C l im a t e
S e a s o n s '.'
Lakes.
the mountains winter begins in December,, which in the plains is- the
firft month o f. Summer; and a journey oP four hours conduds the
traveller from one' feafon to another. At Quito, fituated between two.
chains of the Andes, on a plain o f remarkable elevation, the months
from September to May or June c.onftitutc the winter ; and the other
months the fummer; the former being expofed to almoft conftant
rains, which are, alfo frequent,, ‘but at. longer intervals, during the
fummer feafon h At Carth.age.na the winter, or rainy feafon, extends,
on the contrary, 'from May to Novémber; and the fummer,, or dry
feafon, from December to April. A t Panama theAimmer begins father
later, and ends fooner; at Lima, in a fouthern latitude, hearly correfpond-
ing with the northern o f Carthagdha,. Ithc heat is far more moderate;
and fpring begins with December, winter with July : the fummer is
in February, the autumn in May.
In general" the confined regions on the weft of the Andes are dry,
the clouds being arrefted by their fümmits; while the wide countries on
the call of that chain are expofed to torrents of rain, from the eaftern
or Trade winds blowing-over the A tla n tic .In J Brazil The1 rainy feafou
begins in March or April, and ends ittA * g n ft; /^ e d ? J i^ fp r in # « in s ,
ör rather the fummer q the diliBdion- being only, betwéemweU and idrp
feafons’. • sa ' ifehj ' -•;! ..••? >• . ** t'ss* " ■r v ";
South America can fcarcely fcoafto*f. any;inland fea; ibdtsthg^eat
river of Amazons, and that of La'Plata, may be faid Tcy fupply this|^le-
ficiency; and if numeroufly peopled by induftjrious^inhabitants^ there
would be no «w»
throughout the greater .part, of- this ample portion, o f the. earth. The
gulfs pnthe S. W. extremity. containing th e ifle so f Chiloe, St. Martin,
&c, are of fmall confequence,: and in a remote, and. difadvantageous
pofition. No part o f the globe difplays fo great a number of lakes as
1 Ulloa’ s Voyage, i, 278, But fee' the obférvations at the end o f voL i£ of- the French ttsnfl**
tion, two vol. 4to. which is far fuperior. A t Riobamba the winter lulls from December to Julie,
being far colder than at Quito; and further to the fouth Chili (Tchili) receives its name from fiiow-
From the gulf of Guay quit to the deferts of Atacama, a fpace of 400 leagues in lcngth.by, or
30 in breadth, it never rains; and thunder and ftorms are unknown. Bóugucr, xxiii.
3 Tito, lib, i.
I ! North
North America ; and the fouthern part o f the nevv continent-is perhaps Lakes, f
equally" 'remarkable by thei*r rarity. Many fuppöfed Jakes,» fs$ that o f
Zarayos ’ or Sha-rayos, in the courfe o f the river Paraguay, only-' exift
dtiring" thè * annual inundatiohsf^Mièhftère on-"a far grander fcale''than
riidfe^of the Ganges, an‘d may*rBë faid tcrd'eluge',-whol'e jfrb'rinceA 1 In
ttfe%*oft n'brthè'rri partfthe La^obtf oP'MaracayBo ïs fémarkable,1 being
Fcifdülar 'bafon ahdtit” 1 dóf B. riftJèëiïn diameter,f fAHvIhg!muröêröué
inhere*hntP riv diets;1 and comftnfnicatfng'with thdfea’ by a *con'fitleraBfe
creek. The Celebrated' lake Parimat,“^allCdshHoPPir30apitiftCa Jó f 'the
White fSea,'''is'téprêfentted ‘b^f LV'Crhz as hioref than *¥ck> rB. miles? in
le*h;gtff b y .$9' in breadth'.’ This’fiAr, ^dnöéVeni'itó‘;exifteöéé;^havé filéen
^miloted, as u was'themomn'iea^ ó f tlfe'city' EFDorkdb, VfflV fÖeels' o f
wrnen wereJ paved with' gomV a fable which fee'ms fo nave anfeh' from
a rock bfïafeaefleötmg, Ijike amirror, tbe'gomeh fays .b$,|Kè'*ftWn According
to La Cruz%n^TaËé. rè^lêïvlë^h'e Öritto^ó'tih 'tóe^N.’“ Wf whfch
afterwards^emerges*JpuHhes^jfweft'erfy'doffffe,ftflf"it‘ fiti’ally3bend
hortfifand'eaft. The? Parima alfo’giveëfóuWe t’o th'e gfëafriyé'f o f the
fam^name, UKqwite called tóe Rio Blanco1,' Which jold’s ‘tóeJrïvéFNegriï,
and .great riyer o f Amazon^ 1 fn this‘phri’cmS ou tb A m frica ’there is,
as it were, a conteft betwixt land and water; and fo level and iiiutable
is the.foil, that tlié rivers'feem dubious what courfe to purfue, as they flow
in every dfielfion, and branches o f the Orin'dcb communicate' ' with the
tributary rivers .o f the lm menie Mafanoh. The natural hiftory of- the
celebrated* lake of Parima would be not a little interfiling, but a deep
obfeurity pervades thofe regions. ' .
In Amazonia and Brazil there do not appear to be any lakes o f com
feq.uep.ee ; but the Portuguefe are inferior even to the Spaniards in
geography and natural hiftory, and many, difeoveries remain' to be made
in,their ample .pofleffidns.- t The lake of Zarayos or Xaiayes. is a mere
inundation of the river Paraguay, and is juftly exploded.* But that of Titicaca,
Titicaca, nearly in the fame parallel, and in the kingdom of Peru, is
regarded as thé mq'ft important in South America. Ulloa fays that it
•is of an oval figure, the circumference, about 240 miles and "the' depth ■
i O ^
4.CL2 f.v