CHILI 617 They are almost entirely fed by the melting of the snow on the Andes, but are also liable to swelling from the winter rains. A few are navigable for a short distance; but nearly all yield immense service to agriculture by irrigation, carry ing, like the Nile, both substance and moisture to the other wise barren plains. The largest river is the Biobio, which, rising near the volcano of Antuco, in lat. 38 15 , enters the Pacific after a course of 220 miles, where it is 2 miles broad. It is navigable for barges and small steamers as far as Nacimiento, 100 miles from the mouth. The following is a list of the principal rivers, with the provinces through which they flow, and the lengths of their courses : Rivers. Provinces. Leagues. Falling into Biobio Concepcion 74 Pacific Ocean. Aconcagua Aconcagua 60 Cauten, or Imperial Maule Valdivia Maule 50 50
Cachapoal Santiago 43 Topocalma. Itata Concepcion 46 Pacific Ocean. Mataouito Talca 46 Topocalma, or Rapel .... Bucno Colchagua Valdivia 40 37
Valdivia, or Callacalla... Coquimbo Coquimbo 34 31 " Cruces Valdivia 31 Valdivia. Maipu Santiago 30 Pacific Atacama 30 Huasco 30 " Littua... Aconcagua 29 Tolten Valdivia 29 Laia . Concepcion 28 Biobio. Loncotom i Aconcagua 28 Pacific. Jjimari Coquimbo 27 Mapooho Santiago 26 Maipu. Vergara Arauco 26 Biobio. Juncal Atacama 24 Pacific. Taboledo Arauco 22 Biobio. Mineral Waters are numerous in Chili ; they are prin cipally saline and sulphureous, containing carbonate of lime, bicarbonate of soda, and chloride of sodium. In temperature the waters range from 50 to that of boiling water. They are situated at various heights, from 1150 feet above the sea, as the baths of Panimavida, 18 miles from Talca, to 10,690 feet, as the baths of Toro, near Elqui in Coquimbo. The most remarkable as well as the most important of the bathing establishments is that of Chilian in the province of Chilian, on the western flank of the Cerro Nevado, 2050 feet above the sea, containing in close proximity icy cold and boiling springs, sulphureous, ferruginous, alkaline, and saline. The season is from the first of December to the first of April, when they are visited by multitudes for the cure of gout, rheumatism, dyspepsia, and cutaneous diseases. Among the others most frequented are the baths of Apoquindo and Colina, near Santiago ; Cauquenes, near Rancagua ; Tinguiririca, near Colchagua; Mondaca, near Talca ; Trapa-Trapa, near Los Anjeles ; and Nahuelhuapi in Llanquihue. Islands. The most important Chilian islands are those of the province of Chiloe , covered with great forests of the mag nificent cedar Fitzroya patagonica, and the tall and elegant cypress Libocedrus tetragona. The interesting island of Juan Fernandez may be included with those of Chili, although it is 360 miles from the coast, in lat. 33 42 S. It is a mountainous and well-wooded island, 52 miles in circumference, and exhibits generally those features familiar to the readers of RobinsonCrusoe as the abode of Alexander Selkirk. It is stocked with herds of goats, while the beach is a haunt of seals. Forty-two miles further out to sea is the smaller island of Mas Afuera. Climate. As Chili extends from hot parched deserts in the Tropic of Capricorn to a boisterous cold and wet country within 1 2 of the Antarctic Circle, and as while one-fourth of the territory is not much above the level of the sea, another fourth lies slightly below the snow-line, the only general qualification that can be assigned to this union of extremes is that both in the high and the low, the wet and the dry, the hot and the cold regions the climate is healthy through out. Omitting the inhospitable regions of Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego, and commencing with the most southern portion colonized by Chili, the Territory of Magellan, between lat. 54 and 51 50 , we find that although the- moisture and rainfall are too great for the ripening of wheat, yet potatoes, cabbage, celery, and carrots are readily grown. The principal town, Punta Arenas, is situated in the pen insula of New Brunswick, on the Straits of Magellan, in 53 10 30 S. lat. and 70 50 W. long. The next zone, between lat. 51 50 and 37, comprehends the provinces of Chiloe, Llanquihue, Valdivia, and Arauco, of which the climate is very like that of Great Britain, the most southern- parts having more rain but less cold than the Highlands of Scotland, while the more northern have a more genial climate than the most favoured parts of the south of England. In Valdivia the mean temperature throughout the year is 52 Fahr. Timber is the great article of export ; but potatoes, wheat, barley, rye, and flax are grown in quantities sufficient for exportation. The next zone extends from 37 to 28 lat., embracing the provinces from Concepciou to Aconcagua, where irrigation is more or less necessary, and where flax, corn, grapes, figs, olives, peaches, and melons grow freely, but oranges and lemons only in the northern portion. Rain falls in June, July, and August with more or less frequency, according to the latitude. During these months a mild northerly wind prevails, inter rupted occasionally by a dry wind from the east. During all the rest of the year a wind blows from the south, which falls towards the evening. In Santiago the mean annual temperature is 55 Fahr., and in Valparaiso 58 Fahr. From lat. 28 to 24, including the provinces of Coquimbo and Atacama, there is a gradually decreasing amount of moisture, from four or five showers of from five to ten hours, as in Coquimbo, to nothing but an occasional mist, as in Atacama. Spring commences in September, summer in December, autumn in March, and winter in June. Population. The following table gives the population Population* of Chili according to a census taken in 1875, with the average number of births, deaths, marriages, and other kindred statistics : - c 5 - J i = 5^ Births. Provinces. Js "3 i o c = M f|| o G p. 3 s. 5 T s H" Legitl- Illegi-, ,,,,,
~s-* mate, timate. Colonia de Magallanes 1,144 62 linlS 20 lin 57 47 14 fil Chiles 64,536 1,134 1 57 496 1 130 2,162 418 2,560 Llanquihue. . 48,492 916 1 53 415 1 117 1,577 367 1,944 Valdivia 37,481 618 1 61 239 1 157 1,134 482 1,616 Arauco 140,896 3,099 1 ,, 45 916 1 154 4,131 2,133 6,264 Concepcion . 151.365 3,981 1 38 1,564 1 96 6,288 2,704 7,992 Xuble. 136,880 3,868 1 35 1.172 1 107 4,306 1,572 5,878 Manle 237.314 6.257 1 38 1,622 1 145 7,480 3,000 10,480 Talca 110,359 3,588 1 n 31 1,016 I 109 4 543 993 6 536 Curico" 92,110 2.312 1 40 753 1 " 125 3*281 685 3^866 Colchagua .. 148.889 3,944 1 37 1.343 1 109 6,034 1,054 7,088 Santiago 362.712 11,188 1 32 1,603 1 101 14,087 2,661 16.748 Valparaiso .. 176.682 6,504 1 27 1,428 1 124 6,28ff 1.668 7,954 Aconcagua .. 132,799 3,322 1 40 766 1 173 3,379 1,272 4,661 Coqnimbo .. 157,463 3,662 1 43 979 1 161 3,588 1,708 5,356 Atacama 71,302 4,442 1 16 338 1 311 1,293 1,064 2,357 Total |2,068,4:24 1 55,897 Iin37 16,670 1 in 124 68,616 21,755 90,371 It will be seen that the net amount of the population obtained by the census was 2,068,424; but 10 per cent, may be allowed for omissions, and 44,000 for wandering Araucanian and Patagonian tribes, which brings up the total number to about 2,320,000. One-third of the
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