The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

AMAZONIA. 05
the foot of the " Cucuhy Rock," a superb granite bluff 1,000 feet high, visible for
a great distance on the surrounding plains. After its junction with the TJaupcs
the mainstream trends eastwards between two chains of granite hills, which con-
stitute the true water-parting between the Orinoco and Amazons systems. The
rocky divide, which is con-
tinued north-eastwards to ^'5- 32.—Lowee Couese of the Eio Beanco.
the Parima range, has
been pierced at this point
by the waters descending
from the gently sloping
northern plains. Geolo-
gically speaking, the part-
ing line occurs, not at the
bifurcation of the Cassi-
quiare, but at the breach
effected by the running
waters along the continu-
ous series of cataracts, 50
on the Uaupes and 25 on
the Rio Negro, cataracts
which, despite their slight
faU, present a picturesque
eflfect with their project-
ing reefs, eddies, and
swirling waters. The Rio
Negro series has a total
incline of not more than
50 feet in a distance of
about 40 miles.
The Rio Branco
("White River"), which
promises to acquire great
importance as the most
direct future highway
between British Guiana
and Central Amazonia, has
been frequently ascended
by the Portuguese. Re-
cently a Yenezuelo-Brazi-
Scale i : 3,600,000.
lian Frontier Commission has studied its upper valleys, but the surveys have
been suspended owing to the hostility of the natives.
nest of Greenwich 60°
60 Miles.
Like the Rio Negro, the Parima, as the Rio Branco was formerly called, has
for its true upper course an affluent much longer and more copious than the branch
commonly regarded as the chief headstream. This affluent, the Uraricoera, rises