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THE PENNY
PENNY CYCLOPÆDIA

OF

THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF

USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

PER

PERU is a country in South America, situated between 3° 30′ and 21° 28' S. lat., and between 65° and 81° 20′ W. long. On the west it is washed by the Pacific; and on the south and south-east it borders on Bolivia. The boundaryline between these states, at the most southern point of Peru, is formed by the small river Loa (21° 28′ S. lat.): it follows the course of this river for several miles, when it turns eastward till it reaches the western edge of the Andes. It follows this edge northward to the mountain-pass of Gualillas (17° 50' S. lat.), whence it runs northward across the plain of the lake of Titicaca to the southern extremity of that lake. It traverses the lake in a northern direction, which it preserves till it reaches the eastern chain of the Bolivian Andes, near 15° S. lat. It follows this chain for some distance, and then runs along the lateral range which branches off in an east-north-east direction between the river Tuche, an affluent of the Beni, and some rivers which are supposed to fall into the. Purus. From the mouth of the river Tuche, the boundary-line between Peru and Bolivia runs along the Rio Beni to its junction with the Guaporé, by which the river Madera is formed. At this point commences the boundary-line between Peru and Brazil. This line follows the Madera river to 9° 30' S. lat.: it stretches westward along this parallel to the river Yavari, the course of which river, up to its junction with the Ama- | zonas, forms the remainder of the boundary between Peru and Brazil. The Amazonas is the boundary between Peru and Ecuador, from its junction with the Yavari to the town of S. Juan de Brancamoros, south of which place the river Chinchupe falls into the Amazonas. The Chinchupe separates both countries as far as its source, from which the dividing line passes over the Andes to the Rio Tumbez, which falls into the Gulf of Guayaquil, in 3° 30' S. lat.

The length of this country from south to north, along the meridian of 70°, is above 1150 miles, but its width varies greatly. South of 17° S. lat. it hardly exceeds 30 miles, whilst near 10° S. lat. it is more than 650 miles wide. Its area, according to a rough estimate, considerably exceeds 500,000 square miles, being about two and a half times the extent of France.

Coast and Harbours.-The coast-line is about 1500 miles in length. In an extent of 1200 miles this coast forms only three straight lines, which meet at obtuse angles, and are not interrupted by any large bays. The most southern line runs south and north, the central line runs nearly southeast and north-west, and the northern line runs northnorth-west. The most northern and most projecting portion of the coast is broken by bays and by headlands.

The southern coast-line, which runs south and north, extends from the mouth of the river Loa (21° 28' S. lat.) to the harbour of Arica (18° 28′ S. lat.), a distance of 210 miles. The whole of this line consists of rocky cliffs, rarely low, and occasionally several hundred feet high. In a few spots a sandy beach lies between the cliffs and the sea. The projecting points seldom extend a mile from the mainland, and in no case more than two. They also form right angles with the coast, and as they occur only at distances of 10, 15, or 20 miles, they afford no shelter to vessels. A few small rocks lie off the coast, but they are low and too small to protect vessels which anchor between them and the shores. The soundings are irregular. Boats P. C., No. 1103.

PER

cannot land on these shores, as they are exposed to a very heavy swell from the Pacific, forming a dangerous surf, which can only be passed in favourable weather by boats. Landing in most places can only be effected by balsas. In all this extent of coast, fresh water can only be got at three places, the rivers Loa and Pisagua, and at Arica. The water of the river Loa is extremely bad. The water of the Rio Pisagua is good, but the river is dry nine months in the year, and the water obtained from the wells is bad. At Árica the water is excellent. The only harbour is that of Iquique, which is formed by a low island, the largest that occurs along this coast. Between it and the town is good anchorage in eleven fathoms. The harbour of Arica, which lies at the northern extremity of this coast-line, is also formed by a low island, called Huans, on the northern side of which there is good anchorage. A mole runs out into the sea, which enables boats to lie quietly while loading or discharging.

From Arica (18° 28' S. lat.) to Point Carreta (14° 10′), a distance of more than 460 miles, the coast lies east-southeast and west-north-west. Where the cliffs come close to the sea, they rise from 50 to 300 feet above it, and the waves in some places break with great violence along the shore. Even the sandy beach is frequently interrupted by low projecting cliffs, but the soundings are in general regular. The projecting points are usually too short and too far from one another to form safe anchorages and to break the swell of the sea. Towards Point Carreta a few inlets occur, which form good harbours, though even here the landing in boats is generally difficult and sometimes impracticable. Fresh water is much more abundant, and may be got in several places. The first harbour which occurs, after leaving Arica, is that of Islay, the port of Arequipa. Cove Mollendo formerly served for that purpose, but it has so changed, that at present it only admits boats, or very small coasting vessels. Port Islay is formed by a few straggling islands which lie off Point Islay, and is capable of containing twenty or twenty-five vessels. The anchorage is good, but the landing extremely difficult, and at the full of the moon it is sometimes impracticable for several days. Point Lomas, the port of Acari, lies farther west, and is an open roadstead, but it has good anchorage in from five to fifteen fathoms, and tolerable landing. Some distance farther west there are two good harbours, S. Juan and S. Nicolas, with excellent anchorage and tolerable landing; but the country about them is sterile and uninhabited. Farther west is the Bay of Independencia, which lies between Cape Quemada and Cape Carreta, and is protected towards the sea by two islands, Santa Rosa and Santa Vieja, of which the latter rises to a considerable elevation. It extends 15 miles from south-east to north-west, and is about 3 miles broad. There is anchorage in all parts of this spacious bay, the bottom being quite regular in about 20 fathoms. It may be entered from the south by the Strait of Serrate, between the island of Santa Rosa and Cape Quemada, which is three-quarters of a mile wide, or by the wide opening at the north-western extremity, which is called Dardo, and is five miles across between the island of Vieja and Cape Carreta. As the country surrounding this bay is very thinly inhabited, it is rarely visited by vessels.

The coast from Cape Carreta (14° 10′ S. lat.) to the roadstead of Lambayeque (6° 46′ S. lat.), a distance of about VOL. XVIII.-B.