246 



AMAZONIA AND LA PLATA. 



"Norte" and " Sul" being misnomers for "East" and "West." Eio Grande, 

 former capital of the province named from it, occupies the extremity of a narrow 

 isthmus between two lagoons, and would present a pleasant aspect but for the 

 unsightly military structures, dead walls, and forts by which it is disfigured. 



The lacustrine channel flows at some distance from the peninsula, close to the 

 side occupied by S. José do Norte, where all the shipping engaged in trade has 

 its moorings. A more serious inconvenience is the bar of shifting sands, which 

 it has hitherto been found impossible to fix or permanently remove. On the sill 

 the depth varies with the tides and storms from about 8 to nearly 14 feet. It 



Fig. 108.— Pelotas. 

 Scale 1 : 375,000. 



Depths. 



Saudbank. 



Oto 16 

 Feet. 



16 Feet 

 and upwards. 



6 Miles. 



stood at 11 feet in 1885, when a new channel was opened farther south averaging 

 15 feet, but rising with the north-east and falling with the south-east wind. 



The works which have been projected to improve the approaches to Rio Grande 

 comprise two parallel piers carried out to depths of 18 or 20 feet, and the construc- 

 tion or dredging of a channel between these piers 1,'iOO feet wide and 26 or 27 feet 

 deep. But pending the execution of these harbour works, the export trade of 

 Rio Grande, consisting almost exclusively of provisions, is declining. Commerce 

 naturally seeks other outlets, which have at least the advantage of avoiding the 

 dangerous approaches to Rio Grande. The opposite town of S. José is entirely 



