PERU 671 regions of the air the majestic condor or the turkey buzzard may be seen floating lazily ; perhaps a lizard will dart across the path ; and occasionally a distant line of mules or a solitary horseman seems to shimmer weirdly in the refraction on the distant horizon. Jys. The valleys form a marvellous contrast to the surround ing desert. A great mass of pale-green foliage is usually composed of the " algarrobo " trees, while the course of the river is marked by lines or groups of palms, by fine old willows (Salix humboldtiana), fruit-gardens, and fields of cotton, maize, sugar, and lucerne. In some valleys there are expanses of sugar-cane, in others cotton, whilst in others vineyards and olive -yards predominate. The woods of " algarrobo " are used for pasture, cattle and horses greedily enjoying the pendulous yellow pods. I For purposes of description the coast -region of Peru may be liis. divided into six sections, commencing from the north: (1) the Piura region ; (2) the Lambayeque and Truxillo section ; (3) the Santa valleys ; (4) the section from Lima to Xasca ; (5) the Are quipa and Tacna section ; (6) Tarapaca. (1) The great desert-region of Piura extends for nearly 200 miles from the Gulf of Guayaquil to the borders of the Morrope valley, and is traversed by three rivers the Tumbez, Cliira, and Piura, the two former receiving their waters from the inner cordillera and breaking through the outer range. It is here that the coast of South America extends farthest to the westward until it reaches Capes Blanco and Parina, and then turns southward to the Bay of Payta. The climate of Piura is modified by the lower latitude, and also by the vicinity of the forests of Guayaquil. Fog and "garua" are much less frequent than in the coast-region farther south, -while positive rain sometimes falls. At intervals of about ten years there are occasional heavy showers of rain from February to April. (2) The second section of the coast -region includes the valleys of the Morrope, the Chiclayo, and Lambayeque, the Sana, the Jeque- tepeque, the Chicama, Moche, Viru, and Chao. With the inter vening deserts this section extends over 200 miles. All these valleys, except Morrope and Chao, are watered by rivers which have their sources far in the recesses of the mountains, and which furnish an abundant supply in the season when irrigation is needed. (3) The third section, also extending for 200 miles, contains the valleys of Santa, Xepena, Casma, Huarmey, Fortaleza, Pativilca, Supe, and Huaura. The river Santa, which rises in the lake of Conococha, 12,907 feet above the sea, and has an entire length of 180 miles, is remarkable for its long course between the outer and central ranges of the Andes, in a trough known as the " Callejon de Huaylas," 100 miles in length. It then breaks through in a deep gorge, and reaches the sea after a course of 35 miles over the coast - belt, and after fertilizing a rich valley. The Santa and Nepena valleys are separated by a desert 8 leagues in width, on the shores of which there is a good anchorage in the bay of Ferrol, where the port of Chirnbote is to be the terminus of a projected railwa} . The Nepeila, Casma, Huarmey, Fortaleza, and Supe rivers rise on the slope of an outer range called the Cordillera Negra, and are consequently dry during the great part of the year. Wells are dug in their beds, and the fertility of the valleys is thus maintained. The Pativilca (or Barranca) river and the Huaura break 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 Casma and Huar mey, 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 Supe and Pativilca is the desert called the " Pampa del Medio Mundo." (4) The next coast-section extends for over 300 miles from Chancay to JsTasca, and includes the rivers of Chancay or Lacha, of Carabayllo, Rimac, Lurin, Mala, Caiiete, Chincha, Pisco or Chunchanga, Yea, 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 Carabayllo 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 Canetc is one green sheet of sugar-cane ; and narrow strips of desert separate it from the fertile plain of Chincha, and Chincha from the famous vineyards of Pisco. The valleys of Yea, Palpa, San Xavier, and Nasca are rich and fertile, though they do not extend to the sea ; but between Nasca and Acari there is a desert 60 miles in width. (5) The Arequipa and Tacna section extends over 350 miles, and comprises the valleys of Acari, Atequipa, Atico, Ocofia, Majes or Camana, Quilca, with the interior valley of Arequipa, Tambo, Ylo or Moquegua, Ite or Locumba, Sama, Tacna, and Azapa or Arica. Here the Maritime Cordillera recedes, and the important valley of Arequipa, though on its western slope, is 7000 feet above the sea, and 90 miles 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. (6) The most southern coast-section is that of Tarapaca, extending, between the cordillera and the Pacific, in a narrow strip from the ravine of Camarones, south of Arica, to the former southern frontier of Peru. Only two rivers reach the sea in Tarapaca, the Tiliviche in the north of the province, and the Loa in the extreme south. The other streams are lost in the desert soon after they issue from their ravines in the Andes. The reason of this is that in Tarapaca there is an arid range of hills parallel with the sea-shore, which is about 30 miles in width, and covered with sand and saline substances. Between this coast-range and the Andes is the great plateau called the " Pampa de Tamarugal," from 3000 to 3500 feet above the sea, which is about 30 miles wide, and extends the whole length of Tarapaca. This plateau is covered with sand, and contains vast deposits of nitrate of soda. Here and there a few " tamarugas " or acacia trees are met with, which give their name to the region. The coast of Peru has few protected anchorages, and Islands, the headlands are generally abrupt and lofty. These and the few islands are frequented by myriads of sea-birds, whence come the guano-deposits, the retention of ammonia and other fertilizing properties being due to the absence of rain. The islets off the coast are all barren and rocky. The most northern is Foca, in 5 13 30" S. , near the coast to the south of Payta. 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 miles from the coast at the port of San Jose. The islets of Macabi, in 7 49 20" S. , also have guano-deposits, now nearly exhausted. The two islets of Guafiape, surrounded by many rocks, in 8 34 S., contain rich deposits. Chao rises 450 feet above the sea, off the coast, in 8 46 30" S. Corcobado is in 8 57 S. La Yiuda is off the port of Casma, in 9 23 30" S. ; and Tortuga is 2 miles distant to the north. Santa Islet lies off the bay of Cosca, in 9 1 40", and the three high rocks of Ferrol in 9 8 30" S. Farther south there is 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, 4i miles long by 1 broad, forming the Bay of Callao ; its highest point is 1050 feet. 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 miles north-west of Cerro Azul, and about a mile in circuit. Pisco Bay contains San Gallan Island, high, with a bold cliff outline, 2J miles 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 feet high, in the form of a sugar-loaf, a mile west of the Point of Santa Maria, which is near the mouth of the Yea river. Alacran is a small islet off the lofty "morro" of Arica. A low island protects the anchornge of Iquique on the coast of Tarapaca, and farther south are the three islets of Patillos in 20 46 20" S., and the Pajaros, Avith guano- deposits, in 22 6 4" S. All these rocks and islets are barren and uninhabitable, mere outworks of the desert headlands. The more common sea-birds, which haunt the islets and Sea- headlands in countless myriads, 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. 1 The immense flocks of birds, as they fly along the coast, appear like clouds, and one after another is incessantly seen to plunge from a height into the sea to devour the fishes, which they find in extraor dinary numbers. The guano-deposits are in layers from 40 to 50 feet thick, of a greyish-brown colour outside, and more and more solid from the surface downwards, owing to the gradual deposit of strata and evaporation of fluid par- 1 The third known example was shot in Panaceas Bay, near Pisco, by Captain Markham, in 1881.
Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/703
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