SAND ACCUMULATIONS 
metres in extent. The river at this place had a total width 
of 500 metres. At a point 5,000 metres down the straight 
stretch due east we came to three parallel elongated 
islands, two of them 300 metres long, the third 1,000 
metres in length, all three on the right of us as we floated 
down. A barrier of rocks extended right across the stream 
from northwest to southeast, at a spot where on our left 
side, at bearings magnetic 330°, a hill range extended 
northwards. With a slight deviation of 10° eastward 
(40° bearings magnetic) another beautiful stretch of 
6,000 metres was before us. More islands, more clusters 
of picturesque rocks were passed. First came a group of 
two islands, the larger 350 metres long, Vanessa Island; 
then a beautiful clean sand-spit 150 metres long, almost 
in mid-stream, preceded a group of three parallel islands, 
— Philomela Island, 400 metres long, Portia Island, 300 
metres, and Psyche Island, 4,500 metres. Beyond these 
were two more islands, one triangular in shape in the 
centre of the stream, Rhea Island, some 250 metres long, 
with a strong corrideira at its northeasterly terminus. 
A most gorgeous sand-bank of great length now lay 
on our left, while on the right we had two small islets, — 
one 100 metres long, another, beyond it, 500 metres long. 
A tributary entered the Arinos-Juruena at that spot on 
the right side. Where the river turned again due east for 
3,000 metres, another set of parallel islands with a chain 
of hills beyond them on the right bank was to be seen. 
The hill range extended from northwest to southeast. All 
these ranges, with a backbone of rock underneath, formed, 
as it were, the ribs which held up the central plateau of 
Brazil. We were now in a region of wonderful accumu¬ 
lations of sand; nearly all the islands showed a sand-spit 
of great length on the up-stream side. Great islands oc¬ 
curred once more: Paulina Island, 2,500 metres long, on 
our left; another, 200 metres long, Olivia Island, on our 
right; and a third, Clara Island, just beyond it. A 
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