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South America: Amazon

RIVERS.-Two great basins characterize the river system of Peru-that of the Atlantic and that of the Amazon. The peculiarity of the streams which descend from the W. declivity of the Cordillera Occidental is that they are generally short and precipitous, and during a great portion of the year entirely dry, so that they can only be utilized for irrigation purposes. The largest of these streams are the Chira, Piura, Santa, Rimac, Camana, Tambo, and Loa. On the E. slope, uniting to swell the flood of the Amazon are the Maranon, entering Brazil at Tabatinga, and the Huallaga, Ucayali, Apurimac, Urubamba, Javary, and Purus.