TOPOGRAPHY OF ARGENTINA. 435 



wliich the fish afforded food, wliile the water yielded a sufficient Bupply for 

 domestic use aud irrigation purposes. But however this be, a region which at one 

 time teemed with human life, is now little better than a wilderness, interesting 

 mainly to the explorer and antiquary. 



In the western valleys of Catamarca are some settlements of the industrious 

 Calchaquis, amongst others BeJcn and the neighbouring Londres, surrounded by 

 vineyards, orchards, and rose gardens. Farther west Tinogasta exports mules 

 and cattle to Copiapo, and the thermal waters of Fiamhala, higher up the valley, 

 attract visitors during the fine season. 



Towns of the Province of Rioja. 



The province of Rioja, like that of Catamarca, consists of upland Andean 

 valleys, sloping south or south-west towards the Salinas, or salt plains, limited 

 eastwards by the Cordoba Mountains. The fertility of the soil has become 

 proverbial, and no other part of Argentina yields better wheat, wine, and oranges. 

 All the land capable of being irrigated has already been brought under cultiva- 

 tion, and to extend the area of productive ground it would be necessary to 

 construct reservoirs in the upland valleys. It is claimed for the light porous, 

 soil of the plains that, where sufficiently watered, it is more productive than the 

 deep lands along the banks of the Parana, imparting a more delicate flavour to 

 the grain and fruits grown in the district. 



The city of La Rioja, founded in 1591 at the east foct of the Yelasco Moun- 

 tains, commands from its elevated terrace (1,670 feet) a wide prospect of the 

 surrounding plains. Although now connected with the Argentine railwaj^ system, 

 it has developed little trade or industry, owing to the restricted area of cultivable 

 land ; where the rivulets run out the desert begins. 



Thk CiiiLECiTo Mineral Regions. 



More prosperous is the valley lying farther west, between the Sierra de 

 Velasco and the snowy Famatina range. The town which gives its name to this 

 superb group, straggles in a continuous line of houses and gardens some nine 

 miles along the banks of a torrent to the point where the water ceases to flow. 

 Another stream, descending from the Nevado de Famatina, waters the district 

 of the more important town of Chilccito, or ViUa Argentina, which has become 

 the real industrial and commercial centre of the province. As indicated by its 

 name, " Little Chili," its population is of Chilian origin, attracted by the mineral 

 wealth of Pioja. 



Both slopes of the valley between the Velasoo and Famatina heights contain 

 deposits of gold, silver, copper, iron, and nickel ; all the streams are metalliferous, 

 some to such an extent as to be useless for irrigation purposes. In several districts 

 are seen heaps of scorisB and the ruins of rude furnaces, showing that the copper 



