PLIOCENE FOSSIL PLANTS FROM EASTERN 

 BOLIVIA * 



By EDWARD W. BERRY 

 DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION 



The present contribution is devoted to the description of 

 late Tertiary basin deposits northeast of Cochabamba, Boliv- 

 ia, and to the discussion of the remains of a subtropical flora 

 contained in these deposits, now 11,800 feet above sea level, 

 and its bearing on the age and amount of uplift of the Andes 

 in this region. 



In a region without fuel such as is the Bolivian Andes, 

 considerable local interest was aroused by the discovery some 

 years ago, of lignite at the locality in question, and my trip 

 was made possible through the courtesy of Sefior Enrique 

 Salinas, the owner of the property, and Sefior Donate Corn- 

 ejo of Cochabamba, who entertained me for two nights at his 

 finca at Paica, in the mountains only a league from the local- 

 ity. It is a great pleasure to record the hospitality and assis- 

 tance received in this most delightful section of Bolivia. 



The Eastern Andes, or Cordillera Oriental, in Bolivia is 

 dominated by that unsurpassed series of peaks along its 

 western border from Sorata (Illampu) on the north to Illi- 

 mani on the south, which, commonly known as the Cordillera 

 Real, and well meriting the term Royal, rise to heights of 

 between 20,000 and 22,000 feet. Although this range borders 

 the Bolivian high plateau or altaplanicie on the east it forms 

 the divide. Only a single river, the La Paz, takes its origin 

 on the western slopes of this mighty mountain pass and 

 passes through it to join the Amazon system. 



The boundary between mountains and high plateau is con- 

 tinued southward from the Cordillera Real by the Quimsa 

 Cruz and Frailes which constitute the divide. East of the 



* George Huntington Williams Memorial Publication No 18. 



