2 AMAZONIA AND LA PLATA. 



Amazons, ami then to the eastern slopes of the mountains, formerly known, in a 

 general way, as the Serra de Pariraa, and figuring on the early maps as Carihaiia, 

 that is to say, " Laud of the Caribs." 



Extent — Natural Divisions. 



Within these v\ idor limits Guiana constitutes a well-defined section of the South 

 American mainland. It comprises the whole of the oval space, some 800,000 square 

 miles in extent, which is cut oft from the rest of the Continent by the valleys of 

 the Orinoco, Cassiquiare, E,io Negro, and Lower Amazons. This vast region of South 

 America has been called an " island," but there is no question here of a real island 

 completely encircled by a navigable waterway. Although it may probably one day 

 assume this character, by means of a series of artificial canals, the navigation is at 

 present interrupted by the famous Aitures and Maipures rapids on the Orinoco, as 

 wellas by others on the Cassiquiare and on the Upper RioNegro, where boatmen have 

 to land their goods and surmount the obstructions by portages. Thus, even under 

 the most favourable condirions of weather, currents, and conveyance, the circum- 

 navigation of Guiana could not at present be completed under three or four months. 



From the geological st^indpoint also, Guiana constitutes an isolated region 

 distinct from the rest of the mainlanrl. It consists of a separate mass of granites 

 and other eruptive rocks, which have been upheaved since the Triassic epoch. 



The whole system, however, presents considerable diversity, and may be decom- 

 posed into four nearly equal natural divisions by two linos intersecting each other 

 at right angles. The first is formed by the crests of tl)e mountains which are dis- 

 posed neaily parallel with the equator, running from the low water-parting near 

 the Cassiquiare towards the northern headland of the Amazons estuary. The 

 second is somewhat less distinctly indicated by the transverse depression traversed 

 in one direction by the Essequibo, in the other by the Ilio Branco. 



Political Divisions. 



But the rival conqueiing Powers in the American continent could scarcely be 

 expected to pay much attention to this natural segmentation of the Guianas, more 

 especially as the European sottlers had easy access only to the coastlands and the 

 banks of the great rivers. Even within a few miles of the sea the interior of the 

 country long remained absolutely unknown. Adventurers made their way into 

 the recesses of the forests and savannas, but they brought back no clear geogra- 

 phical details, and of the mountainous central regions nothing Avas known beyond 

 vague or fabulous reports. As in so many other parts of the southern continent, 

 rumour spoke here also of the El Dorado, who was supposed to bathe in liquid 

 gold, and who dwelt in an emerald and ruby palace. Frequent attempts were 

 made to discover this " man of gold " and plunder his treasures. But no system- 

 atic exploration was undertaken before the present century. 



Thus it happened that the political divisions were made, not along the lines 

 of natural separation, but were developed from the seaboard towards the interior. 

 Spain, whose domain is inherited by the republic of Venezuela, took possession of 



