842 
T41LEX OF THE KIO BEA^’•CO. 
of 4° 4' and 4° 12'. We there distinguish, from west to east 
tiiG roountains of Pacaraina, TipiquG, Tauyana, anioncf which 
rises the Eio Parinie (a tributary of the Urarieuera), Tuba- 
chi, Christaux (lat. 3° 56', long. 62° 52'), and Cauopiri. The 
Spanish traveller, Eodrigucz, marks the eastern part of the 
chain by the name of Quimiropaca ; but prefering to adopt 
general names, I continue to give the name of Paearaina to 
the whole of this Cordillera, which links the mountains of 
the Orinoco to the interior of Dutch and Prench Ouiana, 
and which Baleigir and Iveyinis made known in Europe at 
the end of the 16th centiir}’'. This chain is broken by the 
Eujmnuri and the Essequibo, so that one of their tributary 
streams, the Tavaricuru, takes it rise on the southern decli- 
vity, and the other, the Sibarona, on the northern. On 
approaching the Essequibo, the mountains are more developed 
towards the south-east, and extend beyond 2i° north lat. 
P roin this easterm branch of the chain of Paearaina the Eio 
Eupunuri rises near the Cerro Uassari. On the right bank 
of the Eio Branco, in a still more southern latitude (between 
1 and 2° nortli) is a mountainous territory in which the 
Caritamini, the Padaviri, the Cababuri (Cavaburis) and the 
Pficiinoni toko tlicir sourcG, from east to west. This western 
brancli of the mountains of Paearaina separates the basin of 
liio Praiico from that ot the Tipper Orinoco, the sources of 
which are probably not found east of the meridian of 66° 15' : 
it is linked with the mountains of Unturau and Yumariquin, 
situated S. E. of the mission of Esmeralda. Thence it results, 
that, while on the west of the Cassiqiuare, between that 
river, the Atabapo, and the Eio biegro, W'e find only vast 
plains, in which rise some little hills and insulated rocks ; 
real spurs stretcli eastward of the Cassiquiarc, from N. W. 
to S^E. and form a eonthined mountainous territory as far 
as 1 north lat. The basin only, or rather the transversal 
valley of the Eio Branco, form's a kind of gulf, a succes- 
sion of plains and savannahs (cainpos) several of which 
penetrate from south to north, into the mountainous land 
between the easteni and W'estern branches of the chain of 
Paearaina, to tlie distance of eight leagues north of the 
parallel of San Joaquin. 
We have just examined the southern part of the vast 
system of the mouiitaius of Parime, between 2° and 4° of 
