South-east of this chain, between the headwaters of the Parana and Sao Francisco, are the Serra da Canastra and Serra da Matta da Corde, an irregular chain of moderate elevation running north and south.
The latter rises on the western slopes of the Serra da Matta da Corde, and one of its northern tributaries has its source in a "knot" of the Serra dos Pyreneos, from which streams flow eastward to the Sao Francisco and northward to the Tocantins.
This division is not so clearly marked in the south, especially in the "matta" (forest) regions, where the rainfall ranges from 59 to 65 in.
The eastern range of this central system, which crosses western Minas Geraes from the so-called Serra das Vertentes to the valley of the Paracatu, a western tributary of the Sao Francisco, is called the Serra da Canastra and Serra da Matta da Corde.
