within the urban limits, the Lagõa de Rodrigo de Freitas, near the Botanical Garden, separated from the sea by a narrow sand beach, which is being gradually filled in. Several small streams from the hills are conspicuous only in times of heavy rains.
The oldest part of the city, which includes the commercial section, lies between Castle and Santo Antonio hills on the S. and São Bento, Conceicão and Livramento hills on the N., and extends inland to the Praça da Republica, though the defensive works in colonial times followed a line much nearer the bay. This section during the past century has extended southward along the bay shore in a string of suburbs known as the Cattete and Botafogo, with that of Larangeiras behind the Cattete in a pretty valley of the same name, and thence on or near the Atlantic coast as Largo dos Leoes, Copacabana and Gavea, the last including the Botanical Garden. The greatest development has been northward and westward, where are to be found the suburbs of Cidade Nova, São Christovão, Engenho Novo, Praia Formoso, Pedregulho, Villa Isabel, Tijuca, and a number of smaller places extending far out on the line of the Central railway. The extreme length of the city along lines of communication is little less than 20 m.
Streets.—Some of the most modern streets on the plain have been laid out with Spanish-American regularity, but much the greater part seems to have sprung into existence without any plan. Most of the streets of the old city are parallel and cross at right angles, but they are narrow and enclose blocks of unequal size. Each suburb is laid out independently, with straight streets where the ground permits, and crooked ones where the shore-line or mountain contour compels. Since the beginning of the 20th century large sums have been borrowed and expended on new avenues, the widening and straightening of old streets, and the improvement of the water-front between the Passeio Publico and the southern extremity of the Praia de Botafogo by the construction of a grand boulevard, partly on reclaimed land. One of these improvements consists of a central avenue cut across the old city from a point on the water-front near the Passeio Publico northward to the Saúde water-front. The shore-line boulevard, called the Avenida Beira-Mar, is about 4½ m. long, the wider parts being filled in with gardens. It was undertaken in 1903, during the administration of President Rodrigues Alves, as part of a vast scheme to improve the sanitary and traffic conditions of the city, including the construction of a new shore-line and filling in the shallow parts of the shore, which had long been considered one of the prime causes of the unhealthy state of the city. Another improvement was the completion and embellishment of the Mangue canal, originally designed as an entrance to a central market for the boats plying on the bay, but now destined for drainage purposes and as a public pleasure ground. This canal, as completed, is nearly, 2 m. long, enclosed with stone walls, crossed by a number of iron bridges and bordered by lines of royal palms. The most famous street of the old city is the Rua do Ouvidor, running westward from the market-place to the Largo de São Francisco de Paula, and lined with retail shops, cafés and newspaper offices. It has long been a favourite promenade, and fills an important part in the social and political life of the city. The principal business street is the Rua Primeiro de Março, formerly called Rua Direita, which extends from the Praça 15 de Novembro northward to São Bento Hill. All these old streets, excepting the last, are narrow and paved with squared granite blocks, and have their vehicle traffic regulated to go in one direction only. The side walks are very narrow, and the gas lamps are attached to the wal1s of the buildings. The streets and suburbs are served by five groups of tramway lines—Jardim Botanico, Santa Thereza, São Christovão, Villa Isabel, and Carris Urbanos—all using electric traction but the last. The streets are lighted with electricity and gas, the Ouvidor and some other narrow streets having a great number of gas-pipe arches across them for decorative illumination on festal occasions.
Parks.—The public parks and gardens are numerous and include the Botanical Garden with its famous avenue of royal palms (Oreodoxa regia); the Passeio Publico (dating from 1783), a small garden on the water-front facing the harbour entrance; the Jardim d'Acclamação, forming part of the Praça da Republica (once known as the Campo de Sant' Anna) with its artistic walks and masses of shrubbery; the Praça Tiradentes (the old Largo do Rocio, afterwards rechristened Praça da Constituição) with its magnificent equestrian statue of Dom Pedro I. executed by the French sculptor Luiz Rocher; the Praça 15 de Novembro on the water-front facing the old city palace; and a number of smaller squares with and without gardens.
