through the outer range from their distant sources in the snowy
Cordillera, and have a perennial supply of water. There are 9
leagues of desert between the Nepena and Casma, 16 between the
Casnia and Huarmey, and 18 between the Huarmey and Fortaleza.
The latter desert, much of which is loose sand, is called the Pampa
de Mata Cavallos, from the number of exhausted animals which die
there Between the Supé and Pativilca is the desert called the
Pampa del Medio Mundo. (4) The next coast-section extends for
over 300 m., from Chancay to Nasca, and includes the rivers of
Chancay or Lacha, of Carabayllo, Rimac, Lurin, Mala, Canete,
Chrncha, Pisco or Chunchanga, Ica and Rio Grande. Here the
maritime range approaches the ocean, leaving a narrower strip of
coast, but the fertile valleys are closer and more numerous. Those
of Larabayllo and Rimac are connected, and the view from the Bay
of Callao extends over a vast expanse of fertile plain bounded by
the Andes, with the white towers of Lima in a setting of verdure.
Lurin and Mala are smaller valleys, but the great vale of Canete
is one green sheet of sugar-cane; and narrow strips of desert separate
it from the fertile plain of Chincha, and Chricha from the famous
vineyards of Pisco. The valleys of Ica, Palpa, San Xavier and Nasca
are rich and fertile, though they do not extend to the sea; but between
Nasca and Acarr there is a desert 60 m. in width. (5) The Arequipa
and Tacna section extends over 350 m. and comprises the valleys of
Acari, Atequipa, Atico, Ocoña, Majes or Camana, Qurlca, with the
interior valley of Arequipa, Tambo, Ilo or Moquegua, Ité or Locumba,
Sanra, Tacna, and Azapa or Arica. Here the Western Cordillera
recedes, and the important valley of Arequipa, though on its western
slope, is 7000 ft. above the sea and 90 m. from the coast. Most
of the rivers here have their sources in the central range, and are
well supplied with water The coast-valleys through which they
flow, especially those of Majes and Locumba, are famous for their
vineyards, and in the valley of Tambo there are extensive olive
plantations.
The coast of Peru has few protected anchorages, and the headlands are generally abrupt and lofty. These and the few islands are frequented by sea-birds, whence come the guano-deposits, the retention of ammonia and other fertilizing properties being due to the absence of rain. The islets 05 the coast are all barren and rocky.Islands.
The most northern is Foca, in 5° 13′ 30″ S., near the coast to the south of Parta. The islands of Lobos de Tierra and Lobos de Afuera (2) in 6° 27′ 45″ S. and 6° 56′ 45″ S. respectively, are off the desert of Sechura, and contain deposits of guano. The two Afuera islands are 60 and 36 m. respectively from the coast at the port of San José The islets of Macabi, in 7° 49′ 20″ S., also have guano deposits, now practically exhausted. The two islets of Guafiape, surrounded by many rocks, in 8° 34′ S., contain rich deposits. Chao rises 450 ft. above the sea, off the coast, in 8° 46′ 30″ S. Corcobado is in 8° 57′ S. La Viuda is off the port of Casma, in 9° 23′ 30″ S.; and Tortuga is 2 m. distant to the north. Santa Islet lies off the bay of Cosca, in 9° 1′ 40″, and the three hrgh rocks of Ferrol in 9° 8′ 30″ S. Farther south there rs the group of islets and rocks called Huaura, in 11° 27′ S., the chief of which are El Pelado, Tambillo, Chiquitana, Bravo, Quitacalzones and Mazorque. The Hormigas are in 11° 4′ S. and 11° 58′, and the Pescadores in 11° 47′ S. The island of San Lorenzo, in 12° 4′ S., is a lofty mass, 412 m. long by 1 broad, forming the Bay of Callao; its highest point is 1050 ft. Off its south-east end lies a small but lofty islet called Fronton, and to the south-west are the Palomitas Rocks. Horadada Islet, with a hole through it, is to the south of Callao Point. Off the valley of Lurin are the Pachacamac Islands, the most northern and largest being half a mile long The next, called San Francisco, is like a sugar-loaf, perfectly rounded at the top. The others are mere rocks. Asia Island is farther south, 17 m. north-west of Cerro Azul, and about a mile in circuit. Pisco Ba contains San Gallan Island, high, with a bold cliff outline, 212 m. long by 1 broad, the Ballista Islets, and farther north the three famous Chincha Islands, whose vast guano deposits are now exhausted. South of the entrance to Pisco Bay is Zarate Island, and farther south the white level islet of Santa Rosa. The Infiernillo rock is quite black, about 50 ft. high, in the form of a sugar-loaf, a mile west of the point of Santa Maria, which is near the mouth of the Ica river. Alacran is a small islet off the lofty “morro” of Arica. All these rocks and islets are barren and uninhabitable. The more common sea-birds are the Sula variegata or guano-bird, a large gull called the Larus modestus, the Pelecanus thayus, and the Sterna Ynca, a beautiful tern with curved white feathers on each side of the head. The rarest of all the gulls is also found on the Peruvian coast, namely, the Xema furcatum. Sea-lions (Otaria forsteri) are common on the rocky island sand promontories.
