Industrial and commercial South America

by Annie S. Peck

Departments

La Paz is the most northern Department of the plateau region, the third largest, the first in population and importance. It has Colonias north, El Beni and Cochabamba east, Oruro south, and Chile and Peru west. La Paz has an extremely varied landscape with a range in altitude from 640 to 21,750 feet at the top of Mt. Sorata, though some Bolivians give the altitude of this mountain as 24,000 feet. Besides the Cordillera Real the Department includes Lake Titicaca, or as much of it as does not belong to Peru. The lake is remarkable as being the highest in the world on which steamers regularly ply, 12,500 feet is an accepted figure; 12,545 is also given. The lake has an area of 3200 square miles; it is about 120 miles long, 34-44 wide, and 330 feet deep, in places nearly 1000. Other figures are 145 miles long and 69 broad, average depth 492 feet; temperature of water 48°; annual rainfall about 78 inches. Besides the bleak table-land west of the Cordillera Real, the Department comprises many beautiful valleys east of the mountains. It contains, with the capital La Paz, several important though not large cities: Corocoro, a famed copper centre; Sorata, north, a delightful spot, at an altitude of 8000 feet, a centre for the rubber industry and for mining; Achacachi, a big Indian town near the Lake; Copacabana, a very sacred religious shrine, also on the Lake; Coroicas, east in the Yungas Valley. Actual or potential wealth of almost every kind may be found here: large flocks of llamas, alpacas, and some vicuñas; sheep and goats, herds of cattle and horses; vegetable products, coca, cotton, coffee, cereals, etc.; great riches in minerals, gold, silver, tin, copper, rock crystal, berenguela, a fine native marble, all these in fine quality and immense quantity. The wonderfully grand and varied scenery of this Department can be duplicated or rivalled in few quarters of the globe.

Oruro, directly south of La Paz, between Potosí and Chile, is the smallest of the Departments, entirely on the plateau, thus having a much smaller range of altitude and of climate. Its wealth is in minerals, especially silver and tin, though gold, bismuth, borax, and sulphur are found. Alpaca, chinchilla, and wool are other products.

The capital, Oruro, 127 miles south of La Paz, while for years the terminus of the railway from Antofagasta, became an important commercial and industrial centre; in addition it is one of the busiest mining districts. Half of the mining men are foreigners; a large proportion of the ordinary population is Indian. There is also agreeable society, with people quite up to date in Paris fashions. The only other city in the Department is Challapata.

Cochabamba, south of El Beni, east of La Paz and west of Santa Cruz, is sometimes called the granary of the Republic. It is a particularly delightful region, half temperate and half semitropical, with altitude ranging from 973 to 16,777 feet. It possesses immense plains with innumerable herds of cattle, magnificent fertile valleys, rich forests, and minerals.

Cochabamba, the capital, is the city next in size to La Paz, 276 miles distant; with an altitude of 8387 feet it enjoys a delightful climate, an average temperature of 66°, and abundant rain. It has a good club, an American Institute (a school for boys), and the least illiteracy. The recent arrival of the railroad insures its rapid growth.

Potosí is another plateau Department, both east and south of Oruro, bordering also on Chuquisaca and Tarija, and with Argentina south and Chile west. It has for the most part a rather cold, disagreeable climate, the altitude ranging from above 20,000 to a little over 6000 feet.

The name Potosí, for centuries famous as almost a synonym for silver, belongs also to the capital city, at a height of 13,388 feet. In 1650, when New York was a small village, it had 160,000 inhabitants. The city has an excellent mint, built in 1562, also a superb old cathedral, a good library, and a museum. Above the town 32 artificial lakes were constructed of which 22 are still good. The temperature varies from 9° to 59°; it is said that they have the four seasons in one day. Even here potatoes, barley, and beans will grow, but living is very dear. The town has foundries, engineering shops, and 28 smelters. The Department still contains enormous quantities of silver and tin in almost every variety of combination, and more towns that are rich mining centres than any other Department except La Paz. Uyuni is a town of 6000 inhabitants, Colquechaca has a population of 8000 miners; Tupiza, soon to be reached by the railway, is a pretty city in a pleasant valley, 66 miles from the Argentine border.

Chuquisaca, east of Potosí and south of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, is much warmer, the altitude ranging from 255 to 13,450 feet. Here also are mines of the usual varieties and petroleum too, tropical fruits and vegetables of course, and plains with vast herds and flocks.

Sucre, the legal capital of the Republic, altitude 9328 feet, is situated on an arm of the Pilcomayo River. Social distinctions are here more marked, and there is an exclusive circle agreeable to those of the right type. Sucre, Cochabamba, and La Paz are called the most cultured cities. More than 300 miles from La Paz in a straight line and, as it is on the east side of the Cordillera, much farther on horseback, which until lately was the only way to journey thither, except for some miles of staging, Sucre is now more accessible, as will be indicated later.