The Chain of the Andes. 121 



(probably an ancient crater), within which is an island 

 celebrated as the cradle of the strange empire of Peru, 

 which, though crushed by Pizarro in its budding civiliza- 

 tion, ranks as the most extraordinary and extensive empire 

 in the annals of American history. The Cordillera, of 

 which Sahama, Sorata, and Illimani are the pinnacles, so 

 completely inclose this high valley that not a drop of water 

 can escape except by evaporation. At the silver mines of 

 Pasco the Andes throw off a third Cordillera, and with this 

 triple arrangement and a lower altitude, enter the republic 

 of Ecuador. There they resume the double line, and sur- 

 pass their former magnificence. Twenty volcanoes, pre- 

 sided over by the princely Chimborazo and Cotopaxi, rise 

 out of a sublime congregation of mountains surroundina: 

 the famous valley of Quito. In New Granada there is a 

 final and unique display of Andine grandeur : the Cordil 

 leras combine just above the equator into one dizzy ridge, 

 and then spread out like a fan, or, rather, like the grace- 

 ful branches of the palm. One sierra bends to the east, 

 holding in its lap the city of Bogota, and, rolling off a thou- 

 sand streams to swell the Orinoco, terminates in the beau- 

 tiful mountains of Caracas ; the central range culminates 

 in the volcanic Tolima,* but is soon lost in the Caribbean 

 Sea ; the western chain turns to the left, humbling itself 

 as it threads the narrow isthmus, and expands into the 

 level table-land of Mexico. You may cross Mexico from 

 ocean to ocean in a carriage, but no wheeled vehicle ever 

 crossed South America. 



We will now speak more particularly of the Andes of 

 the equator. The mountain chain is built up of granite, 

 gneissoid, and schistose rocks, often in vertical position, and 



* This is the loftiest summit of the Andes in the northern hemisphere, be- 

 ing 18,200 feet. It is also remarkable for being situated farther from the 

 sea (120 miles) than any other active volcano. 



