THE EASTERN CORDILLEEA OF COLOMBIA. 143 



and Bucaramanga, east and north-east towards the Venezuelan frontier, and here 

 are seen such superb peaks as the Horqueta (10,768 feet), the Paramillo (10,450), 

 and the Cerro Mina (11,000), rising above the grassy plateaux of the wesas, or 

 " tables," which have themselves a mean altitude of nearly 10,000 feet. 



Still farther south follow the crests which branch off to the Nevada de 

 Merida, forming the divide between the Magdalena, Maracaibo, and Orinoco 

 basins. Here the scenery is highly diversified with craggy heights, rich valleys 

 penetrating far into the heart of the mountains, romantic glens suspended 

 midway on the flanks of the precipitous slopes. Cachiri, culminating peak of 

 these Colombian Alps (13,780 feet), constitutes the central knot of the system, while 

 Tama (13,126) forms the frontier between the conterminous states. Westwards 

 extends the Juan Rodriguez ridge, whose passes, 11,480 feet high, are amongst 

 the most frequented in Colombia. 



The whole of the Eastern Cordillera, that is, the Suma Paz range, rises above 

 the upper line of arborescent vegetation. These paramos, or lofty crests, exposed 

 to the cold winds and snowstorms, are much dreaded even by the highlanders, 

 while travellers make immense detours to avoid them. Under the tropics the 

 body is more sensitive to alternations of heat and cold than in temperate regions, 

 and great risk is incurred by passing abruptly from the lower forest zone with a 

 temperature often exceeding 86° Fahr. to the breezy plateaux, where the glass falls 

 to 42° or 43° Fahr. Unless the circulation is kept up by great efforts the way- 

 farer is overcome by a feeling of numbness, frequently followed by death. Even 

 domestic animals suffer, and birds in cages, enveloped in wadding, perish of cold 

 in these bleak uplands. 



Tama and its paramos are separated by the deep valley of the Rio Sarare, 

 a main branch of the Apure, from the Sierra Nevada de Cocui, or de Chita, 

 which rises some 60 miles to the east of the divide near Bucaramanga. The 

 dominating crest of this lofty range is clothed with a snowy mantle about 2,000 

 feet in vertical height, above which rise five blackish domes, with an extreme 

 altitude of 16,680 feet. The snowfields, some 10 miles in extent, are flanked 

 by a vertical wall, interrupted only by a glacier, below which follows the Llano 

 Redondo, a cirque of upland pasturage, inhabited throughout the year by a 

 solitary herdsman at an altitude of 13,000 feet. 



South of the Cocui range^ the cordillera forming the divide between the 

 Orinoco and Magdalena basins falls to a mean elevation of about 10,000 feet, with 

 peaks rising at intervals to scarcely more than 3,000 feet higher. The eastern 

 slopes, scored by torrents descending to the Orinoco, are far more precipitous than 

 the opposite side, facing the western mountains and plateaux. Put the crests 

 everywhere follow in a series of long undulations, so that this section of the 

 Cordilleras nowhere presents an Alpine aspect. 



The eastern scarp of the Andean system ramifies westwards through a trans- 

 verse ridge, which skirts the north side of the old lake of Bogota, and which is 

 in reality a mere parting-line between the streams flowing to the opposite basins. 

 On both sides the space limited westwards by the Rio Magdalena is a vast chaos 



