353 



ANDES. 



ANDES. 



351 



without trees, and vegetation occurs only in the ravines on its western 

 declivity. The eastern chain also is without vegetation towards the 

 valley of the Desaguadero, but on its eastern declivity there are 

 forests. 



The mountain region which lies at the back of the Eastern Cordil- 

 lera is traversed by a chain of mountains, which near 17 25' S. lat. 

 branches off from the range, and running eastward terminates not far 

 from the town of Santa Cruz, on the Guapahi ; it is called Sierra de 

 Santa Cruz, and also the Sierra de Cochabamba. lu its western parts 

 it is very high, and near the town of Cochabamba one of its summits, 

 called Nevado de Tinacra, rises above the snow-line, but from this point 

 the height gradually decreases. The country which lies south of this 

 range is traversed from west to east by several lower ridges, which have 

 an average elevation of about 10,000 feet above the sea, and termi- 

 nate in the plains that extend along the right bank of the Paraguay. 

 Many of the long valleys thus formed are very fertile, temperate, 

 populous, and well cultivated. North of the Sierra de Santa Cruz 

 the Andes descend with a steep declivity, and their offsets are short, 

 extending hardly 10 or 12 miles from the principal range. The narrow 

 valleys between them exhibit an uncommon degree of luxuriance in 

 their vegetation, but are less cultivated on account of the oppressive 

 heat in summer and the excessive rains. In the forests that clothe the 

 elopes of the mountains cinchona-trees abound, from which Jesuit's 

 Bark is obtained. 



The most frequented passes over the Western Cordillera are the 

 pass of Gualillas, near 17 50' S. lat., which rises to 17,820 feet ; the 

 pass over the Altos de los Huescos, at the foot of the volcano of 

 Arequipa, near 16 21' S. lat., and at a height of 13,573 feet above 

 the sea; and the pass over the Altos de Toledo, about 16 2', which 

 attains 15,528 feet in height : the roads across these passes abut on a 

 road that runs along the western shore of the lake Titicaca, and over 

 the Andes of Vilcanota, and connects the valley of Desaguadero with 

 the town of Cuzco. Numerous roads traverse the central part of the 

 table-land of the Desaguadero and the mineral region about the city 

 of Potogi, connecting the valley with the countries lying south and 

 east of it by pauses averaging 1 4, 000 feet in height The pass between the 

 village of Sorata and the auriferous valley of Tipuani, which skirts the 

 foot of the Nevado of Sorata, reaches nearly to 16,000 feet. A road 

 leads southward from Potosi through Tucuman and Cordova to Buenos 

 Ayres. 



The Peruvian Andet extend from 15 to 5 S. lat, and it does not 

 appear that any volcano occurs in all this space. Their western edge 

 is formed by a continuous range, which however does not lie in the 

 game direction throughout its whole length. Near 18 8. lat. the 

 western coast of South America turns to the west of north-west, and 

 at 14 S. lat. to the north of north-west. The western edge of the 

 mountains runs parallel to the shores of the Pacific ; and thus we find 

 that the mountains between 18 and 14 run west of north-west, and 

 farther north they extend in the direction of north of north-west, but 

 at the northern extremity, between 6 and 5 S. lat., they lie south 

 and north. The distance between the base of the mountains and the 

 sea varies between 20 and 50 miles. The Eastern Cordillera of the 

 Bolivian Andes continues without interruption northward to 13 S. 

 lat, and preserves its grand character, being composed of an almost 

 uninterrupted aeries of snowy peaks, which terminate with the Nevado 

 of Sacantahi, in 13 10' S. lat. Farther north the boundary-line 

 between the mountains and the plains lying farther east is not exactly 

 known ; it seems however to be formed by a range of mountains, 

 which runs directly north-west, and joins the table-land of Pasco, near 

 10 45 S. lat., 75 W. long. This range however does not constitute 

 a continuous chain, being broken by deep depressions, traversed by 

 the principal branches of the Ucayali, the Apurimac and Yucay. 

 The space inclosed by the two chains of the Peruvian Andes, south 

 of the table-land of Pasco, together with the ranges themselves, is 

 from 100 to 130 miles across. The table-land of Pasco, which is 

 situated between 11 10' and 10.30' S. lat., unites both ranges. North 

 of it the mountain region of Northern Peru includes the vale of the 

 Huallaga, and its eastern boundary must be fixed on the range of 

 mountains which divides that valley from the flat and low countries 

 on both sides of the Ucayali, and terminates south of 6 S. lat., at the 

 Pongo de Huallaga. The area of the countries covered by the ranges 

 of the Peruvian Andes, and their intervening valleys, may be estimated 

 at 75,000 square miles. 



The Peruvian Andes in general do not rise to such an elevation as 

 the Bolivian Andes. In the western chain, near 15 S. lat., a con- 

 siderable portion of the range is covered with snow. South-east of 

 Lima the Toldo de Neve rises above the snow-line. Between 11 30' 

 and 11 S. lat. is the elevated summit called La Viuda, which attains 

 15,968 feet above the sea-level, and the nevados of Pelagotas, Mayapota, 

 and Huaylillas. Between the last-mentioned pinnacle and Chimborazo 

 in Ecuador none of the summits of this chain attain the snow-line. 

 In the ranges constituting the eastern edge of the mountain region in 

 Peru no snow-capped mountain occurs north of the Nevadode Sacantahi. 



The country lying between the two chains south of 11 consists 

 properly of two inclined plains, sloping down from the Andes of 

 Vilcanota and the table-land of Pasco, and intersecting near 12 S. lat. 

 in the water-line of the Mataro, a feeder of the Apurimac. The 

 w.utliern plains lie at a great elevation, the town of Cuzco being 



CEOO. Div. VOL. I. 



