need mention. In the upper part of its course, however, the smaller tributaries of both the Tagus and the Guadiana often overlap, and but a very few miles separate the Tagus itself from the waters which flow into the Guadiana. The exact source of the Guadiana has been a subject of much debate and of many fables. Its true origin seems to be in a series of lakes at the junction of the provinces of Ciudad Real and Albacete, near Montiel, in La Mancha. A picturesque stream, the Ruidosa, with many cascades and broken water, connects these lakes; but after running a few miles in a north-westerly direction, it disappears underground near Tomesillo, and is believed to rise to the surface after about twenty miles, in the Ojos (eyes) of the Guadiana, near Damiel. Very soon it receives from the right the united waters of the Zancara and the Giguela, streams whose contributions are much more scanty, especially in summer, than the length of their course on the map would lead one to suppose; thence the river flows in a westerly direction, passing near Ciudad Real, below which the Javalon enters from the left, coming from the Campo de Montiel; near Don Benito the Zuja, from the Sierra Morena, joins it, and some miles lower down the Matachet. Flowing past Medellin, five miles below Badajoz the river crosses the frontier of Portugal, changes its course from westerly to south-west, and afterwards south and south-east, till it again joins the frontier near San Lucar, and dividing the two countries till its mouth, falls into the Gulf of Cadiz at Ayamonte. In the lower part of its course the river, which before has been wide and shallow, and often almost dry in summer, narrows its course, and rushes with impetuosity through the rapids called the Salto del Lobo (the wolf's leap), near Serpa, in Portugal. The whole length of the Guadiana is estimated at 550 miles, and the area of its bed at 24,000 square miles. The rainfall is about fourteen inches.