Brasil is watered with a profusion of great rivers. The longest is the Amazons, which, rising in Peru, enters thy Brasilian territory by the south-west, is in creased by the accession of the Rio Negro, which, from its great inundations, has been compared to a sea of fresh water ; by the Rio Madera, or the River of Forests, which rises in the central mountains of Brasil, and has a course of more than 2000 miles, before it joins the Amazons ; by the Topayos, which rises in the heights of the Campos Paresis, and has a course of 900 miles ; and, finally, by the Chingu, which descends from the ridges of Matto-Grosso. This last river rises at the distance of 1200 miles from its mouth, and its course is interrupted by se veral cataracts. Its banks are covered with impene trable forests, inhabited by tribes of warlike and in dependent savages. Farther to the east, the great river Toccantins falls into the sea near the mouth of the Amazons, and, being connected by a branch with the main stream, those two immense rivers mixing their waters, rush with one common cur rent into the ocean. The land and sea seem to dispute the dominion of the extensive regions where this junction takes place, which are accord ingly either parched by a burning sun, or deluged with periodical rains. About 300 miles before it fklls into the ocean, the Toccantins is joined by the Aragua, which is nearly equal to itself in size, and from this point the united streams of these two ri vers are navigable to the ocean. Their banks are skirted by mountains and forests, arid towards their source they make their way across deep valleys and precipices, where the navigation is interrupted by nu merous cataracts.
To the southward of the tributary streams of the Amazons, Brasil is chiefly drained of its waters by means of the great river La Plata. This river, for a considerable part of its course, skirts its interior fron tier, running from north to south. For the space of nearly 1600 miles, it receives all the streams which flow down the eastern declivity of the Andes, while, . for the same space, it receives all the waters of the Bra silian Andes, which take a westerly course into the interior. The land which divides the waters of the Amazons from those of the Plata, rises to its height between the lath and 14th parallels of south lati tude. Here it is that the Paraguay or the Plata has its rise, and its sources approach within a few miles of those of the Topayos, Chingu, and Toccan tins, which are tributary to the Amazons. In many parts, . indeed, owing to the configuration of the ground, the tributary rivers of the Amazons and the Plata appear as if they were blended together, and as if their respective streams were in a manner inter locked. From the sources of these rivers, the di viding ridge runs south-west, and afterwards, turning towards the north-east, makes a sort of circle round the head waters of the Araguay, a branch of the Toccantins, which are to be found, in consequence of this bend in the ridge, as far south as the 18th de gree. In its course towards the north-east, the ridge confines the waters of the Toccantins within the 16th parallel of south latitude, and, running in a northerly direction parallel to the course of this last mentioned river, it divides its waters from those of the Rio Francisco, which has its rise about the 20th degree of south latitude, and, after running to the north for a considerable space in the bottom of a longitudinal valley, turns round at length towards the east, and falls into the Atlantic about the 11th degree of south latitude. The Rio Francisco is the
only considerable river of Brasil, which is uncon nected either with the Amazons or the Plata. Along the Francisco, parallel to its course, runs a ridge of mountains distant from the Atlantic Ocean about 250 miles. This ridge divides the waters of the Francisco from those flowing directlysto the ocean, which consist of a variety of insulated streams, such as the Rio Grande, the Rio Doce, and several others of inferior note.
To the south of the dividing ridge between the waters of the Plata and those of the Toccantins, the great river Parana, which flows into the Plata, on the eastern bank, about 700 wiles from its mouth, is formed by the accumulated waters of several exten sive valleys. From the east, it receives all the waters of the western declivity of that mountainous ridge which runs along the shores of the Atlantic, and rising to its height at the distance, generally, of some hundred miles film the coast, pours all its great streams into the interior, to make their way into the ocean by the channel tithe Plata. The head waters of the Parana approach within less than 100 miles of the eastern shore, from winch their course is wester ly into the interior, until they turn towards the south. To the southward of the Parana rises the ' river Uruguay. Its head waters, like those of the Parana, flow from the mountainous ridge which runs along the Atlantic shore, and they pursue a course somewhat similar, flowing down the western declivity into the interior, and. afterwards turning in a circu lar direction to the south. The Uruguay falls into the Plata near its mouth, after a course of 1000 miles.
In consequence of the immense extent of Brasil, from north to south, itgreat variety both of soil and climate. in the vicinity of the Amazons is exposed to the tropical heats, which, however, are in some measure tempered by the na tural humidity of the climate. In those regions, there is little distinction of seasons. The ground is continually covered with flowers and with trees, al ways green, while the abundant dews, the shade of the forests, and the delicious coolness of the nights, present the image of perpetual spring. In ascend. Ing towards the sources of the great rivers, the tem perature is modified by the height of the ground ; and within the elevated plains which spread out into the interior, fertile valleys are found, which possess a salubrious and temperate climate, and in which all the fruits of Europe grow to maturity, along with the native productions of America. Of this nature is the climate of Brasil towards Minas Geraes, Vil la Rica and Saint Paul. In some of the more ele vated mountainous situations, which are raised to the height of 5000 and 6000 feet above the level of the sea, and towards the southern extremity of Brasil, the air is still colder, and the soil pro duces, in great perfection, both European fruit and grain.