LOWERING OF THE EA5OE. 319 



not by a transversal ridge, at least by a mountainous territory. 

 Old systematic ideas respecting the rising of mountains 

 in proportion as we advance into a country, would have 

 warranted the belief that there existed, in the Capitania of 

 Mato Grosso, a central Cordillera much loftier than that of 

 Villarica or do Espiuha9o ; but we now know (and this is 

 confirmed by climateric circumstances) that there exists no 

 continued chain, properly speaking, westward of Bio San 

 Francisco, on the frontiers of Minas Geraes and Goyaz. 

 "We find only a group of mountains, of which the culminant 

 points are the Serras da Canastra (south-west of Paracatu) 

 and da Marcella (lat. 18| and 19'10 C ), and, further north, 

 the Pyrenees stretching from east to west (lat. 16 10') be- 

 tween Yillaboa and Mejaponte). M. Eschwege has named 

 the group of mountains of Goyaz the Serra dos Vertentes, 

 because it divides the waters between the southern tributary 

 streams of the Eio Grande or Parana, and the northern 

 tributary streams of Eio Tucantines. It runs southward 

 beyond the Eio Grande (Parana), and approaches the chain 

 of Espinpapo in 23 latitude, by the Serra do Franca. It 

 attains only the height of 300 or 400 toises, with the excep- 

 tion of some summits N.W. of Paracatu, and is consequently 

 much lower than the chain of Villarica. 



Further on, west of the meridian of Villaboa, there are 

 only ridges and a series of low hills which, on a length of 

 12, form the "division of water" (lat. 13 17), between 

 the Araguay and the Paranaiba (a tributary of the Parana), 

 between the Eio Topayos and the Paraguay, between the 

 Guapore and the Aguapehy. The Serra of San Marta is 

 (long. 15^) is somewhat lofty, but maps have vastly exagge- 

 rated the height of the Serras or Campos Parecis north of 

 the towns of Cuyaba and Villabella (lat. 13 14, long. 

 58 62). These Campos, which take their name from that 

 of a tribe of wild Indians, are vast, barren table-lands, 

 entirely destitute of vegetation ; and in them the sources of 

 the tributary streams of three great rivers, the Topayos, the 

 Madeira, and the Paraguay, take their rise. 



According to the measures and geologic observations of 

 M. Eschwege, the high summits of the Serra do Mar (the 

 coast-chain) scarcely attain 660 toises ; those of the Serra 

 do Espinhaco (chain of Villarica), 950 toises ; those of Serra 



