Fig. 33—Valley climates of the canyoned region shown in [Fig. 32].
The canal and the pasture are possible because the slopes are moderate. They were formed in an earlier cycle of erosion when the land was lower. They are hung midway between the rough mountain slopes above and the steep canyon walls below ([Fig. 32]). Their smooth descents and gentle profiles are in very pleasing contrast to the rugged scenery about them. The trails follow them easily. Where the slopes are flattest, farmers have settled and produce good crops of corn, vegetables, and barley. Some farmers have even developed three-and four-story farms. On an alluvial fan in the main valley they raise sugar cane and tropical and subtropical fruits; on the flat upper slopes they produce corn; in the moister soil near the edge of the woodland are fields of mountain potatoes; and the upper pastures maintain flocks of sheep. In one district this change takes place in a distance that may be covered in five hours. Generally it is at least a full and hard day’s journey from one end of the series to the other.
Wherever these features are closely associated they tend to be controlled by the planter in some deep valley thereabouts. Where they are widely scattered the people are independent, small groups living in places nearly inaccessible. Legally they are all under the control of the owners of princely tracts that take in the whole country, but the remote groups are left almost wholly to themselves. In most cases they are supposed to sell their few commercial products to the hacendado who nominally owns their land, but the administration of this arrangement is left largely to chance. The shepherds and small farmers near the plantation are more dependent upon the planter for supplies, and also their wants are more varied and numerous. Hence they pay for their better location in free labor and in produce sold at a discount.
So deep are some of the main canyons, like the Apurimac and the Cotahuasi, that their floors are arid or semi-arid. The fortunes of Pasaje are tied to a narrow canal from the moist woodland and a tiny brook from a hollow in the valley wall. Where the water has thus been brought down to the arable soil of the fans there are rich plantations and farms. Elsewhere, however, the floor is quite dry and uncultivated. In small spots here and there is a little seepage, or a few springs, or a mere thread of water that will not support a plantation, wherefore there have come into existence the valley herdsmen and shepherds. Their intimate knowledge of the moist places is their capital, quite as much as are the cattle and sheep they own. In a sense their lands are the neglected crumbs from the rich man’s table. So we find the shepherd from the hills invading the valleys just as the valley farmer has invaded the country of the shepherd.
Fig. 34—Regional diagram to show the typical physical conditions and relations in an intermont basin in the Peruvian Andes. The Cuzco basin (see Fig. [37]) is an actual illustration; it should, however, be emphasized that the diagram is not a “map” of that basin, for whilst conditions there have been utilized as a basis, the generalization has been extended to illustrate many basins.
The basin type of topography calls into existence a set of relations quite distinct from either of those we have just described. Figure 34 represents the main facts. The rich and comparatively flat floor of the basin supports most of the people. The alluvial fans tributary thereto are composed of fine material on their outer margin and of coarse stony waste at their heads. Hence the valley farms also extend over the edges of the fans, while only pasture or dense chaparral occupies the upper portions. Finally there is the steep margin of the basin where the broad and moderate slopes of the highland break down to the floor of the basin.