The region of the Cordilleras of the Andes is divided into puna, or lofty uninhabited wilderness, and sierra, or inhabitable mountain slopes and valleys. This great mountain-system, running south-east to north-west, consists of three chains or cordilleras The two chains, which run parallel and near each other on the western side, are of identical origin, and have Sierra. been separated by the action of water during many centuries. On these chains are the volcanoes and many thermal springs. The narrow space between them is for the most part, but not always, a cold and lofty region known as the puna containing alpine lakes—the sources of the coast-rivers. The great eastern chain, rising from the basin of the Amazon and forming the inner wall of the system, is of distinct origin. These three chains are called the Western or Maritime Cordillera, the Central Cordillera and the Andes. Paz Soldan and other Peruvian geographers give the name of Andes, par excellence, to the Eastern Cordillera.
The Maritime Cordillera of Peru has no connexion with the coast ranges of Chile, but is a continuation of the Cordillera Occidental of Chile, which under various local names forms the eastern margin of the coastal desert belt from Atacama northward into Peru. It contains a regular chain of volcanic peaks overlooking the coast region of Tarapaca. Chief among them are the snowy peak of Lirima (19,128 ft.) over the ravine of Tarapaca, the volcano of Isluga overhanging Camina, the Bolivian peak of Sajama, and Tocora (19,741 ft.) near the Bolivian frontier. In rear of Moquegua there is a group of volcanic peaks, clustering round those of Ubinas and Huaynaputina. A great eruption of Huaynaputina began on the 15th of February 1600 and continued until the 28th. But generally these volcanoes are quiescent. Farther north the Misti volcano rises over the city of Arequipa in a perfect cone to a height of over 20,013 ft., and near its base are the hot sulphur and iron springs of Yura. The peak of Sarasara, in Parinacochas (Ayacucho) is 19,500 ft. above the sea, and in the mountains above Lima the passes attain a height of more than 15,000 ft. In latitude 10° S. the maritime chain separates into two branches, which run parallel to each other for 100 m., enclosing the remarkable ravine of Callejon de Huaylas—the eastern or main branch being known as the Cordillera Nevada and the western as the Cordillera Negra. On the Nevada the peak of Huascan reaches a height of 22,051 ft. The Huandoy peak, above Carhuaz, rises to 21,088 ft.; the Hualcan peak, overhanging the town of Yungay, is 19,945 ft. hrgh; and most of the peaks in this part of the chain reach a height of 19,000 ft. During the rainy season, from October to May, the sky is generally clear at dawn, and the magnificent snowy peaks are clearly seen. But as the day advances the clouds collect. In most parts of the Peruvian Andes the line of perpetual snow is at 16,400 ft.; but on the Cordillera Nevada, above the Callejon de Huaylas, it sinks to 15,400 ft. This greater cold is caused by the intervention of the Cordillera Negra, which intercepts the warmth from the coast. As this lower chain does not reach the snow-line, the streams rising from it are scanty, while the Santa, Pativilca and other coast-rivers which break through it from sources in the snowy chain have a greater volume from the melted snows. At the point where the river Santa breaks through the Cordillera Negra that range begins to subside, while the Maritime Cordillera continues as one chain to and beyond the frontier of Ecuador.
The Central Cordillera is the true water-parting of the system. No river, except the Marañon, breaks through it either to the east or west, while more than twenty coast streams rise on its slopes and force their way through the maritime chain. The Central Cordillera consists mainly of crystalline and volcanic rocks, on each side of which are aqueous, in great part jurassic, strata thrown up almost vertically. In 14° 30′ S. the central chain is connected with the Eastern Andes by the transverse mountain-knot of Vilcanota, the peak of that name being 17,651 ft. above the sea. The great inland basin of Lake Titicaca is thus formed. The central chain continues to run parallel with the Maritime Cordillera until, at Cerro Pasco, another transverse knot connects it with the Andes in 10° 30′ S. lat. It then continues northward, separating the basins of the Marañon and Huallaga; and at the northern frontier of Peru it is at length broken through by the Marañon flowing eastward.
The Eastern Andes is a magnificent range in the southern part of Peru, of Silurian formation, with talcose and clay slates, many quartz veins and eruptions of granitic rocks. Mr Forbes says that the peaks of Illampu (21,709 ft.) and Illimani (21,014 ft.) in Bolivia are Silurian and fossiliferous to their summits. The eastern range is cut through by six rivers in Peru, namely, the Marañon and Huallaga, the Perene, Mantaro, Apurimac, Vilcamayu and Paucartambo, the last five being tributaries of the Ucayali. The range of the Andes in south Peru has a high plateau to the west and the vast plains of the Amazonian basin to the east. The whole range is highly auriferous, and the thickness of the strata is not less than 10,000 ft. It is nowhere disturbed by volcanic eruptions, except at the very edge of the formation near Lake Titicaca, and in this respect it differs essentially from the Maritime Cordillera. To the eastward numerous spurs extend for varying distances into the great plain of the Amazons.
The Andes lose their majestic height to the northward; and beyond Cerro Pasco the eastern chain sinks into a lower range between the Huallaga and Ucayali. But throughout the length of Peru the three ranges are clearly defined.
For purposes of description the sierra of Peru may be divided into four sections, each embracing portions of all three ranges. The first, from the north, comprises the upper basins of the Marañon and the Huallaga, and is 350 m. long by 100 broad. The second extends from the Knot of Cerro Pasco to Ayacucho, about 200 m., including the Lake ofSections of Sierra. Chinchay-cocha and the basin of the river Xauxa. The third or Cuzco section extends 250 m. to the Knot of Vilcañota with the basins of the Pampas, Apurimac, Vilcamayu and Paucartambo. The fourth is the basin of Lake Titicaca.
