The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

SCENE ON THE TUMBES RIVER.

Only two seasons are perceptible in the coast region of Peru, the winter months, from June to November, being cooler than those of summer, from December to May. Fogs are frequent between December and April, though they seldom last throughout the day. The heat is never intense, owing to the influence of the Humboldt current, which modifies the effect of the sun’s rays. Although apparently barren throughout a large extent of its territory, the coast zone is really rich in production and supports a large and flourishing population. In the subsoil of its arid plains, valuable deposits of petroleum have been found; its uninviting deserts contain saline beds of great commercial importance; and throughout its length appear at intervals beautiful and fertile valleys, watered by abundant streams and yielding enormous harvests of sugar-cane, cotton, rice, and all kinds of fruits. The rivers of the coast, though numerous, are of limited extent and volume, nearly all of them having their sources on the Pacific Slope of the Andes and flowing directly across the sandy strip of coast land to the ocean. During the summer, when abundant rains fall in the upper ravines of the Cordilleras, the coast streams carry plenty of water to irrigate the valleys; a few of them are navigable for a short distance, but only for small craft. The valleys drained by these rivers—about fifty in all—are like ribbons of green crossing the brown sands of the coast; their existence is an indication of the wealth which might be secured throughout the entire region by artificial irrigation.

MONZON VALLEY, IN THE HUALLAGA REGION.

The coast line of Peru presents few indentations. Its principal bays are: Tumbes, in the extreme north, an inlet from the Gulf of Guayaquil; Paita and Sechura on the coast of Piura; Chimbote and Samanco near the northern border of Ancash Department, both large and beautiful bays; Salinas and Callao, on the Lima coast; Pisco, San Nicolás, and the famous Bay of Independencia, where San Martin landed the Liberating Army, on the coast of Ica; and the picturesque bay of Arica. A few notable capes and promontories mark the sea line, Cape Blanco being the first point at which the coast curves southward after leaving the Gulf of Guayaquil; and Point Parinas, the most westerly promontory of South America. Near the coast, and presenting the same barren aspect, are several groups of islands belonging to Peru, the most important being Lobos de Afuera, Lobos de Adentro, and Guañape, in the north, and the Chincha Islands a few miles from the port of Pisco, south of Callao, noted for their rich deposits of guano. San Lorenzo Island, which lies six miles to the southwest of Callao, serves as a protection to the chief harbor of Peru. They are all desert rocks, though many interesting prehistoric relics have been found on San Lorenzo which indicate that this island was at one time the abode of a considerable population, apparently of the same race as the pre-Incaic inhabitants of the southern coast district.

ANCÓN, A COAST RESORT NEAR CALLAO.

Leaving the coast for the sierra, one is impressed by the rapid change of scene and the beauty of the landscape that unfolds to view in varying aspects as the lower levels are left behind and the towering majesty of the Cordilleras appears in closer proximity. The great Andean system not only divides the region of the coast from that of the Amazon plain, but, by its peculiar formation, gives to this part of Peru certain features not to be found in any other country. Where the Andes mountains cross the border between Peru and Bolivia, they consist of three high ranges, viz., the Occidental and Oriental Cordilleras and an intermediary or central chain. Near Lake Titicaca the Cordilleras join to form the Nudo of Vilcanota; and about three degrees farther north, following a northwesterly direction, they again unite in the Nudo of Cerro de Pasco. The average height of the great ranges, from the Bolivian border as far north as seven degrees south latitude, is from thirteen thousand to seventeen thousand feet above sea level, a few peaks rising above twenty thousand feet; then the altitude diminishes to an average of from nine thousand to ten thousand feet, with frequent openings or passes not more than seven thousand feet above sea level. Farther north, crossing the border of Ecuador, the altitude is again increased to the limit of perpetual snow. Between the mountain ranges extends a high uneven plateau, broken by deep ravines and gorges, where transverse chains have destroyed the regularity of the majestic Cordilleras; in this inter-Andean region are also fertile valleys marking the courses of streams which have their origin in the Nudos of Vilcanota or Cerro de Pasco, and which flow between the ranges, until an opening occurs to give them passage to the plains of the mighty Amazon.

The abundance of moisture carried by the winds from the Atlantic, and deposited on the Andean summits in the form of snow, accounts for the existence of several lakes at great altitudes in this region; in most cases, an opening in the surrounding mountains has caused an overflow into lower levels, thus originating the greatest river system of South America. There are evidences in the plains and valleys of the high sierras that these were at one time lakes, their waters having disappeared in consequence of the gradual wearing away of the opening and the levelling of the bed of the lake by sediments deposited in the course of ages. A few of these inter-Andean lakes still remain. The famous Lake Titicaca, which lies partly in Peruvian and partly in Bolivian territory, and which covers an area of more than eight thousand square kilometres, at an altitude of twelve thousand five hundred feet above sea level, is one of the most remarkable bodies of water in the world; it is the highest navigable lake on the globe, and is celebrated in South American tradition as the cradle of the Inca dynasty. Steam navigation was established on this lake in 1867, between the Peruvian port of Puno, at the Titicaca terminus of the Southern railway from Mollendo, and the Bolivian port of Guaqui, at the Titicaca terminus of the La Paz railway. The trip across the lake by steamer takes from twelve to fifteen hours, during which one may enjoy a most unusual experience, not only “on a sea above the clouds” but at times in view of a whole range of resplendent snow summits, glistening under a sky of marvellous blue. Many rivers and streams flow into Lake Titicaca, though only one, the Desaguadero, has its source in that lake. From the Nudo of Vilcanota at the north flow the rivers Suchis, Huancane, and Ramis, with their affluents; from the west, having their origin in the high sierra between Arequipa and Puno, descend the Cabanillas and Lampa, confluents of the Coata; and from the south, the Blanco, Juli, and smaller streams empty into the great lake. Besides Titicaca, Peru has several lakes of less extensive area, the most noted being the Laguna de Junin, famous as the site of the historic victory won by the patriot army over the colonial forces of Spain; Rimachuma in the Department of Loreto, and Arapa in Puno, are of considerable importance.