

ACQUL 



Ut.cct. SI' 90* nd M- 20- S. lat. 

 X. exceed* ISO mile*; 

 _itaod* t the crort of the Andea, 

 the width u about 100 mile*. The are* 



M. 1U U1h 

 tmrfc I!M *a*t h aymlao* ej 



t *_ nrfc-L -V *iat *fc--* Pau^Af tike) 



W^liTn..!. thVpopuUUoD in 1847 wa. Vl.OM. 

 U UM IMM Vf Ik* And, which wparate* thi* province from the 

 Aja*i*lr*fcMe of **>do*a, i* the volcanic Peak of Aconcagua, 

 which ha. i 



i he* give* h. i 

 Th. Peak of/ 



, to the department and to ita principal river. 



-, I u, U JS.IOO teet above 



Ik* high art of all known volcaooe* ; it U 

 ve to* ea-level Kr-.m the Andc* many 



I naMraaoff westward, which ar very high near the Cordillera*; 

 rowlower in proceed***, farther wet. but eren at a distance of 

 a few auk- from UM ahoreTof th* Pacific their deration rarely sink* 



' 



befow JMOO feet, and often cxoeed* 8000 feet The ooact itself U 

 (^arallyboU and high, barrn and unintererting. Between the lateral 

 raagea, which traverse the country, are a few cultivated valleys. The 



I of th**e valleys, which receive their name* from the 

 rinn that drun them, art Quilimari, l^gotomo, La Ligua (these open 

 into eaeh other Dear th* ahora* of the Pacific), and Aconcagua. The 

 three tret an of moderate extent, but the valley of the Aconcagua 

 If movtly 2 or S mile* wide, and expand* near its middle to a 

 fli 1 !!. IS mile* in length and IS milei wide. Where the plain con- 

 tract, again, at iu wc*tern extremity, the valley of the river Putaendo 

 open* into it from the north. Thi* valley, though lea* wide than that 

 of the Aconcagua. U yet of conaiderable extent, and both together 

 ooartein probably two-thinU of the population of the province. Its 

 i. rather fertile, and the greatest part may be irrigated ; the cul- 

 i* extenaive. The eropi generally raised are wheat, maize, 

 na, and other garden produce. Orchards 

 ixyard* are numerou* ; lucerne 'u town to a great extent fur 

 fattening cattle and lor their maintenance during the winter. In 

 annUMC cattle And excellent paituret on the declivities of the Andes, 

 which ho* daring foar or five month* are covered with snow. 

 Hemp i* al*o eultivatUii some part* of the valleys. Great quantities 

 of apple*, peara, peaohea, nectarine*, fig*, walnuts, miucatol grapes, and 

 tnwberne* are ant to Santiago and Valparaiso. The sugar-cane is 

 cultivated in the valley of La Ligua, but no sugar is made, the green 



. 



' : 



The hill, and mountain*, which indoee the valleys and cover by far 

 UM gi eater portion of UM surface of the country, are stony, mostly 

 round-topped, and of gentle slope, except toward* the Andes where 

 they are steep. Their eoil consul* of a hard red clay, which is thinly 

 covered with a few biube* and stunted trees, and many cactuses. The 

 ravine* present a few eieigiueu tree* and shrub*. The nature of the 

 eoO and the *carcity of rain combine to render these hills nearly use- 

 be* a* paetare ground. In eome place* however near the coast there 

 i more fertile tracts, on which wheat is raised without irriga- 



tion. They are found on the gentle dopes of the hill*, and have 

 mostly a etUf clayey mil and a mbaoil moistened by springs so 

 malt a* never to iene from the surface. These tracts arc distinguished 



: / ' ! .,N.,nti:v of 



corn raieed is not great 

 trieta north 



metals are gold and copper, 

 of the Taller of Aconcagua; i 

 HfToandingfetorcaatLaLip 



Oold is found in the dig- 

 it is collected chit-fly in the 

 at La Ligua and La Donnida. Cop|>er 



ore* an met with in most parte of the province, but mines are worked 

 etJir in th* mountain, new the aea-ooait 



Th* climate of this country diner* consideraMy in .lifTcrent parts. 

 On UM coast, in UM northern district*, there is somewhat lees rain than 

 in the Duthern ; hot even here there are seldom more than fourteen 



ramr day* in the year. 

 "therm breac* alwa 



In *amm*r the heat i* not excessive, a* a fresh 

 alay* prevails, by which it is moderated. In the 

 and especially in the wider part of the valley of Aconcagua, 

 deh to about SMO bet above the am, no rain falls, but in winter 

 (Jaae and July) there ere henry dewa, which appear as a hoar-frost 

 The dm at thi* **e*on are very plea*ant 1 n summer the heat U here 

 Me.rn.th* thermometer frequently rimng above 90' in the shade. 

 2?** ** blowing alone UM coast are interrupted by the 

 unerrentaf axxnlama, and a dead calm prevail* during the day l.u- 

 i.eoo.Mrhe.lhe eon diaappeared than a delightful current of air 

 eow* from UM weHwanl toward* UM Cordilleras, which renders the 

 Ha** and nicfau very pleaeant Thus the climate of this valley 

 i U that ? UM tnithrra part* of Itely. The acarcity of rain 

 render* eeJUvetnei impomhl. without irrigation. 



