330 SOUTH AMERICA— THE ANDES REGIONS. 



The railway climbs the slopes in zigzags, a distance of 100 miles, to Arequipa 

 at an altitude of 7,650 feet, the mean incline scarcely exceeding half an inch in 

 the yard. After turning the Caldera hills on the west it curves round east, and 

 continues the ascent along the Rio Yitor. The city stands in the centre of a 

 fertile plain 12 miles in circumference, covered with maize and lucerne fields, 

 and dominated by the superb cone of Misti. 



Villa Ilcnnosa, the Spanish settlement founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1540, 

 near the Indian town of Arequipa, claims to be the first city in Peru, not for 

 extent or population, but for its industrial spirit, the literary and artistic taste of 

 the inhabitants, the charm and intelligence of the women. But it is exposed to 

 frequent earthquakes, by one of which it was nearly destroyed in 1868 ; it has also 

 suffered much from sieges and revolutions, being the great southern rival of the 

 northern metropolis. 



Numerous villages scattered over the environments serve as rural retreats for 

 the wealthy citizens of Arequipa during the so-called " winter " season, from 

 December to May, when the arid plains are refreshed by light showers. Such are 

 Bellaiista in the south-west, and Tingo in the south, both connected with the city 

 by fine avenues ; Sabaiidia in the east ; Tiahaya and JJchumayo at the head of the 

 Mollendo aqueduct in the west. The neighbouring eminence of Carmen Alto, on 

 the right bank of the sparkling Hio Chili, is now crowned with an observatory, 

 8,050 feet high, due to the efforts of Pickering of Harvard University. Thanks 

 to the rarity of the air observers are enabled to pursue their researches with little 

 interruption throughout the whole year. They have already made some remark- 

 able studies of the planet Mars, and when all the apparatus is set up Carmen Alto 

 will be the most important observatory in the southern hemisphere. On the 

 summit of Chachani a meteorological station has also been established, at an 

 altitude of 16,280 feet, 2,140 feet higher than that of Pike's Peak, hitherto the 

 most elevated on the globe. 



Calera — Moquegua. 



Beyond Arequipa the railway continues to ascend the slopes, crossing the Chili 

 gorges below the magnificent bridge, regarded as a marvel of art by the Arequi- 

 peilos, then mounting to a lateral valley of the Bio Vitor at Calera, and farther 

 ofi to the thermal waters of Yura (9,430 feet). After sweeping in a great curve 

 round Mount Chachani it enters the upper Sumbay (Chili) valley, whence it 

 reaches the culminating point at Crucero Alto (14,640 feet), where many of the 

 passengers are often taken with mountain-sickness. Here begins the descent 

 towards Lake Titicaca, a closed basin which may be regarded as belonging 

 geologically to the Amazonian slope. 



In the desolate southern province of Moquegua the only seaport is llo, at the 

 mouth of the Ho gorge, where Coles Point affords a little shelter from the south 

 wind. Moquegua, capital of the province, stands near the source of the same 

 torrent, 4,490 feet above the sea. Like lea it is surrounded by vineyards, and 

 occuj)ies an oasis noted for the excellence of its produce. 



