ANDES 2 



equator; the largest are in Southern Chile, on 

 the Pacific slope of the range. Both slopes 

 of the Andes, but especially the western, are 

 steep, and in the south many of the glaciers 

 descend so rapidly that they have cut down 

 the mountains far below sea level, thus pro- 

 ducing ft coast like that of Norway, with many 

 deep fiords and rocky islands. Many of the 

 glaciers in ages past actually cut their way 

 back by erosion over the crest of the range, 

 so the rivers which rise from them flow from 

 the east side of the Andes through depres- 

 sions to the Pacific. 



The rivers of the western slope are mostly 

 short and rapid, but they have little volume, 

 as the western slope, except near the equator, 

 has little rain. On the eastern slope, however, 

 rise two of the greatest river systems of the 

 world, the Amazon and the Plata, and in the 

 Northern Andes a third great river is the 

 Orinoco. 



One of the most remarkable features of 

 the Andes is a great section lying between the 

 two ranges of the Central Andes in Bolivia 

 and Northern Argentina. This is a semi-desert 

 region, at an altitude of about 13,000 feet, 

 without drainage either to the Pacific or the 

 Atlantic. Here is the famous Lake Titicaca, 

 with an outlet to Lake Poopo, which once 

 emptied into the Amazon system. The level 

 of Lake Poopo fell below its outlet and it now 

 loses its surplus waters only by evaporation. 



Natural Resources. The Andes have large 

 deposits of gold, silver, tin, lead, iron, platinum 

 and quicksilver. The name Andes is derived 

 by some authorities from anti, the native Peru- 

 vian word for copper, which is also plentiful. 

 The plant life, except in the higher altitudes, 

 is like that found elsewhere in South America. 

 The Andean rose, like the Alpine rose, is a 

 famous mountain flower. The animal life 

 shows great variety, including such South 

 American animals as the llama, chinchilla, con- 

 dor, and vampire bat. For further details, see 

 SOUTH AMERICA; also each of the countries 

 crossed by the Andes. In these the plant and 

 animal life of the various sections of the great 

 range are discussed. 



Communication and Travel. Unlike the 

 Alps, in Europe, the Andes are not traveled 

 by many people. There are few established 

 routes, and the wagon roads are almost inva- 

 riably poor. The inhabitants on the east and 

 west slopes have little intercourse with each 

 other; there are numerous passes over the 

 mountains, but most of them are narrow, steep, 



3 ANDES 



hard to cross except by experienced travelers, 

 and sometimes really dangerous. Nearly all 

 of* these passes cross at right angles to the 

 main axis of the Andes. Another factor con- 

 tributing to lack of communications has been 

 the sparsity of population. 



In the Central Andes the broken character 

 of the range has made it possible to connrrt 

 the great interior plateau and the coast by 

 two lines of railway, both of which cross the 

 mountains at an altitude of about 15,000 fcrt. 

 Here, too, there are more roads and trails 

 than elsewhere in the Andes. Nearly all of 

 the roads leading from the coast, however, rn<l 

 near the summit, and on the eastern slope, 

 where the Madeira and the Plata rivers rise, 

 there is virtually no method of communica- 

 tion. There is a short line of railway, 260 

 miles long, from Arica, Chile, to La Paz, 

 Bolivia. A more important line from Buenos 

 Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile, was com- 

 pleted in 1909, over the Uspallata Pass. Al- 

 most all transcontinental travel goes over this 

 pass, whether by train or wagon. At the sum- 

 mit of the pass stands the monument of Christ, 

 erected by Argentina and Chile to mark the 

 settlement of their boundary dispute. See 

 ARGENTINA, for illustration of this notable 

 piece of statuary. W.F.Z. 



Outline on the Ancles 



1. Location and size 



(a) West coast of Southern America 



(b) Length longest mountain system in 



the world 



(c) Average width 



(d) Average altitude 



(e) Comparative height 



2. Divisions 



(a) Southern Andes 



(b) Central Andes 



(c) Northern Andes 



3. Special features 



(a) Volcanoes and earthquakes 



(b) Glaciers 



(c) Rivers 



(d) Lakes 



4. Resources 



(a) Minerals 



(b) Vegetation 



(c) Animal life 



5. Communication 



(a) Few routes 



(b) Poor roads and dangerous passes 



(c) Railways in Central Andes 



(d) Railroad between Buenos Aires and 



Santiago 



ANDORRA, an daw' ra, or andahr' a, a re- 

 public in the Pyrenees Mountains, between 

 France and Spain. With the exception of 

 San Marino, in the heart of Italy, it is the 