11,380 feet above the sea. But though not much more than 1000 

 feet lower than the vale of the Desaguadero several plants are raised, 

 and wheat and even Indian corn are grown. Farther north the 

 country lowers considerably, and the sugar-cane and several inter- 

 tropical plants and roots are cultivated. The surface of this inclined 

 plain is not level, but traversed by several ridges of hills running from 

 south to north, and rising some hundred feet above their bases : the 

 valleys between these ridges are several miles wide, and possess com- 

 monly a great degree of fertility. The northern plain has a similar 

 surface. Contiguous to the western chain it forms an undulating 

 valley 40 miles wide, which is drained by the river Jauja, and which 

 on account of its fertility is one of the most populous and best culti- 

 vated districts in Peru. In the lower part of this valley the sugar-cane 

 succeeds very well, whilst the higher produces cereals and fruits in 

 abundance. The Jauja seems to be the head-stream of the Mataro, 

 itself a feeder of the Apurimac. 



The table-land of Pasco, which extends between the two ranges, is 

 the highest part of the Andes which is inhabited, and would have 

 remained a desert were it not for the rich mines it possesses. It 

 extends from south-west to north-east about 60 miles or a little more, 

 but its extent from south-east to north-west is not known. Its sur- 

 face presents several low but steep ridges of hills, with level grounds 

 between them. These level tracts are about 14,000 feet above the 

 sea, or about 1500 feet lower than the snow-line in this part of the 

 Andes. The climate is exceedingly cold all the year round, and 

 unfavourable to any kind of cultivation. It has only pastures for 

 llamas and sheep. In the numerous and deep lakes which cover a 

 considerable part of its surface rise the Maranou, the Huallaga, and 

 the Ucayali. 



The northern portion of the Peruvian Andes consists of three Cor- 

 dilleras, of which the western contains the nevados before mentioned. 

 The central chain is connected with the table-land of Pasco, and runs 

 parallel with the western range as far north as 7 S. lat., and the 

 highest parts of the two chains are about 50 milesapart. North of 

 7 S. lat. this range runs north-east to its termination on the banks of 

 the Amazonas, opposite the Pongo of Manseriche. [AMAZONAS.] In 

 the northern portion of the central range a few summits occur which 

 rise above the snow-line. The Eastern Cordillera is connected with 

 the mountain system on the eastern border of the table-laud of Pasco ; 

 it runs in a direction parallel to the central range. It terminates at 

 the Pongo de Huallaga, near C S. lat., opposite an offset of the 

 central range, which here comes close up to the Huallaga. Tlie 

 highest summits in this range occur near the table-land of Pasco, but 

 probably none of them rises to 12,000 feet; towards the north they 

 sink down to the elevation of hills. 



Of the two valleys inclosed by these three ranges the western, or 

 that of the Maranon, is very, narrow in its southern parts ; and the 

 river forms in it a continuous series of rapids and falls until it arrives 

 at 8 S. lat, where it enters a wider valley, which spreads out to 20 miles 

 in width. This wider valley gradually subsides from 3000 feet to 2000 

 feet above the sea-level. Its climate is consequently very hot, and its 

 tolerably fertile soil is capable of producing all intertropical plants 

 and fruits. The eastern valley is drained by the Huallaga. It slopes 

 very rapidly; at 10 S. lat. it probably is less than 5000 feet above 

 the sea-level, and at 9 not more than 2000 feet. The valley of 

 the Huallaga resembles that of the Maranon in its width; in the 

 nature of its sin-face, which is traversed by several offsets from the 

 inclosing ranges, but contains nevertheless large tracts of level or 

 undulating ground ; and in its fertility, climate, and productions. 



The Western Cordillera of the Andes is almost entirely destitute or 

 trees, the central range is also rather bare, but the eastern range, 

 especially on its eastern declivity, is clothed with interminable forests 

 of high trees, among which the cinchona or Jesuit's Bark tree abound.*. 

 As regards their agricultural produce, the Peruvian Andes are divided 

 into three regions. The lowest, or the region of intertropical pro- 

 ductions, ascends on the slope towards the Pacific not more than 

 2000 feet above the sea-level, but in the valleys of the mountain region 

 it rises to from 4000 to 6000 feet, probably on account of the greater 

 heat which is experienced in them, and also on account of the rain, 

 which is rather abundant. The cultivated grains of this region are 

 rice and Indian corn ; of other products the most extensively cultivated 

 are plantains and bananas, mandioc, yams, sweet potatoes, and sugar- 

 canes. The most common fruit-trees are vines, anonas, pine-apples, 

 papaws, and a kind of pear called chirimoya: to which must be added 

 coffee and cacao. The next region is that of the cereals, which on the 

 slope towards the Pacific rises in a few places only above 10,000 

 feet, but in the valleys and on the table-lands to 12,000 feet and 

 upwards. The cultivated grains are wheat, barley, and Indian corn, 

 potatoes, aracacha root, and several kinds of pulse. The fruit-trees 

 are those of Europe, among which the peach thrives best. Above 

 this region the number of agricultural plants is very limited. Only 

 one kind of grain, the quinoa, is cultivated, and though barley is grown 

 it does not ripen, and is used green as fodder for animals. Potatoes 

 and onions succeed at an elevation of more than 13,000 feet above 

 the level of the sea. 



The most frequented roads across the Peruvian Andes, proceeding 

 from south to north, are the road leading from Arequipa to the valley 

 of the Apurimac, by the pass of Laguuillas (near 15 S. laO, 15,613 feet 



2 A 



