There are also some salt mines in it, and a small lake from which that article is extracted.
A rapid river rising in lake Chucuito, runs through this province, and is called the Desaguadero, or drain, forming a lake four leagues long and two wide. The river ends in this basin, which has given rise to various conjectures concerning the manner in which the water finds a vent, as the lake is always of the same level; but in one part of it is a whirlpool which sucks down any rafts that get within its vortex. In the year 1748 this singular lake rose to a great height.
The inhabitants of Paria amount to 10,000, and employ themselves in farming; and the cheeses of this district are much sought after.
Its capital of the same name is 210 miles north-west of La Plata, in 18° 50' south latitude, and 68° 20' west longitude.
The province of Caranjas commences 70 leagues west of La Plata, and extends above 50 leagues on the west bank of Lake Paria. The Andes pervading this district, the climate is very cold, and it produces no grain, but has abundant pastures for cattle, vicunas, &c. There are also many silver mines, two of which are very productive, and one of copper is worked.
A singular silver ore is found in the mines of Turco, which consists of beautiful fibres, penetrating the mass of stone in which they are contained. In the sandy desert parts of Caranjas that extend towards the Pacific are discovered lumps of native silver, which are called Papas, or potatoes, because they are dug out of the ground like that root.
These lumps have the appearance of melted silver, and many of them have been found weighing as much as 150 marcs, and more than a foot in length. The capital of this province, which is not populous, is a small town of the same name, on a rivulet which flows into the southern extremity of Lake Paria.
The city of Oropesa is the capital of a province named Cochabamba, of about 40 leagues in extent, which is bounded by Sicasica on the north-west, La Paz on the west, Chayantas on the south, and Charcas, or La Plata, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra on the east, and lying 50 leagues south-east of Plata. It possesses one gold mine, and several of silver, but they are not productive. The chief wealth of this province is in its agricultural produce, as it is fertilized by so many rivers and streams, that it yields immense harvests of grain, &c. From this circumstance it has obtained the appellation of the granary of Peru. The climate is in general mild and healthful.
The Rio Grande is its principal river, which rises in the Andes, west of the district of Sicasica.
Oropesa, the capital, is a very considerable place; it is seated on a small river, which is one of the streams of the Rio Grande, in a beautiful and fertile valley; and the chief occupation of its inhabitants, consists in supplying the neighbouring provinces with fruits and grain. It is 150 miles north-west of La Plata, in 18° 15' south latitude, and 67° 6' west longitude.