98 SOUTH AMERICA— THE ANDES EEGIONS. 



filled up Lake Maracaibo, whicli has been considerably encroached upon by the 

 land in recent times. 



The Cutatumbo, most copious affluent of this inland sea, belongs to both of the 

 conterminous republics, Colombia and Venezuela. Its headwaters rise in the 

 mountainous Ocana district near the Magdalena basin, and although the discharge 

 is extremely irregular, both the Catatumbo and its southern affluent, the Zulia 

 (Sulasquillo), are navigable for small steamers throughout the year. At the 

 Zulia confluence the Catatumbo has already entered the low-lying plain which at 

 one time formed part of the Maracaibo basin ; according to Vergara y Yelasco, it 

 lias a mean discharge of about 15,000 cubic feet per second. 



The Maracaibo Inlet — Lake of Valencia. 



The Maracaibo lagoon, called also the "Sack of Venezuela," may be regarded 

 more as a lake than a marine inlet, although its level is affected by the tides to 

 the extent of a few inches. At the entrance the difference between ebb and flow 

 is as much as 3 or 3| feet, but a short distance above the bar its waters are already 

 quite fresh. Despite the continual encroachments of the land, it has still an area 

 of no less than 8,000 square miles, with a shore-line of about 370 miles, apart 

 from the thousand little indentations round the coast. Although its extreme depth 

 is scarcely 80 fathoms, the basin might be almost everywhere navigable by large 

 vessels were the approach not closed by two bars little over 10 feet deep. 



Beyond the islands extending right across the mouth of the " Sack " lies the 

 old " Gulf of Venice," on which stood the Venezuela ("Little Venice") which 

 gave its name to the whole land. This marine inlet is sheltered from the gales 

 of the high sea by the two converging peninsulas of Paraguana, on the east, and 

 Goajira, on the west. 



In Venezuela almost the only lake properly so called is the famous closed 

 basin of Valencia, which has received the name of Tacarigua (" The Lake " in a 

 pre-eminent sense). It fills a great part of the Aragua valley, the most fertile and 

 most densely peopled district in the republic. Viewed from the shore, the whole 

 basin seems to be encircled by an amphitheatre of hills, the coast range on the 

 north and the mountains skirting the llanos on the south side apparently con- 

 verging east and west, so as to complete the circuit of surrounding heights. But 

 beyond the western extremity of the lake two openings are revealed, one very 

 narrow, in the north, giving access to the sea along the foot of theTetas de Hilaria, 

 the other much broader, through which the Paito flows south to the Pao affluent of 

 i.he Orinoco. 



At present the tarn stands at a mean level of about 1,410 feet above the sea ; 

 but it formerly rose much higher, and then it discharged its overflow through a 

 s )uthern emissary, traces of which are still plainly visible on the face of the cliffs. 

 According to the local records and the reports of the old inhabitants, it was 

 several times in communication with the Orinoco basin through the Cano Camburi, 

 alternately an effluent and an affluent of the Lake of Valencia. This outlet has 

 fallen by erosion hand in hand with the lev<^l of the lake. 



