Geography of the Central Andes

: ' ; ,!.',:.,': 1 : -.. :;i:. / - ..; ^i;.^!. i;J ;.;.;.;> ; ,\v 'J.'' GEOGRAPHY OF THE ALAN G. OGILVIE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL,. SOCIETY map of Hispanic America- PUBLrcAT.iON#o, t . Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/geographyofcentrOOogil -HV OF THE ) AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY MAP OF HISPANIC AMERICA PUBLICATION NO. i , GEOGRAPHY OF THE CENTRAL ANDES A Handbook to Accompany the LA PAZ Sheet of the Map of Hispanic America on the Millionth Scale BY ALAN G. OGILVIE, M.A., B.Sc. (Oxon.) WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ISAIAH BOWMAN PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK BROADWAY AT I56TH STREET 1922 Vzziz COPYRIGHT, 1922 BY THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK THE CONDE NAST PRESS GREENWICH, CONN. N-8'23 ©CH690901 CONTENTS PART I THE LA PAZ SHEET OF THE 1:1,000,000 MAP PART II GEOGRAPHY OF THE LA PAZ SHEET AREA CHAPTER PAGE I General View 13 II Geological Structure and Land Forms .... 31 III Minerals and Mines 49 IV The Ocean \ . 61 V The Climate 67 VI Drainage, Water Supply, and Soils 95 VII The Natural Vegetation 109 VIII Animal Life 122 IX The Inhabitants and Their Adaptation to the Environment 136 Appendix A, The Social and Religious Organiza- tion of the Plateau Indians ... 199 Appendix B, The Problem of Tacna and Arica . 203 Appendix C, Selected Bibliography 211 Appendix D, Conversion Tables 224 Index 233 1 1 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE PAGE I Map showing distribution of population .... facing 146 II Map showing utilization of land facing 174 FIG. 1 Pisagua from the roadstead facing 18 2 Part of the Altiplano showing the Rio Desaguadero, facing 23 3 Source of the Rio Desaguadero, outlet of Lake Titicaca facing 24 4 Block diagram of the Cordillera Real and Altiplano ... 26 5 Sketch map pf natural regions in the Central Andes ... 29 6 (A) and (B) Sketch maps of ancient lakes on the Altiplano 43 7 Diagram illustrating relationship of two ancient lakes . 45 8 Horizontal section of the ocean floor and Western Cor- dillera 62 9 Sketch map showing precipitation, belts of cloud, and meteorological stations 67 10 Graphs showing monthly variations in temperature ... 70 1 Graphs showing daily variations in temperature .... 73 12 Wind roses for Arica 76 13 Wind roses for Arequipa 77 14 Wind roses for Vinocaya 78 15 Wind roses for Puno 79 16 Wind roses for La Paz 81 17 Wind roses for Cochabamba 83 18 Wind roses for Sucre 85 19 (A) and (B) Diagrams illustrating cloud types and rainfall belts in the Eastern Andes 87 20 (A) and (B) Diagrams illustrating cloud types and rainfall belts on the Pacific slope 90 21 Graph showing monthly precipitation at various stations 92 22 The end of a river on the piedmont facing 10 23 Diagram of flow on the Rfo Chili 102 24 Sketch map showing distribution of natural vegetation . no 25 Yareta, tola, and ichu grass facing 1 14 26 A stack of yareta ready for burning facing 114 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS—(Continued) FIG. PAGE 27 Ichu grass in the Puna Brava facing 116 28 Cactus vegetation in the La Paz valley facing 119 29 Illimani from the Yungas, with forest facing 120 30 Uru Indian grinding quinoa facing 152 31 Isolated Indian dwelling in the high pastures . facing 153 32 Colonos plowing and sowing facing 160 33 Procession of Indians at a fiesta facing 162 34 Abandoned artificial terraces (andenes) facing 163 35 Fishing balsas on Lake Titicaca facing 165 36 Farms in the Chili valley above Arequipa .... facing 167 37 The Yungas of Coroico with coca plantations 168 38 Sketch maps illustrating relative importance of routes . 178 39 The port of Huaqui facing 182 40 The city of La Paz from the southwest 187 41 Sketch map showing boundary changes 195 ACKNOWLEDGMENT Figures 28, 29. and 32 are from photographs by George M. McBride. All other photographs reproduced were taken by Isaiah Bowman. ; PREFACE This regional account of an important part of the Central Andes and the first (provisional) edition of the map representing the area have been compiled simultaneously as the result of an effort to draw together much scattered information. Materials for map and book have been gathered from sources which vary widely in character and quality. The data utilized in the map, and the method of its construction, are discussed in some detail in Part I. The bibliography records most of the sources of material for the book. Existing scientific data are probably above the average for South American areas of this extent in both quantity and quality but, as a rule, they relate only to small parts of the country. Moreover, we can turn to no systematic description of the whole