226 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



Darwin was among the first to record observations relative to tlie 

 coast of Peru. He noted the many old shore line beaches now standing 

 at various elevations above the present sea level. The same facts were 

 noted later by D'Orbigny. The occurrence of "kitchen middens" was 

 recognized at various points. They appeared to be associated with the 

 ancient beaches, thus suggesting that elevation had actually taken place 

 since the accumulation of the shell heaps. The writer has seen between 

 the mouth of the Bio Grande and Lomas as many as five well-defined old 

 shore lines or beaches occurring in succession, the highest one being 

 approximately some sixty feet above sea level. 



I find also that a geographical map of a portion of southern Peru, 

 together with a portion of Bolivia and Chile, has been prepared by one 

 Mr. Pentland, but to date I have been unable to locate it or any of his 

 written contributions on the geography of the above section. 



Pissis and D'Orbigny were the first to contribute detailed geological 

 and indirectly geographical information concerning southern Peru and 

 the adjacent republics. Both these men constructed cross sections of the 

 Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, the section starting at the coast near Tacna 

 and ending on the east slope of the East Cordillera to the east of La Paz. 

 Some years later Forbes went over the same ground and likewise con- 

 structed a cross section. While the same type of relief is expressed in all 

 these sections, the classification of the formations, based in part upon 

 lithological and in part upon paleontological data, differs very widely in 

 each case. The sections prepared by these men may be seen in the now 

 rare publication of the Geographical Society of La Paz, Bolivia. 



Among the later pioneer naturalists who did much serious work in 

 Peru was one Seiior Eaimondi, an Italian by birth. He came to Peru, 

 bringing with him the training of an Italian institution and that pro- 

 found interest in his field of investigation that is always sure to produce 

 invaluable results. Eaimondi was the Agassiz of Peru. Among his 

 first efforts was the preparation of a topographic map of Peru; and to 

 date it is the only map possessed by the republic and officially accepted 

 by the government. The writings of Eaimondi are likewise voluminous. 

 While collecting his map data he likewise accumulated a mass of infor- 

 mation relative to the geology, mineralogy, zoology and botany of the 

 entire country. The results of his investigations were published in a 

 series of volumes by the Peruvian government. 



Another source of information is to be found in the publications of 

 the Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Minas, a department of the government in- 

 stituted by Sr. Jose Balta for collecting information concerniDg the 

 natural resources of the republic, such as mines and mine production, the 



