 Paulo, and unites with the 

 Paranahyba to form the Parana 

 after a course of about 440 m. 



Rio Grande. River of U.S.A. 

 In full, Rio Grande del Norte or 

 Rio Bravo del Norte. It rises in 

 the San Juan Mt., S.W. Colorado, 

 and flows S. and S.E., separating 

 Texas from Mexico, to the Gulf 

 of Mexico. Owing to the aridity 

 of the climate and the great quan- 

 tities of water abstracted for irriga- 

 tion, during part of the year it is 

 almost dry for considerable dis- 

 tances either side of El Paso. Its 

 chief affluent is the Rio Pecos. Its 

 length is 1,800 m., of which 450 m. 

 are navigable for small vessels. 



Rio Grande do Norte. State 

 in N.E. Brazil. It lies between 

 Ceara and Parahyba, sloping N. 

 and N.E. to the Atlantic. Moun- 

 tainous and not well watered, there 

 is a level tract near the coast. The 

 climate is hot and dry, and, on 

 the whole, equable and healthful. 

 It produces cotton, cattle, sugar, 

 various kinds of valuable timber, 

 cochineal, coffee, wax, rubber, 

 tobacco, drugs, salt, and fish. The 

 capital is Natal. Its area is 22,190 

 sq. OK Pop. 552,000. 



Rio Grande do Sul. Southern- 

 most state of Brazil. Bounded on 

 the N.W. by Argentina and on the 

 S.W. by Uruguay, its coasts on the 

 Atlantic Ocean are low and almost 

 filled with lagoons (see Lagoa dos 

 Patos). Largely grass land, the Chief 

 occupation is the rearing of cattle, 

 horses, and mules. Vines, rice, 

 tobacco, coffee, vegetables, mate, 

 sugar, and cereals are cultivated, 

 and linen, woollens, and soap are 

 manufactured. Wolfram is mined, 

 and copper, gold, amethysts, agates, 

 and coal are found. The capital is 

 Porto Alegre (q.v. ). Its area is 

 91,310 sq. m. Pop. 2,139,000. 