Water Supply and Sewerage Drainage.—The water supply is derived from three sources: the small streams flowing down the mountain sides which serve small localities; the old Carioca aqueduct, dating from colonial times, which collects a considerable supply from the small streams of the Serra da Carioca and brings it into the city through a covered conduit which once crossed the gap between Santa Thereza and Santo Antonio hills on two ranges of stone arches (now used as a viaduct by the Santa Thereza Tramway Company); and the modern Rio do Ouro Waterworks, which brings in an abundant supply from the Serra do Tinquá, N.W. of the city—the length of the iron mains being 33 m. between the principal collecting reservoir and the main distributing reservoir at Pedregulho, near the Ponta do Cajú. There are three other distributing reservoirs in different parts of the city, and the supply, which has been augmented since the works were inaugurated in 1885, is good and ample. An extensive system of sewers was constructed by the City Improvements Co., an English corporation, which initiated the work in 1853; and a separate system of rain-water drains. The Leicester system is used because the greater part of the sewers are below sea-level, and it is necessary to use powerful pumps.
Climate.—The climate of Rio de Janeiro is hot, humid and debilitating, the temperature ranging from 50° to 99.5° F. in the shade, with an average for the year of 74°, and the rainfall being about 44 in. The greater part of the city is only 2 or 3 ft. above sea-level, is surrounded by mountains, and has large areas of water, swamp and wet soil in its vicinity. But the unhealthiness of Rio de Janeiro in past years may be charged to insanitary conditions and not to the climate. Yellow fever, whose first recorded appearance was in December 1849, was for many years almost a regular yearly visitant, and the mortality from it has been terrible. Smallpox also is practically endemic, owing in great part to negligent sanitary supervision. Since 1900 there have been several mild outbreaks of bubonic plague. These dangerous diseases are slowly disappearing as sanitary conditions are improved. The death-rate from tuberculosis, however, is high, and apparently shows no abatement. This is undoubtedly due to constitutional weakness arising from bad nutrition and the habit of sleeping in closed or badly ventilated apartments. Malarial fevers are also common, and diseases of the digestive organs, in great part easily preventible, figure among the principal causes of death. According to official returns for the five years 1900–1905, the average number of deaths was 15,926, or 20.4 per 1000. Among the deaths 2789 were from tuberculosis, 1200 from smallpox, 778 from malarial diseases, 331 from la grippe, and 106 from beri-beri. There were no unusual epidemics during those years, and the rate given may be considered normal.
Buildings.—There remain many public edifices and dwellings of the colonial period, severely plain in appearance, with heavy stone walls and tile roofs. The old city palace facing upon Praça 15 de Novembro, once the residence of the fugitive Portuguese sovereign Dom João VI., is a good example. The 19th century brought no important modifications until near its close, when French and Italian styles began to appear, both in exterior decoration and in architectural design. The new Praça do Commercio (Merchants' Exchange) and Post Office on Rua 1o de Março, and the national printing office near the Largo da Carioca, are notable examples. Since then exterior ornamentation and architectural eccentricities have run riot, and the city is now a mixture of the plain one-storey and two-storey buildings of the Portuguese type, and fanciful modern creations, embellished with stucco and overtopping the others by many storeys. Although a metropolitan see, Rio has no cathedral, the old imperial chapel facing the Praça 15 de Novembro being used for that purpose. The foundations were once laid for a great cathedral on the Largo de São Francisco de Paula, but the building stone was taken for a neighbouring theatre, and the foundations were afterwards used for the Polytechnic School. The most noteworthy church is the Candelaria church, in the commercial district, whose twin towers and graceful dome form one of the most conspicuous landmarks of the city. It was begun in 1775, but was not finished until near the end of the 19th century. Its fine proportions, however, are concealed by commercial buildings and by the narrow streets. Among many other churches, usually plain and bare of interior decoration, are the popular São Francisco de Paula church, on the square of that name; the Carmo church in Rua 1o de Março; the Cruz dos Militares church in the same street; the Rosario church in the
