MINOB GROUPS OP THE ANDES. 299 



from San Juan de la Frontera and San Juan de la Punta to 

 the town of Cordova. The second spur, called the Sierra 

 de Salta and the Jujui, of which the greatest breadth is 

 25 of latitude, widens from the valley of Catamarca and 

 San Miguel del Tucuman, in the direction of the Rio Vermejo 

 (longitude 64). Finally, the third, and most majestic spur, 

 the Sierra Nevada de Cochabamba and Santa Cruz (from 

 22 to 17^ of latitude), is linked with the knot of the moun- 

 tains of Porco. It forms the points of partition (divortia 

 aquarum, between the basin of the Amazon and that of the 

 Kio de la Plata. The Cachimayo and the Pilcomayo, which 

 rise between Potosi, Talavera de la Puna, and La Plata or 

 Chuquisaca, run in the direction of south-east, while the Para- 

 piti and the Guapey (Guapaiz, or Rio de Mizque), pour their 

 waters into the Mamori, to north-east. The ridge of partition 

 being near Chayanta, south of Mizque, Tomina, and Porna- 

 bamba, nearly on the southern declivity of the Sierra de 

 Cochabamba in lat. 19 and 20, the R/io Guapey flows round 

 the whole group, before it reaches the plains of the Amazon, 

 as in Europe the Poprad, a tributary of the Vistula, makes a 

 circuit in its course from the southern part of the Carpathians 

 to the plains of Poland. I have already observed above, that 

 where the mountains cease (west* of the meridian of G6-J), 

 the partition ridge of Cochabamba goes up towards the 

 north-east, to 16 of latitude, forming, by the intersection of 

 two slightly inclined planes, only one ridge amidst the savan- 

 nahs, and separating the waters of the Guapore, a tributary 

 of the Madeira, from those of the Aguapehy and Jauru, 

 tributaries of the Rio Paraguay. This vast country between 

 Sa:it;i Cruz de la Sierra, Villabella, and Matogrosso, is one 

 of the least known parts of South America. The two spurs 

 of Cordova and Salta present only a mountainous territory 

 of small elevation, and linked to the foot of the Andes of 

 Chile. Cochabamba, on the contrary, attains the limit of 

 perpetual snow (2300 toises), and forms in some sort a lateral 

 branch of the Cordilleras, diverging even from their tops 

 between La Paz andOruro. The mountains composing this 



* I agree with Captain Basil Hall, in fixing the port of Valparaiso in 

 71 31' west of Greenwich, and I place Cordova 8 40', and Santa Crui 

 de la Sierra 7 4' east of Valparaiso. The longitudes mentioned in the 

 text refer always to the meridian of the Observatory of Paris. 



