BEAZIL— GENERAL SURVEY. 89 



of pure stock are relatively far more numerous than in any^ other part of the 

 republic. Here also the State of Rio Grande do Sal, often torn by civil strife, 

 constitutes a separate geographical area, a peninsular region clearly delimited on 

 the west and north by the course of the Uruguay. This State forms an inter- 

 mediate zone between Brazil proper and the Plate River regions, although still 

 differing greatly from the Argentine pampas in the inequalities of its relief, its 

 arborescent vegetation, and the usages of its agricultural populations. 



Geographical Nomenclature. 



In the geographical nomenclature, names of Indian and especially of Tupi 

 origin are scarcely less numerous than those introduced by the Portuguese 

 settlers. Such native names have at least the advantage of generally conve3àiig 

 a clear meaning ; most of them indicate some local peculiarity : the colour of the 

 running waters, the height, form, or aspect of the mountains, the character of the 

 vegetation or its absence. Recently a reaction has set in against the Portuguese 

 and in favour of the Tupi terminology, and one result of the late political change 

 was to impart a more Indian appearance to the maps. Such names ns Impera- 

 triz, Principe Imperial, &c., have been replaced by Tupi words whi^h, if of 

 less familiar aspect, possess more geographical interest. 



The recurrence of favourite names is also extremely frequent, and every State 

 has its Iguassn, its Parana Minim, its Chapada Grande, its Bom Jardin, and its 

 Boa Vista. On the east coast there are no less than thirty-nine towns and vil- 

 lages named from St. John (S. Joao), besides many more in the interior. The 

 villages usually take the title of povoagao, while oldeia, the word employed in 

 Portugal, is reserved in Brazil for the native villages. In Minas Geraes a 

 common term for village is arraial, " camping-ground," due to the former gold- 

 hunters, who formed temporary encampments in the auriferous districts. 



