SCENERY OF THE LOWER CATARACT. 200 



navigation of the river extends from its mouth to the cilAP.xvill. 

 [joint where it meets the Anaveni near the lower cata- — 

 ract, although in the upper part of this division there the nnvu" 

 are rapids which can be passed only in small boats, eatiou. 

 The principal danger, however, is that which arises 

 from natural rafts, consisting of trees interwoven with 

 lianas, and covered with aquatic plants carried down by 

 the current. The cataracts are formed by bars stretch- 

 ing across the bed of the river, which forces its way 

 through a break in the mountains ; but beyond this 

 rugged pass the course is again open for a length of 

 more than 676 miles. 



The scenery in the vicinity of the lower fall is de- ggg^j^ ^ 

 scribed as exceedingly beautiful. To the west of Atures, the scenery. 

 a pyramidal mountain, the Peak of Uniana, rises from 

 a plain to the height of nearly 3200 feet. The savan- 

 nahs, which are covered with grasses and slender plants, 

 though never inundated by the river, present a sur- 

 prising luxuriance and diversity of vegetation. Piles of 

 granitic blocks rise here and there, and at the margins 

 of the plains occur deep valleys and ravines, the humid 

 soil of which is covered with arums, heliconias, and 

 lianas. The shelves of primitive rocks, scarcely ele- 

 vated above the plain, are partially coated with lichens 

 and mosses, together with succulent plants, and tufts of 

 evergreen shrubs with shining leaves. On all sides the 

 horizon is bounded by mountains, overgrown Avith 

 forests of laurels, among which clusters of palms rise to 

 the height of more than a hundred feet, their slender 

 stems supporting tufts of feathery foliage. To the east 

 of Atures other mountains appear, the ridge of which is 

 composed of pointed cliffs rising like huge pillars above 

 the trees. When these columnar masses are situated 

 near the Orinoco, flamingoes, herons, and other wading 

 birds, perch on their summits, and look like sentinels. 

 In the vicinity of the cataracts, the moisture which is 

 diffused in the air produces a perpetual verdure, and 

 wherever soil has accumulated on the plains, it is occu- 

 pied by the beautiful shrubs of the mountains. 



