GEOGRAPHY. 1 .1 7 



La Paz de Ayacucho with 32,000, and Cochabamba, with 30,000 

 inhabitants. 



6. Republic of Chili. 



This strip of coast land embraces an area of 144,000 square statute miles, 

 with a pop. of about 1,200,000. The state is divided into eight provinces : 

 1. San lago, with the cap. Santiago (pop. 60,000), and the important harbor 

 of Valparaiso. 2. Aconcagua, cap. Ciudad de Felipe. 3. Coquimbo, the 

 largest province, cap. Coquimbo, or Ciudad de Serena, pop. 11,000. 4. 

 Colchagua, cap. Villa de Curico. 5. Maule, cap. Villa de Cauquenes. 6. 

 Concepcion, cap. Concepcion. 7. Valdivia, cap. do. 8. Chiloe-Archipelago, 

 consisting of seventy-three islands, of which thirty-six are inhabited by 

 45 to 50,000 persons. The principal island, Chiloe, has an area of 4200 

 square statute miles, cap. Ciudad de Castro. Further south lie the Chonos 

 and Guayanecas Islands, and about 460 miles off the coast are the two 

 Juan Fernandez Islands, Masatierra and Masafuero. 



7. United States of the Rio de la Plata. 



The Argentine Republic has an area of 726,000 square statute miles, 

 with 675,000 inhabitants, exclusive of some 1,500,000 Indians. The 

 Gauchos, descendants of Spaniards, are remarkable for living almost 

 entirely on horseback, and for the skill with which they use the lasso. 

 Prominent Indian tribes are the Abipones, Guayanas, Tupis, and Charruas, 

 in the north ; and the Pampas Indians in the south. The confederacy 

 embraces the following states : 1. Buenos Ayres, or Argentina in its 

 restricted sense, with 168,000 inhabitants ; cap. do., with 85,000 inhabitants. 

 2. Entre Rios, cap. Parana. 3. Corrientes, cap. do. 4. Santa Fe, cap. 

 do. 5. Cordova, cap. do. 6. St. lago del Estero, cap. do. 7. Tucuman, 

 cap. San Miguel. 8. Salta, cap. do. 9. Juguy, cap. San Salvador de 

 Juguy. 10. Catamarca. 11. Rioja. 12. San Juan de la Frontera. 13. 

 San Luis de la Punta. 14. Mendoza ; all with capitals of similar names. 



8. Republic of Paraguay, 



This state, so long under the rule of the celebrated dictator. Dr. Francia 

 (deceased in 1840), during which it was entirely inaccessible to foreigners, 

 is the only one in America which does not touch the sea in some point. 

 Its area amounts to 74,000 square statute miles, its pop. to 250,000. The 

 capital is Asuncion, with about 10,000 inhabitants. The individual depart- 

 ments are Asuncion, Concepcion, San lago, Villarica, Caruguatay, Cande- 

 laria, San Fernando, and Santa Hermengilda. 



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