262 A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



ranks sixteenth in the great rivers of the world. It is only sur- 

 passed in Europe by the Volga. Rising on the north side of the 

 watershed of the great central plateau of Minas Geraes, in the 

 Serra da Canastra, a part of the Vertentes range between 20 and 

 21 S. lat., it flows south to north, as do also its tributaries, Para, 

 Paraopeba, and Rio das Velhas, which latter it receives S. lat. 1 7 

 n' 54", long. i 43' 35" west of Rio de Janeiro. After a course 

 of 187 leagues, or 748 miles, the Sao Francisco enters the pro- 

 vince of Bahia ; thence it flows, through the provinces of Per- 

 nambuco, Sergipe, and Alagoas, 950 miles, to the wonderful falls 

 of Paolo Affonso, and, after another 150 miles, empties itself into 

 the Atlantic Ocean at Penedo, at about io S. lat* 



Its principal affluents in the province of Minas are nine rivers 

 on the left bank ; and the rivers Para, Paraope"ba, Rio das Velhas, 

 Jequetahy, Mangahy, and Verde Grande on the right. 



The Jequitinhonha rises in the Serra do Espinhago, near 

 Diamantina. and flows 130 miles north-east, then easterly and 

 south-easterly, finally north-easterly to the sea. At the extreme 

 north-east corner of Minas is a magnificent series of falls some 

 three hundred feet high, thence its course is through the plains.f 



The Rio Doce rises in the Mantiquiera range, and, after a very 

 circuitous course, enters Espirito Santo. 



The province of Minas is supposed to be one of the most 

 industrious in Brazil. Most of the coffee known as Rio coffee 

 is grown here, and the tobacco from Barbacena, Pomba, and 

 Baependy is celebrated in Rio. The principal other exports that 

 I saw are rum, rice, black beans, sugar, cotton, charcoal, hides, 

 salt pork, farinha de mandioca, maize, maize flour, cheese, and 

 tapioca. 



THE MINES. 



Captain Burton has written \ so exhaustively on the gold 

 mines that it would be presumptuous for me to say more than a 

 passing word about them, especially as my work unfortunately 

 prevented my visiting the mining districts, although I was within 



* " Hydrographie du Haut San Francisco, et du Rio das Velhas," Emma- 

 nuel Liais, Paris, 1865. 



t Hartt's " Geology and Physical Geography of Brazil," p. 137. 

 \ "The Highlands of Brazil," 1869. 



