154 AMAZONIA AND LA PLATA. 



Towards the west the S. Francisco and Parana basins are separated by such a 

 rano-e, which farther on merges in a second div^ide, whence ramify northwards the 

 Serra da Canastra and numerous other ridges. South-west of the Barbacena knot 

 a chain with steep outer slopes is developed parallel with the Rio de Janeiro coast. 

 North-eastwards the Serra da Mantiqueira, as this chain is called, is continued 

 under various names, everywhere following the trend of the coastline. Lastly, in 

 the north stretches the main range to which Eschwege has given the name of 

 Serra do Espinhaço, that is, the " Backbone " of Brazil. Yet the peaks rising 

 above this range are of moderate elevation, the very highest, the Caraya Peak in 

 the north-east, falling, according to Liais, below 6,500 feet. Farther south follow 

 the Piedade (5,850 feet), and near Ouro Preto, capital of Minas, Mount Itacolumi, 

 which was long supposed to be the culminating point of Brazil, but to which 

 Gerber assigns a height of not more than 5,600 feet. In geological terminology, 

 Itacolumi has given its name to a yellowish sandstone which covers a great 

 part of Central Brazil, but which, according to Burton, forms at most only a 

 small part of Itacolumi itself. Like Caraca, this mountain is said to consist 

 mainly of quartzite. 



North of Caraça the Serra do Espinhaço is continued for a distance of about 

 150 miles, without presenting any very prominent summits. Beyond the Itabira 

 da Serra follow, in the diamantiferous Serro do Frio, the igneous Itambe (4,315), 

 and west of the Pio das Velhas, the rugged and twin- crested Itabira do Campo 

 (5.150 feet). Like the other Itabira, this mountain consists almost exclusively of 

 a ferruginous ore, the so-called " itabirite," containing 60 per cent, of pure metal. 

 On various maps of this district there figures a so-called Mount Boas, 7,550 feet 

 hi^h. But no such name is known in the countr^^ nor do any of the summits 

 attain such an elevation above the sea. 



Beyond the Biamantina ridge is developed the sinuous Itacambira range, which 

 is continued northwards by the Grào Mogol chain, and farther on by the Serra 

 das Almas. This section merges in the State of Bahia in vast plateaux, where the 

 ranges are in reality mere scarps of the tablelands eroded at their base by the 

 running waters. A more distinct chain is the Serra dos Aimores, which takes its 

 name from its former aboriginal inhabitants, and which runs parallel with the 

 coast of Espirito Santo, though pierced by the gorges of numerous rivers flowing 

 from the eastern slopes of the Espinhaço. In the quartzose gneiss Capazào mass 

 near the root of this chain, the botanist Schwacke has recently scaled a hitherto 

 unknown summit 7,220 feet high. 



West of the Rio S. Francisco, a few other ridges, such as the Serra dos Divisoes 

 between Minas and Goyas, still present a somewhat mountainous aspect. But 

 farther north all traces of mountains disappear, and here nothing is seen except 

 desert plateaux, formidable travessias destitute of water and vegetation, and in 

 many places covered with salt. Lastly in the same Rio S. Francisco valley rise 

 numerous groups and ridges, some parallel with the fluvial valley, others running 

 athwart its course and giving rise to cascades and rapids. 



Of these groups the most famous is that of Lagoa Santa, well known in the 



