440 
VOYAGE OF THE POTOMAC. 
[December, 
CHAPTER XXV. 
City of Lima — Climate and Temperature — ^View of the City from the Summit of 
San Christoval — The river Rimac — Cisterns and fountains — Absence of rain, thun- 
der, and lightning. 
For the facts which we have now to offer in regard to the 
climate of this country, and other incidental topics, we are prin- 
=cipally indebted to the work of Dr. Unanue on the " Climate of 
Lima." Our remarks, indeed, will mostly have reference to that 
city. 
Dr. Unanue divides the Cordilleras, or Andes, into four zones, — 
the torrid, temperate, frigid, and frozen. The first, which is at 
their base, commences at an elevation of about four thousand feet 
above the level of the ocean, and where the thermometer of Reau- 
mur ranges from 16° to 24°. Here there are woods and flowers, and 
aromatic gums : nature is always in action, and these are regions 
of extreme fertility. 
The second zone extends from four to twelve thousand feet 
above the same level, the medium degree of heat being 13° R., 
and the range from 9° to 16°. The two extremes of this zone are 
spring and autumn : the climate is most benignant, and the pro- 
ductions are grain and European fruits. This is the terrestrial 
paradise of Peru, and nature is liberal in her productions, even to 
profusion. 
The third zone extends from twelve to fifteen thousand feet 
above the same level. Here the aspect of the country becomes 
entirely different ; every thing is stinted and miserable ; it has been 
said with truth, that Siberia and Kamtschatka have as amiable a 
climate as the inhabitants of these summits. 
They are of small stature, with a complexion brown and parched, 
and literally " toasted by the cold ;" foreheads low, and covered 
with hair, eyes small and sunk in the head, and thus defended 
from the piercing reflection of the solar rays upon the snow. The 
thermometer ranges here at about 4° R. in the months of Maj, 
June, and July, which is at the freezing point ; during the rainy 
