il6 The Andes and the Amazons. 



the more charming from contrast with the sa\ age charac- 

 ter of the scenery around it. Like Damascus, it is a small 

 green patch redeemed from the sterility of nature by irri- 

 gation. The bi'illiant green is made intense by the dull- 

 yellow hills around it. Arequipa appears, therefore, to 

 great advantage, as it must be approached from any quar- 

 ter over a desert; and to the dusty, panting traveler this 

 strip of verdure is a land of promise. On the white hills 

 around, powdered with volcanic dust, grow solitary tufts 

 of gray cactus ; but in the watered valley stands the smil- 

 ing city, surrounded with numerous villages and farm- 

 houses, and fields of grain, clover, and potato, bordered with 

 tall willows. The valley is ten miles long by five wide. 

 The little Chile River, born on the side of Misti,is a river 

 of life : were it to dry up, Arequipa M^ould die of thirst. 



Just behind the city, and in threatening attitude, stands 

 the beautiful and, fortunately, now silent volcano of Misti. 

 Nothing can be more picturesque than the view of this 

 symmetrical mountain from the Grand Plaza, as its snowy 

 dome reflects the morning sun. It is a first-class mount- 

 ain, rising 18,538 feet. The altitude of Arequipa is 7560 

 feet,* and the climate is delightful ; although in June, 

 July, and August there is sometimes a frost, and water is 

 slightly frozen over. But scarcely any spot in Peru is 

 more famous for frequent earthquakes. The fearful shake 

 in 1868 has left indelible marks, and to-day the city pre- 

 sents a Pompeian appearance, as if the event had hap- 

 pened yesterday — demolished churches, tottering arches, 

 houses filled with rubbish, and merchants keeping shop 

 under tents in front of their ruined dwellings. The ca- 



* As deterrnined by Friesach, in 1858, by the Torricellian experiment, 

 Arequipa is 8840 feet! Pentland made Misti 18,300 feet. Chithani is 

 19,535 feet. Misti was active in 1858. and again in 1868 during the great 

 earthquake. 



