=The Napo River=, formerly part of the boundary line between Colombia and Ecuador but now given over to Ecuador, has sources among the Ecuadorian volcanoes, Cotopaxi, Antisana, and others. At first the descent is rapid. At the foot of the Cordillera 100 miles from the source, and but 1500 feet above the sea, canoe navigation begins at the village of Napo. Sixty miles below, the Coca River comes in. This section includes the Napo missions, a beautiful region long known and visited by botanists and geologists. Here ends the influence of the Roman Church and the land of the _salvajes_ or _infieles_ begins. It was down the Coca valley that Gonzales Pizarro and Orellana came in 1540. From this point the Napo runs in forested plains, receiving many more tributaries, the large Aguarico, and the Curaray. The Napo is called navigable in high water for steamers from the Amazon about 200 miles up to the Curaray, some say to the Aguarico, 560 miles, and little less at low water. At one point the Napo is but 50 or 60 miles from the Putumayo, with which communication by canoe is possible, and often made. The route from the Putumayo to Iquitos by way of the Napo is much shorter for the rubber gatherers, as the Napo flows into the Amazon not far below that city, while the Putumayo enters it several hundred miles farther down. RIVERS OF THE COAST The Rivers of the Coast are with one exception of comparatively slight importance. =The Santiago River= (not to be confounded with the Amazon tributary of that name), a short distance from the Colombian border, is formed by several large streams, and has many tributaries, receiving its waters from high in the West Cordillera. Some of the lower reaches are navigable for canoes and steam launches. =The Esmeraldas River=, second in importance to the Guayas, rises a few miles north of Quito in the high plateau region, from which, breaking through the West Cordillera, it descends to the coast. While not navigable for steamers because of the swift current, it may be ascended by canoes for more than 60 miles. With a great number of tributaries it drains a very large mountain area as well as a slightly smaller region of lowland.