Aplao, 3,100 feet (945 m.), and Camaná at the seacoast are stations in the west-coast desert. The interior location of the former gives it a greater range of temperature than Camaná, yet even here the range is small in comparison with the diurnal extremes of the montaña, and the tempering effect of the sea-breeze is clearly apparent. Camaná shows a diurnal temperature range of under 10° F. and also the high relative humidity, over 70 per cent, characteristic of the coast.
PART II
PHYSIOGRAPHY OF THE PERUVIAN ANDES
CHAPTER XI
THE PERUVIAN LANDSCAPE
FROM the west coast the great Andean Cordillera appears to have little of the regularity suggested by our relief maps. Steep and high cliffs in many places form the border of the land and obstruct the view; beyond them appear distant summits rising into the zone of clouds. Where the cliffs are absent or low, one may look across a sun-baked, yellow landscape, generally broken by irregular foothills that in turn merge into the massive outer spurs and ranges of the mountain zone. The plain is interrupted by widely separated valleys whose green lowland meadows form a brilliant contrast to the monotonous browns and yellows of the shimmering desert. In rare situations the valley trenches enable one to look far into the Cordillera and to catch memorable glimpses of lofty peaks capped with snow.
If the traveler come to the west-coast landscape from the well-molded English hills or the subdued mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire with their artistic blending of moderate profiles, he will at first see nothing but disorder. The scenery will be impressive and, in places, extraordinary, but it is apparently composed of elements of the greatest diversity. All the conceivable variations of form and color are expressed, with a predominance of bold rugged aspects that give a majestic appearance to the mountain-bordered shore. One looks in vain for some sign of a quiet view, for some uniformity of features, for some landscape that will remind him of the familiar hills of home. The Andes are aggressive mountains that front the sea in formidable spurs or desert ranges. Could we see in one view their entire elevation from depths of over 20,000 feet beneath sea level to snowy summits, a total altitude of 40,000 feet (12,200 m.), their excessive boldness would be more apparent. No other mountains in the world are at once so continuously lofty and so near a coast which drops off to abyssal depths.
The view from the shore is, however, but one of many which the Andes exhibit. Seen from the base the towering ranges display a stern aspect, but, like all mountains, their highest slopes and spurs must be crossed and re-crossed before the student is aware of other aspects of a quite different nature. The Andes must be observed from at least three situations: from the floors of the deep intermontane valleys, from the intermediate slopes and summits, and from the uppermost levels as along the range crests and the highest passes. Strangely enough it is in the summit views that one sees the softest forms. At elevations of 14,000 to 16,000 feet (4,270 to 4,880 m.), where one would expect rugged spurs, serrate chains, and sharp needles and horns, one comes frequently upon slopes as well graded as those of a city park—grass-covered, waste-cloaked, and with gentle declivity (Figs. 121-124).
The graded, waste-cloaked slopes of the higher levels are interpreted as the result of prolonged denudation in an erosion cycle which persisted through the greater part of the Tertiary period, and which was closed by uplifts aggregating at least several thousands of feet. Above the level of the mature slopes rise the ragged profiles and steep, naked declivities of the snow-capped mountains which bear residual relations to the softer forms at their bases. They are formed upon rock masses of greater original elevation and of higher resistance to denudation. Though they are dominating topographic features, they are much less extensive and significant than the tame landscape which they surmount.
