﻿NO. 2 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I924 63 



passes over a high plain, gradually ascends from 12,500 to 13.500 

 feet, then abruptly descends into a bowl or valley to La Paz at 12,000 

 feet. It is a very striking experience to come suddenly to the edge of 

 the plain and look down 1,500 feet on the beautiful city below. 



From La Paz a four-day journey by mule was made to the great 

 mountain mass, Illimani, about 25 miles nearly east of the city. This 

 snow-capped mountain is a beautiful sight from La Paz and dom- 

 inates the landscape much as do Rainer and Shasta in this country. 

 The peak is about 22,000 feet in altitude (6,619 meters) but was 

 ascended only to snowline, about 16,000 feet. 



A second journey from La Paz was to the Yungas, a region in the 

 niontanas (forested region) north of the city but on the Amazon 

 slope of the Cordillera. The trip was made in company with Dr. Otto 

 Buchtien, the well-known German botanist, long resident in Bolivia, 

 who has done so much work on the plants of that country. A railroad 

 takes one over a pass at about 15.000 feet to Pongo (about 12,000 

 feet), the present terminus of the road which is under construction 

 into the Yungas. Through the courtesy of the director of the rail- 

 road, mules were furnished for a week's travel down through the 

 provinces of Nor- Yungas and Sur- Yungas to Chulumani and Coroico. 

 This region is the center of the coca industry of Bolivia. The leaves 

 of the coca shrub (not to be confused with cacao or chocolate tree, 

 nor with the coconut palm) are much used by the Indians as a 

 stimulant. The leaves are mixed with a paste of ashes and chewed. 

 The leaves also form an important article of export as they are 

 the source of the drug cocaine. 



After leaving La Paz a journey was made to Cochabamba, a rich 

 agricultural district toward the east on the slope from the main 

 Bolivian plateau. The last expedition was made through, the aid of 

 the Ulen Contracting Corporation which is constructing a railroad 

 from Uyuni in southern Bolivia on the main line from La Paz to 

 Antofagasta, Chile, to Villazon on the Argentine border where it will 

 join the Argentine system. The road is now in use as far as Atocha 

 and ultimately will complete the line from La Paz to Buenos Aires. 

 Ten days were spent on a mule-back round trip from Atocha to 

 La Quiaca, the northernmost town in Argentina. 



The return home was made from Antofagasta. arriving in New 

 York February 16, 1924. 



The region visited consists topographically and climatically of three 

 main divisions. There is a coastal plain mostly not more than 100 

 miles in width extending all along the coast. In northern Ecuador 



