THE DELTA OF THE AMAZON. 489 



formed a nucleus round which the alluvial lands at the 

 mouth of the Amazon have subsequently formed. 



Of such vast size, however, is this enormous river that 

 it almost rather represents an arm of the sea than a river 

 in the ordinary acceptation of the term. Mere words 

 are powerless to convey an adequate conception of its 

 magnitude, without embarking" in panegyrics and high- 

 flown description which might appear to savour of 

 exaggeration; in every respect it is incomparably the 

 largest river in the world, though perhaps not the 

 longest; and gazing upon its mighty flood, awe-stricken 

 beholders have sometimes been prompted to call it 

 " The Mediterranean of South America. " * The 

 Amazon in fact, forms a species of central catchment 

 basin for the reception of the waters of a number of 

 gigantic tributaries, which flow into it from both sides; 

 almost all of which are themselves navigable for many 

 hundreds and even thousands of miles. A single 

 sentence will convey a better idea of the magnitude 

 of this mighty river system, and will probably appeal 

 more forcibly to the mind, than the longest verbal 

 description, when we say that it affords free navigation 

 "over not less than 30,000 miles," f almost all of 

 which lies within Brazilian territory. 



To this we may add that the area drained by the 

 Amazon and its tributaries is estimated to be not 

 less than two and a half millions of square miles: 

 representing a territory more than one third the extent 

 of the whole surface of South America. While at its 

 junction with the ocean, its main mouth is "50 miles 



See for instance Encyclop. Brit., gth Edit., Vol. iv., p. 221 (Article 

 "Brazil"). 



\ Encyclop* Brit., gth Edit., Vol. iv., p. 221. 



