170 THE ANDES OF SOUTHERN PERU 



be halted until the storm has passed. Frequently they leave the 

 ground white with hailstones. We encountered one after another 

 of these "tempestades" on the divide between Lambrama and 

 Antabamba in 1911. They are among the most impetuous little 

 storms I have ever experienced. The longest of them raged on 

 the divide from two-o'clock until dark, though in the valleys the 

 sun was shining. Fortunately, in this latitude they do not turn 

 into heavy snowstorms as in the Cordillera of northwestern 

 Argentina, where the passes are now and then blocked for weeks at 

 a time and loss of human life is no infrequent occurrence. 9 They 

 do, however, drive the shepherds down from the highest slopes to 

 the mid-valley pastures and make travel uncomfortable if not 

 unsafe. 



ABSTRACT FROM DAILY WEATHER OBSERVATIONS, SANTA LUCIA, 1913-14 



NOVEMBER 



" Tempest " recorded 11 times, distant thunder and lightning 9 times. 

 Unusual weather records: " clear sky, scorching sun, good weather" (Nov. 29) ; 

 "morning sky without a single cloud, weather agreeable" (Nov. 30). 



DECEMBER 



Clear morning sky 6 times. Starry night or part of night 7 times. 



Beginning of rain and strong wind frequently observed at 5-6 p. M. 



" Tempest " mentioned 19 times — 5 times at midnight, 8 times at 5-6 p. m. 



JANUARY 



Clear morning sky 5 times. Starry night 3 times. 



Rain, actual or threatening, characteristic of afternoons. 



" Tempest," generally about 5-6 P. m., 7 times. 



Sun described 4 times as scorching and, when without wind, heat as stifling. 



Weather once " agreeable." 



FEBRUARY 



Constant cloud changes, frequent afternoon or evening rains. 

 " Tempest," generally 4 p. m. and later, 16 times. 



• In the Eastern Cordillera, however, snowstorms may be more serious. Prior to 

 the construction of the Urubamba Valley Road by the Peruvian government the three 

 main routes to the Santa Ana portion of the valley proceeded via the passes of Salcantay, 

 Panticalla, and Yanahuara respectively. Frequently all are completely snow-blocked 

 and fatalities are by no means unknown. In 1864 for instance nine persons succumbed 

 on the Yanahuara pass (Eaimondi, op. cit., p. 109). 