"rj W no port*. The ooaet ha* no indentation* of any 



SiiTT^ T* ** WUred ft" t>> heavy swell which 

 .r fmtn lluanutk., -- - 



"JT f *" .P *" 1 "*. I** nort of thoe* in chili, 



^ T^O^^ lerf n ",, I ' U P : " """* "> ** f""-" 

 UtoiforiJI. In the centre to the Plex. or 



" h ^" flin "" 1 ' J * ttMdral or 

 Ml therewith ; a second ride to formed 



by the Cabildo or municipal offices ; on the other aide*, which iu 

 moat instances are fronted with piazzas, are the theatre, coffee-house*, 

 and the principal shops. The area of the Plaza serves frequently 

 during the early part of thc'day a* a fruit and vegetable mark. 

 the evening it form* a fashionable promenade ; and during all p 

 and religious festival* it i* the great centre of attr 

 Plaza branch oil th.- piin.-ipal streets, straight, wide, regular, and 

 oroeeed by other* at right angle* and at measured interval*. The 

 houses, as i* usual in countries subject to earthquakes, are only one 

 story high ; they are built of sun-dried bricks, and in the Spanish 

 fashion. Toward* the street they present generally a blank 

 pierced only by a wide doorway or gate leading into a pat, 

 yard, on which the principal apartment* open, 1 

 there is another, round which the private apartments are Inult, and 



I this even another quadrangle, containing the kitchen and 

 servants' room*. Tho patios are frequently roofed 

 work, along which vines are trained to grow; and wh 

 abundant there i* a pond or a jet-d'eau, or both, in the centre. To go 

 from one part of the house to another the patio mint lie crossed. 

 When we have added that each house ha* a gar 



it, an idea may be formed of the great red by a town of 



even a small population. Another distinguishing these 



towns is the Alameda, or public walk. This consist* mostly of 

 alleys formed by trees regularly planted near a river, and on 

 site- as to command a succession of picturesque or sub 

 Near the Alameda is the exercising ground for militia or military 

 parades. The streets seem to foreigners dull and lifeless in general ; the 

 Plaza and the Alameda, during the hours when they a 

 the chief sources of amusement and gratification, anil tli 

 afford in a high degree; as during the hours of recreation in tli 

 ing the whole population, rich and poor, flock thither, with the 

 exception of the very old or very young, who ho mnify 



themselves by enjoying the fresh air on the flat roofs of the 1 



', of the pr .-.I on th, 



right bank of the Aconcagua, at a . from 



Santiago, the capital of Chili, and the same di-tan.-. \V. by S. from 

 the Peak of Aconcagua, has about 13,000 inhabitants. ^anta-Kuta, 

 20 miles higher up the river, and K.S.I"., of San-Felipe, li:n :: 

 lation of 6000. Petorca, situated 5o mil. s X. by W. from San I 

 in the richest mining district of the province, is a small pl-i. . . with 

 hardly more than 1000 inhabitants. 



The road from Santiago to San-Felipe crosses the range of hills 

 called Cuesta-de-Cachabuco at the height of 2890 f. >ie sea, 



and is continued northward through Petorca to La Serena. Ah 

 road leads down the valley of the Aconcagua through (Jni! 1 

 Valparaiso, distant about 60 miles. The communication with th. 

 Argentine provinces is kept up chiefly by the road up th. valley of the 

 Aconcagua and across the And.-- l.y the Pass of La Cumbrc (12,454 

 feet above the sea) through Uspallata to Mendo/a. Another 

 branching off from the northern road a) ..f San-Antonio, 



about 10 miles N. from San-Felipe, and running up the left bank of 



aendo, crosses the Andes by the Patos Pass, and leads to the 

 Argentine town and province of San-Juan. The road by the Cuuibrc 

 Pas* is open for mules from November to the end of May ; for the rest 

 of the year it is closed to all but foot-passengers, and the cros.-r 



ry dangerous. It was by the I'ato.- I'a-n- U 

 Martin marched over the Andes into Chili with the army of Ji 

 Ayresin 1817. 



/ ' I'lntn ; Meycn's Reut v, 



1'oppig 's I!" I'm Amatonenjtti.' 



Jiutiioi Ayrrt ami lln 1'runncet of La Plata ; Surrryhnj \'tiynyi* 



ACQUAPBHDENTE, a town in ' 



of Tuscany, on the high road from Florence to Home, in 42" 46' N. lat, 

 il .'>J K. long. The name is derived from the fall . m th.- 



rock on which the town i< built on u steep hill which 



above the river Paglia,and is surrounded by wall-, (iirolanio Kabri/.io, 

 a celebrated anatomist and professor atl'adtm in (he Kth . . -ntury, 

 wa* a native of this town. It was but an insignificant place until 

 1660, w ujr razed to tin- i round tin 



bouring town of Castro, -. >op bad been murdered, t ran - 



thn aee to Adiuapcndeute. Th.- :1 dull; it 



belongs to the delegation or province of Viterbo.andisTOniiles X.X.W. 



It contains a cathedral, and about 21' nt*. 



Ar'yL'l, a province of 1'iedniont, in tl.e administrative division of 



:i (lie northern side of tlu> Lignriaii Apennii: 

 ramification* of which run northwardB until they slope down ii. 

 great valley of th.- I'--. T!..- r,..i-m Im. the Err 



minor rivers, or rather torrent*, wfaion tin- in the main ridge of the 



How between the-- 



vvl.i.h is the great affluent of tli, I province of 



HiK'li or I'ppcr Monferrato, licing part 

 <irate of thn .-.as annexed to the don i 



The country producen some com and niii.-li 

 The lower hills are planted with vim . 



MI at Turin and Genoa by the name of 



The mountains are partly c.... i. ,1 will. ' rccs, which 



supply an article of common food for the peasantry. The rearing of 



