220 
PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE 
erect in the peat, has been laid bare on both 
sides of the Igarape Grande by the encroach¬ 
ments of the ocean. That this is the work of 
the sea is undeniable, for all the little depres¬ 
sions and indentations of the peat are filled 
with sea-sand, and a ridge of tidal sand divides 
it from the forest still standing behind. Nor 
is this all. At Vigia, immediately opposite to 
Soure, on the continental side of the Pard 
River, just where it meets the sea, we have 
the counterpart of this submerged forest. An¬ 
other peat-bog, with the stumps of innumera¬ 
ble trees standing in it, and encroached upon 
in the same way by tidal sand, is exposed here 
also. No doubt these forests were once all 
continuous, and stretched across the whole 
basin of what is now called the Para River. 
Since I have been pursuing this inquiry, I 
have gathered much information to the same 
effect from persons living on the coast. It is 
well remembered that, twenty years ago, there 
existed an island, more than a mile in width, 
to the northeast of the entrance of the Bay 
of Vigia, which has now entirely disappeared. 
Farther eastward, the Bay of Braganza has 
doubled its width in the last twenty years, and 
