SOUTH AMERICA.

The continent of SOUTH AMERICA forms the southern half of the New World. It is joined to North America by the Isthmus of Panama, and stretches southward to Cape Horn, which lies nearly under the 56th parallel of South latitude. South America is crossed by the line of the Equator, but by far the larger part of the continent is within the Southern Hemisphere.

BOUNDARIES: South America is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the Atlantic, and on the west by the Pacific.

To the southward it gradually diminishes in breadth, and terminates in a group of rocky islands, called Tierra del Fuego, of which the southernmost extremity is Cape Horn.

EXTENT: Looked at as a whole, South America, like Africa, forms a vast peninsula. It includes an area of 6,817,400 square miles, and is therefore nearly twice the size of Europe.

The greatest length, from north to south, is about 4,550 miles. The greatest breadth, from east to west, is about 3,200 miles.

COASTS: The coasts of South America are (like those of Africa, on the opposite side of the Atlantic) remarkably regular and unbroken. The total length of coast-line is estimated at 15,000 miles, equal to an average of 1 mile of coast to every 470 square miles of surface.

INLETS: The coast-line of South America presents few gulfs of any considerable magnitude. The most important inlets are the Gulfs of Darien, Venezuela, and Paria, and the estuaries of the Amazon and Pará on the north; the Rio de la Plata, and the Gulfs of San Matias and St. George on the east; and the Gulfs of Guayaquil and Panama on the west.

CAPES: The principal capes are Gallinas and Orange on the north; St. Roque, Branco, Frio, San Antonio, and Corrientes on the east; Horn and Froward on the south; and Parina, San Lorenzo, and San Francisco on the west. Cape Gallinas is the most northerly point of the continent, Cape Branco the most easterly, and Cape Parina the most westerly. Cape Froward is the most southerly point of the mainland, but Cape Horn (which is the southernmost point of an extensive group of islands) is a more celebrated and better known promontory.

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ISLANDS: South America has few islands. Among the chief of them are the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, off the south-east coast; the group called Tierra del Fuego, in the south; the islands of the Patagonian Archipelago, Chiloe Island, Juan Fernandez, and the Galapagos Islands on the west side of the continent; with Margarita, Curaçao, and a few others in the Caribbean Sea, on the northern coast.

1. C. Cape Nordkyn and North Cape in Europe.

Tierra del Fuego is divided from the mainland of South America by the Strait of Magellan, and from Staten Island by the Strait of Le Maire.

The islands that lie off the western coast of Patagonia are included under the name of the Patagonian Archipelago. They belong, physically, to the chain of the Andes, and are only divided from the mainland by narrow channels which penetrate the mountain-region.

MOUNTAINS: South America is traversed by the loftiest and the most continuous system of highlands in the New World, namely, the Andes. Like North America, this continent exhibits the characteristic fact that its most elevated portions lie along its western side, and it exhibits this in a more eminent degree than is the case in the northerly half of the New World. The Andes lie much nearer to the Pacific Coast than the Rocky Mountains do, and leave only a narrow plain between their western base and the sea.

South America has three mountain-systems-the Andean, the Parime, and the Brazilian. The Andean system is much higher and far more massive than either of the other two, and, with the exception of the Himalayas, surpasses every other mountain chain on the earth's surface in altitude and continuity.

The Andes run in the direction of north and south, through the entire length of South America, from the Isthmus of Panama to Cape Horn.

The Andes form in some parts two, and in others three, distinct chains, with high plateaux enclosed between. The highest summit is Aconcagua, 22,800 feet above the sea, which is situated in the Chilian Andes; while Sorata, 21,470 feet, and Ilimani, 21,040 feet, both in Bolivia, rank next in importance, Many other mountains in the vast system of the Andes exceed 20,000 feet in height, and no less than 20 peaks are upwards of 19,000 feet in height. A great number of snow-covered summits occur in the ranges enclosing the elevated tableland of Titicaca. Numerous high summits are also found in the immediate neighbourhood of the Equator: these were at one time supposed to be the loftiest mountains on the globe. the Andes diminish greatly in height, and make much closer approach to the neighbouring ocean. In Patagonia, the mountain-system rises abruptly out of the waters of the Pacific. Through their entire course the Andes rise above the line of perpetual snow.

Towards their southward extremity,

A great number of active volcanoes occur in the Andes, especially on the borders of Chili and in the neighbourhood of the Equator. The highest of them are Chimborazo (20,545 feet), and Cotopaxi (19,613 feet), both of which are with in two degrees south of the Equator. Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence in most parts of the Andean region.

-the conditions of climate are, of course, infinitely varied. These differences correspond . In this vast mountain-system-prolonged through more than sixty degrees of latitude The general direction of the mountain-chains of the New World is attended, in this respect, not merely to successive heights above the sea, but also to distance from the Equator. Asiatic continent, have a direction coincident with that of the parallels of latitude, and by results different from those that ensue in the case of ranges which, like those of the therefore experience, at corresponding heights, similar (or nearly similar) conditions of

climate throughout their extent.

In the Andes of Quito, under the Equator, the line of

perpetual snow is reached at 15,800 feet above the sea.

