GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION 
British Guiana is the largest of the three European colonies sur- 
viving on the northeastern coast of South America. It stretches in 
a north-south direction for a distance of about 800 km. (500 miles), 
between 1 and 9 degrees north latitude. Width varies from about 
160 km. (100 miles) near the center to nearly 480 km. (300 miles) 
in the north. 
To a larger degree than is usual, the boundaries of British Guiana 
coincide with distinct natural features. The northeastern frontier 
is the Atlantic Ocean. The Courantyne River makes the separation 
from Dutch Guiana on the east. The southern and southwestern 
boundaries follow the continental divide, formed by the low moun- 
tains of the central Guiana range. Only in the northwest is the 
border partly an arbitrary line joining sections of several different 
rivers. 
As a consequence of the coincidence between political and natural 
boundaries, the drainage pattern of British Guiana is dominated by 
a single large network. The colony is almost bisected by the Esse- 
quibo River, which flows from the southern border in a generally 
northward course to empty into the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the 
other major rivers are its tributaries: the Rupununi, the Mazaruni, 
and the Cuyuni, all flowing from the west. Each of these is fed by 
a multiplicity of small streams, many of which cease to flow in the 
dry season. A number of smaller rivers drain the coast. All are com- 
paratively short except the Berbice which runs generally parallel 
to the Essequibo between it and the Dutch Guiana border. The lower 
courses of the Barima, Waini, and Pomeroon Rivers parallel the coast 
for some distance before emptying into the sea. None of the larger 
rivers is navigable uninterruptedly for its entire length, although 
there may be long stretches where no portage is necessary. The rapids 
were not an obstacle to aboriginal travel, and their major effect is to 
eliminate tidal variations except near the coast. The headwaters 
of the Rupununi and Essequibo come within a short distance of the 
headwaters of rivers flowing into the Amazon. The transition from 
the Rupununi River to the Takutu River and thence to the Rio Branco 
and into the Amazon is particularly easy, since there are no moun- 
tain barriers. It was this situation, seemingly providing a ready 
14 
