76 TRINIDAD. 



with the Guanape, to form the Caroni, of which the Aripo may be 

 regarded as the true origin. The Maturita and Arima are affluents 

 of the Guanape : the other named rivers discharge their waters 

 into the Caroni, except, however, the Aricagua, which is lost in the 

 sandy soil before it reaches the Caroni. The Aripo takes a 

 southerly direction, with a bend to the W. ; the course of the 

 Caroni is very nearly due W., and it has its embouchure in the 

 gulf about two miles S. of Port of Spain. Besides the above tri- 

 butaries, the Caroni receives the Tumpuna and Arena from 

 Tamana. It flows through a low and partly swampy district, and 

 has a very winding course : its banks are high and steep in the 

 former part of its course, and the water shallow ; approaching the 

 swamps the banks are on a level with the adjoining lands, its bed 

 deepens to several feet, and it may be ascended for several miles 

 by the flats of vessels loading or discharging in the harbour. 



Proceeding eastward, we meet with the following streams : 

 The Cuare, with the Turure and La Ceyba, its tributaries ; the 

 Oropuche, which receives the Cuare on the right, and the Rio 

 Grande on the left side ; they all rise in the northern range, and 

 run in a southerly direction, curving to the E. The Oropuche 

 receives from the central range the Cunapo and its affluent the 

 Guayco, also the Sangre Grande and Sangre Chiquito, which are 

 themselves formed by the aggregation of a number of small 

 ravines ; the Oropuche has its outlet nearly in the centre of the 

 Matura Coast. 



It becomes evident, from this description, that the dividing 

 table-land lies between Valencia and Cuare, and extends, south- 

 ward, to the central range, dividing the waters of the Cumuto 

 from those of the Guayco and Cunapo. Besides the Oropuche and 

 its affluents, we meet farther eastward with the Matura, Salibea, 

 and Tumpire, which have their mouths in Matura, Salibea, and 

 Cumana bays, respectively ; the Matura is the largest of these 

 currents, the other two being mere mountain-streams. 



In addition to the Caroni and its affluents, there are in the 

 Caroni basin several other water-courses worth mentioning, some 

 of them being natural canals or outlets for the waters of the ex- 

 tensive swamp which forms, as it were, a Delta to the Caroni ; such 

 are Blue River and Cipriani's Canal. The Chaguanas River, 

 which seems to rise in that part of the central range connecting 

 Tamana and Montserrat, has first a north-westerly course, and dis- 



