134 TOPOGRAPHY. [1839 



three regions These two ranges are called the Cordillera 

 and the Andes. Strictly speaking, the Cordillera is the chain 

 nearest the coast, and the Andes the eastern chain ; but the 

 terms are now used indiscriminately. The strip between the 

 coast and the first chain, is from sixty to seventy miles wide ; 

 some portions of it are covered with dry, barren sand ; others 

 are less arid ; and, here and there, are small oases, like that 

 in which Lima is built, which are exceedingly fertile. The 

 space inclosed between the two mountain ridges, is called 

 the Sierra. This tract is partly occupied by the cross ranges 

 intersecting the two principal chains, and by huge naked 

 rocks ; partly by wide-spread table lands, known as the Puna, 

 or Despoblddo, which are mostly uninhabited, and scantily 

 covered with sickly looking yellow grass, stunted quhiua 

 trees, and large patches of the Ratanhia shrub ; and partly 

 by expansive valleys, which make a suitable return for the 

 labor of the husbandman.* But little is known of the third 

 region, along the base of the eastern mountain chain, although 

 the old inhabitants chiefly dwelt there, and obtained from the 

 mines the metal which they manufactured into the curious 

 forms and shapes that aroused the cupidity of Pizarro and his 

 followers. 



The Peruvian coast is rugged and lofty, throughout its 

 whole extent, except in the northern provinces, where some 

 miles of a loose sandy desert occasionally intervene between 

 the high lands and the Pacific. There are but few secure har- 

 bors in the whole sixteen hundred miles of sea coast. Those 

 of Callao, Payta, Sechiira, Salina, Pisco, Islay, and Iquiqua, 

 are esteemed the best. At Truxillo and Lambaqcque, there 

 are mere open roadsteads, which, in rough weather, are ex- 

 tremely insecure. On account of the great depth of the water, 

 vessels are generally obliged to anchor within a quarter of a 

 mile of the shore. Where there are no moles, or piers, the 

 operation of landing, usually effected by means of the balsa, 

 is very dangerous, in consequence of the heavy surf occa- 



* It is very evident from the appearance of these valleys, that they once sus- 

 tained a much larger population than they now do. 



