Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/668

646 646 ECUADOR place by several distinct mouths. For some distance beyond the mouth of the Coca the channel is navigable for steam-boats, and the natives proceed in canoes as far as the Cataract del Caudo, 3332 feet above the sea-level. The Curaray rises in the Llanganati Cordillera, and flows almost parallel with the Napo till their point of confluence, a dis tance of 490 miles. The waters are rendered unpalatable by a reddish slime in the lower part of its course, where the current is very gentle. The Aguarico, formed by the union of the Cofanes, San Miguel, and Azuela, which descend from the Pimampiro Cordillera in the northern limits of the country, has a course of about 420 miles. The Coca, rising in the neighbourhood of Cayambi and the Guamani Mountains, receives the Maspa and the Cosanga, flows eastward along the line of the equator as far as 76 10 W. long, turns southward, takes a leap of 137 feet, and maintains the same direction till it reaches the Napo rather as a rival than a tributary. The Napo system thus drains a district extending from 1 N. to 3 S. lat. and from 78* 10 to 73 50 W. long. The only other Ecuadorian tributary of the Maranon that has any claim to special notice is the Pastassa. Instead of having its head-waters in the eastern slopes of the Eastern Cordillera, as is the case with most if not all of the rivers already described, it rises in the central plateau, within the shadow of Cotopaxi, forces its way through the range to the north of Tunguragua, and flows south-eastwards past the roots of Sangai, augmented from stage to stage by the numerous torrents that are fed by the eternal snows. It bears the name of Patate till its junction with the Chambo in the neighbour hood of Baiios, and is not recognized as the Pastassa, above the Agoyan falls. As early as 1741 it was navigated without difficulty by Don Pedro Maldonado ; and it is believed that it would afford a passage for steamboats for a distance of 314 miles. Mr Simson, one of the most recent explorers of eastern Ecuador, gives a graphic account of tha terrific floods to which its mountain tributaries, and more especially the Topo, are subject. The rise of the waters is sometimes so sudden, and their fury so irresistible, that trading parties are imprisoned for weeks in the narrow Btrip of land between one torrent and the next ; and the whole country is traversed in the line of the currents by long ridges, or cuchillas, produced by the disintegration and removal of all the intermediate tracts. The same, indeed, holds true more or less of the whole eastern slope of the mountains and of the upper sections of all the rivers. On the western versant of the Ecuadorian Andes there are three river systems of considerable size the Mira, the Esmeraldas, and the Guayaquil. The first has its head- waters the Rioblanco, the Pisco, and the Puntal in the vicinity of Imbabura, breaks through the Western Cordillera, receives from the left the San Pedro, Paramba, Cachiyacu, Chachavi, Canumbi, and from the right the San Juan, Gualpi, and Nulpe, and empties itself by several mouths into the Pacific near the island of Tumaco. The second, which is the largest of the three, collects its abundant waters from Cotopaxi and Sincholagua, the transverse ridge of Tiupullo or Chisinche, Iliniza, Pichincha, and Cayambi. The Cotopaxi tributary, known as the Rio Pedregal, forms three beautiful cascades, the highest of which is about 220 feet. To the Guayaquil system belong the Daule, the Babahoyo, and the Yaguachi, with their numerous tributaries, the Daule rising in the Sandomo ridge, the Babahoyo in the slopes of the Western Cordillera, and the Yaguachi in the skirts of Chirnborazo. They are all navigable for some distance inland by steamer, and are of great importance in connection with the transport of native produce to the port of Guayaquil. Floods are usual in the rainy season, and vast stretches of country are laid under water. In the Daule the tide is felt at Candelaria, 25 miles inland. Along the coast, between the mouth of the Esmeraldas and the Gulf of Guayaquil, a largo number of streams find their way to the sea; but as they all have their sources in the comparatively insignificant line of hills that runs north and south about 25 or 30 miles inland, they are themselves comparatively insignificant. Lakes. While Ecuador can boast of nothing worthy of the name of an inland sea, it possesses a large number of lakes, either lying in the laps and extinct craters of the Andes, or formed in the lowlands by the overflowings of its rivers. To the former class belong San Pablo, at the foot of Imbabura, 5 miles in circumference; Cuy-cocha, on the south-east skirt of Cotocachi, 10,200 feet above the sea, and thus one of the highest lakes in the world; Yaguar-cocha, or &quot; Lake of Blood,&quot; not far from Ibarra ; Quirotoa, about 4600 feet in diameter; Coita, to the east of Riobamba, with a powerful whirlpool in the centre ; and Colay, to the south of Riobamba, which exhales gases poisonous enough to stupefy the birds that attempt to cross, and thus helps to fill the larder of the Indians in its neighbourhood. The largest specimens of the second class lie along the Napo. Thermal springs are mentioned in numerous localities, as at Belermos and San Pedro del Tingo, north-east of Quito ; at Cachillacta, in the district of Nanegal ; in the skirts of Rumiiiagui ; at Timbugpoyo, near Tacunga ; on the slopes of Chimborazo ; and at Bafios, near the foot of Tunguragua. Minerals. Ecuador is less rich in minerals, especially in the precious metals, than any other of the South American states. Silver, gold, iron, mercury, lead, tin, zinc, copper, antimony, manganese, alum, sulphur, and salt are all said to be found ; but very few of these exist in sufficient quantity to affect the destinies of national industry. Gold mixed with silver has long been obtained in the neighbourhood of Zarume, in the province of Loja, and it is gathered by the Indians from the river beds in the Napo and Canelos territory, and more particularly from the Bobonaza. The gold of the Canelos is about 22 carats fine, and that of the Napo 20. The town of Azogues derives its name from its prolific quicksilver mines ; and similar deposits are worked within the city of Loja. In the pueblo of Simiatug, to the south-east of Riobamba, the natives manufacture salt from brine springs, and export it under the name of sal de Tomavela ; the produce of Salinas a name which tells its own tale in Imbabura, finds its way to Colombia. Coal of good quality occurs in the province of Cuenca and also on the banks of the Napo near Puca- urcu, the &quot; Red Mountain.&quot; Marble, alabaster, gypsum, slate, and other industrial rocks are obtained in various localities ; beautiful rock crystal is worked at Chongon, in the province of Guayaquil ; and in the coast districts there exist considerable deposits of asphalt. Climate. The description already given of the position and vertical arrangement of the country implies the main characteristics of Ecuadorian climate. The snow-line varies considerably in the different seasons of the year, as well as according to the form and situation of the individual mountain. Wagner found it in May on Cotocachi, 15,788 feet high; on Guagua-Pichincha in June, 15,741 ; on Mozo- Pichincha in May, 1 5,762 ; on Iliniza in December, 15,494 ; on Carahuirazo in January, 15,858; on Tunguragua in Feb ruary, 15,613 ; and on El-Altar in February, 15,854. The greatest difference, according to his observations, existed between the south side of Cotopaxi (15,279 feet) and the north side of Chimborazo (15,914). This elevation of the snow-line so great when compared with its European position of course renders possible the existence of veget able and animal life at a correspondingly great height. While St Bernard s, the highest point of permanent human habitation in Europe, is only 8377 feet above the s^a, most