Fig. 121—Looking north from the hill near Anta in the Anta basin north of Cuzco. Typical composition of slopes and intermont basins in the Central Andes. Alluvial fill in the foreground; mature slopes in the background; in the extreme background the snow-capped crests of the Cordillera Vilcapampa.
Fig. 122—Showing topographic conditions before the formation of the deep canyons in the Maritime Cordillera. The view, looking across a tributary canyon of the Antabamba river, shows in the background the main canyon above Huadquirca. Compare with [Fig. 60].
Below the level of the mature slopes are topographic features of equal prominence: gorges and canyons up to 7,000 feet deep. The deeply intrenched streams are broken by waterfalls and almost continuous rapids, the valley walls are so abrupt that one may, in places, roll stones down a 4,000 foot incline to the river bed, and the tortuous trail now follows a stream in the depths of a profound abyss, now scales the walls of a labyrinthine canyon.