In the Bolivian Andes, it recedes to a greater altitude, owing probably to the increased proportions of the mountain region, and the greater breadth of the plateaux which it there embraces. The snow-line ranges, in that portion of the system, from 15,900 to upwards of 18,000 feet. In the Andes of Chili, it gradually declines from 14,000 to 6,000 feet with the successive advance into a more southern latitude, and on the shores of the Strait of Magellan descends as low as to 3,390 feet. The passes over the Andes rival those of the Himalayas in height-some of them attaining an altitude of 15,000 feet. Terribly hazardous, in some cases, is the passage through the wild and deep glens which they traverse, where the road consists only of a narrow mule. track along the steep face of a precipitous cliff, and a single false step would precipitate the traveller into the abyss which yawns beneath. Nor is the road generally practicable even for mules, or anything more than a mere footpath.

The Parime System comprises several ranges traversing the plateau which rises between the low plains of the Orinoco on the north, and the Amazon on the south.

The main chain extends from the Casiquiare (the best known of those remarkable streams which connect the Orinoco basin with that of the Amazon) eastwards to the coast, near the mouth of the Amazon, and is known as the Sierra Parime in the west, and the Sierra Acaray in the east. The average elevation of these ranges is probably 4,000 feet, or about 2,000 feet higher than the plateau which they traverse. Impenetrable forests clothe the slopes of the higher ranges, and numerous rivers descend to the low-lying plains on either side by a series of magnificent rapids and cataracts. In Guiana, the descent to the coast plain is marked by a series of terraces edged by minor hill-ranges, as in the southern extremity of Africa. Geologically, the system has been well described as “a primary island rising from the vast tertiary and recent expanses of the Orinoco and Amazon."

The Brazilian System consists of numerous chains, some of which lie near the coast, others at a considerable distance inland. The coast-ranges are the loftiest portions of the system; the highest points, however, seldom exceed 5,000 feet.

The northern portion of the coast chain, the Serra Espinhaço, trends south (at a distance of about 250 miles inland) from the roth to the 23rd parallel. The southern section consists of the Serra do Mar, which closely adjoins the coast, and rises in the peculiar Serra dos Orgãos, behind the picturesque Bay of Rio de Janeiro, to a height of 7,700 feet, or nearly 4,000 feet above the general elevation of the system. West of the San Francisco, a series of ridges-the Serra dos Irmãos, the Cordillera Grande, &c.-runs north, between the various river-valleys from the main axial range; the Serra dos Vertentes, an irregular and low chain of heights, between the basin of the Lower Amazon and those of the Paraguay and Parana. The seaward sides of the coast-ranges are steep and rugged-the ranges traversing the interior plateau have a more gentle ascent. The mineral wealth of the system is, at present, practically inferior to the inexhaustible treasures of the forests which clothe the slopes, and even the summits, of nearly all its ranges.

TABLELANDS: The South American tablelands are found chiefly within the regions traversed by the Andes, and are enclosed between the eastern and western cordilleras of that mountainsystem.

The highest among them is the Plateau of Titicaca, within Bolivia and Peru which contains the large lake of that name, at an elevation of nearly 13,000 feet

above the sea. The Plateau of Quito, which is crossed by the line of the Equator, is at an elevation of 9,000 feet. There are other portions of the mountainsystem in which the enclosed plateaux-bordered on either hand by snowy summits-exhibit similar elevations. These plateaux resemble the interior tablelands of the Asiatic continent, but are inferior to them both in altitude and in lateral dimensions.

PLAINS: The whole interior of South America is but of moderate elevation. A series of great plains extend from the shores of the Caribbean Sea southward to the estuary of the La Plata and the mouth of the Rio Negro.

These plains separate the Andes from the mountain-systems of Guiana and Brazil. They are naturally divided into three great portions, (1) the Llanos, or grassy plains of the Orinoco valley, (2) the Selvas, or forest plains of the Amazon valley, and (3) the Pampas, or plains of the La Plata region.

The Llanos, which occupy nearly the whole basin of the Orinoco River, except only towards its highest portion, where they are succeeded by wooded plains, resemble in general features the prairies of North America. They are vast natural meadows, portions of which are annually overflowed by the rivers. At the close of the rainy season, the llanos are covered with grass and form rich natural pasture-grounds. During the prolonged season of drought which ensues, the verdure is entirely destroyed, and the parched earth opens in wide and deep crevices-again to be laid under water with the recommencement of the rains. The Selvas, or forest-plains, belong to the valley of the Amazon, and include an immense area of Brazil, watered by the lower portion of the great stream, and its chief tributary, the Madeira. Vast regions are here covered by an uninterrupted forest, composed of trees of giant growth, their boughs interlaced by immense creeping plants, and the ground beneath thickly covered with a dense growth of underwood. To the southward of the forest region are vast grassy plains, which stretch in that direction into the valley of the Paraguay. The Pampas are immense plains, which, according to the changes of the season, are alternately covered with herbage or with gigantic thistles. They stretch from the estuary of the La Plata to the base of the Andes.

RIVERS: Nearly the whole of the South American continent has its slope directed towards the Atlantic, and all its larger rivers consequently discharge into that ocean. the Pacific as to leave no room for the formation of any considerable

stream on their western side.

The Andes lie so near to

Three of the South American rivers greatly exceed the rest in magnitude and geographical importance, namely, the Orinoco, the Amazon,' and the La Plata. The Amazon alone drains an area equal to more than a third of the continent, and the three together water nearly three-fifths of its total extent.

The Orinoco may well be regarded as one of the great rivers of the globe-it has a length of 1,500 miles, and drains a basin of 366,000 square miles, and discharges, on an average, nearly half-a

million cubic feet of water every second.

1. The Amazon and the Mississippi are the two largest rivers on the globe. passes, by several hundred miles, the length of the Each of them sur

greatest rivers of the Eastern Hemisphere, and their waters drain much more extensive areas.