BASIN OF THE AMAZON. 301 



The western shore of this basin is formed by the chain of the 

 Andes, from the knot of the mountains of Huanuco to the 

 sources of the Magdalena. It is enlarged by the spurs of the 

 the Rio Beni,* rich in gem-salt, and composed of several 

 ranges of hills (lat. 8 IV south) which advance into the 

 plains on the eastern bank of the Paro. These hills are 

 transformed on our maps into Upper Cordilleras and Andes 

 of Cuchao. Towards the north, the basin of the Amazon, of 

 which the area (244,000 square leagues) is only one-sixth 

 less than the area ot all Europe, rises in a gentle slope towards 

 the Sierra Parime. At 68 of west longitude the elevated 

 part of this Sierra terminates at 3 north latitude. The 

 group of little mountains surrounding the source of the Rio 

 Negro, the Inirida and the Xie (lat. 2) the scattered rocks 

 between the Atabapo and the Cassiquiare, appear like groups 

 of islands and rocks in the middle of the plain. Some of 

 those rocks are covered with signs or symbolical sculpture. 

 Nations, very different from those who now inhabit the banks 

 of the Cassiquiare, penetrated into the savannahs ; and the 

 zone of painted rocks, extending more than 150 leagues in 

 breadth, bears traces of ancient civilization. On the east of 

 the sporadic groups of rocks (between the meridian of the 

 bifurcation of Orinoco and that of the confluence of the 

 Essequibo with the Rupunuri), the lofty mountains of the 

 Parime commence only in 3 north latitude ; where the plains 

 of the Amazon terminate. 



The limits of the plains of the Amazon are still less 

 known towards the south than towards the north. The 

 mountains that exceed 400 toises of absolute height do not 

 appear to extend in Brazil northward of the parallels 14 

 or 15 of south latitude, and west of the meridian of 52 ; but 

 it is not known how far the mountainous country extends, if 

 we may call by that name a territory bristled with hills of one 

 hundred or two hundred toises high. Between the Rio dos 



* The real name of this great river, respecting the course of which 

 geographers have been so long divided, is Uchaparu, probably " water 

 (para) of Ucha" ; Peni also signifies ' river' or ' water ;' for the language of 

 the Maypures has very many analogies with that of the Moxos ; and vent 

 (oneni) signifies 'water' in Maypure, as ttna in Moxo. Perhaps the river 

 retained the name of Maypure. after the Indians who spoke that language 

 had emigrated northward in the direction of the banks of the Orinoco. 