territory covered by the map. And modern geography requires more than mere description ; it demands that genetic relationships be brought out. This fact has been kept in view in writing a book which, because of the present state of knowledge, is a provisional edition, like the map that it accompanies. The reader will quickly appreciate that within the area discussed there are several strongly contrasted natural regions, and he will surely ask himself what is the total extent of each. For, in fact, all of the more important of them extend far beyond the map limits. A diagram has therefore been placed at the end of Chapter I showing the relation of the various natural regions discussed to the sheets of the millionth map in general and to the La Paz sheet in particular. Thus it will be seen that many of the general observations which are made in this handbook would apply equally well in the description of a number of different map areas. I have great pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness to a number of colleagues for their assistance. The section on soils was written after consultation with Dr. C. F. Marbut, of the V1U PREFACE United States Bureau of Soils, who kindly gave me his opinion on the probable conditions prevailing in the several regions. In collecting data for Chapter VIII, I have had the advantage of consulting Drs. F. M. Chapman, H. E. Anthony, R. C. Murphy, and other officers of the Department of Zoology in the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Murphy has also read critically the manuscript of this chapter. My thanks are due to Dr. Isaiah Bowman, who placed at my disposal field notes, photographs, maps, and personal information, much of it unpublished, that he had gathered on several expeditions to the Central Andes; to Dr. George M. McBride for collecting most of the historical material included in Chapter IX and Appendix B, as well as for writing Appendix A; and to Dr. Gladys M. Wrigley, who permitted me to use her unpublished work on settlements and routes in the coastal zone. Alan G. Ogilvie. INTRODUCTION By Isaiah Bowman In 1920 the Society announced a plan for Hispanic-American research of which this book and the La Paz sheet on the scale 1: 1,000,000 are among the first results. Field studies in the Central Andes in 1907, 191 1, and 1913 had yielded me first-hand knowledge of the geography of highland Peru and Bolivia as well as the highly contrasted lowlands on either side, and this fact, together with the diversified character of the region, was the chief inducement to start the plan with the production of the La Paz sheet. Teh other sheets are in course of compilation or reproduction. They range in position from the peninsula of Lower California to the Gran Chaco of southeastern Bolivia. It is planned to complete the sheets in natural groups if the plan can be supported to that extent. In time, handbooks like the present one will summarize the regional aspects of the geography. Until the sheets of such natural groups are produced each map will be accompanied by a leaflet describing the cartographical sources which support it. The production of the first sheet has revealed a surprising amount of data, bearing upon the general geography no less than upon the map, that has been wholly unknown to geographers hitherto. To such an extent is this true that I know of no more fruitful means of advancing a knowledge of the Hispanic-Ameri- can realm than the plan upon which we have embarked. Having conducted exploratory expeditions, I am aware of the lure of field work and of its value to science. But there comes a time in the history of every subject when a broad and critical synthesis may be of even more value. At this juncture the millionth map sup- plies an indispensable medium for synthetic and comparative studies of a high order. The handbooks that form a part of the plan depend inevitably upon field work to be carried on from time to time as circumstances permit—field work that is guided 1 x INTRODUCTION by knowledge gained in the compilation of maps from so many sources. In time this will bring us to the point where a general geographical study of Hispanic-America can be made upon a sound scientific basis. Parallel with these activities the Society has conducted others that may be enumerated here. There has been produced a map of Hispanic-America on the scale of 1 : 6,000,000, or a little less than 100 miles to the inch. It is drawn from nearly 250 sources, including a large number of original surveys. It shows railways, drainage indicated as surveyed or unsurveyed, international and administrative boundaries, and towns in graded sequence down to those with a population of 4,000.

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