The Journal of Geography Published Monthly Except July and August Successor to the Journal of School Geography, Vol. V, and the Bulletin of the American Bureau of Geography, Vol. II. Editor RAY HUGHES WHITBECK. Associate Editor, Of the Department of Geology and Geography, University of Wisconsin. Contributing Editors, 1916-17 ISAIAH BOWMAN, Director of the American Geographical Society, New York. ALBERT PERRY BRIGHAM, Professor of Geology, Colgate University, Hamilton, N. Y. JAMES F. CHAMBERLAIN, Professor of Geography, State Normal School, Los Angeles, Cal. W. N. CLIFFORD, Southern High School, Philadelphia, Pa. GEORGE E. CONDRA, Professor of Geography, University of Nebraska. WILLIAM M. DAVIS, Cambridge, Mass. PHILIP EMERSON, Principal Cobbet Grammar School, Lynn, Mass. N. M. FENNEMAN, Professor of Geology, University of Cincinnati. WILLIAM M. GREGORY, Professor of Geography, Normal School, Cleveland, O. J. PAUL GOODE, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Chicago. 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THE WEATHER FACTOR IN THE GREAT WAR, V THE INFLUENCE OF THE LUMBER INDUSTRY UPON THE SALT INDUSTRY OF A RECOMMENDED LIST OF ESSENTIALS IN PLACE GEOGRAPHY. .V. C. Bell, T. M. Davies, H. D. Smith 130 CURRENT MATERIAL FOR THE GEOGRAPHY TEACHER. 141 THE PASSING OF THE GREAT RACE. PORTO RICO'S GROWTH IN PRODUCTION AND EXPORT. THE CARAVAN TRADE OF THE SAHARA (map). SOME MOVEMENTS OF STATE CENTERS OF POPULATION AND THEIR SIGNIFIC- EDITORIAL-ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL....R. H. Whitbeck THE WEATHER FACTOR IN THE GREAT WAR, VI... SHIP-BUILDING IN THE UNITED STATES, PAST AND PRESENT. THE RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA.... A CLASSIFIED LIST OF GEOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FREE OR AT SMALL COST. COMPILED BY MARY JOSEPHINE BOOTH, LIBRARIAN, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, CHARLESTON, ILL. Selected from a larger list published as Bulletin 54 of the East- ern Illinois State Normal School, under date of October, 1916 The JOURNAL of GEOGRAPHY Volume XV SEPTEMBER 1916 Number 1 THE ANDES AS A FACTOR IN SOUTH AMERICAN T GEOGRAPHY BY WALTER S. TOWER University of Chicago HE Andean Cordillera is the most conspicuous physical feature of South America. It also is one of the greatest of all mountain barriers. Its length is about 4,500 miles (Lat. 11° N. to 55° S.), and for more than half this distance it is continuous at an average elevation exceeded only by the Himalayas. The Himalayan barrier, however, is continuous for only about 1500 miles, whereas the Andes are unbroken for a distance nearly twice as great. Furthermore, the position of the Andes, so close to the Pacific coast and with the very low and flat interior plains on the east, makes the relief of these mountains somewhat greater and sharper than in most of the great highlands of the world. To cross the highland from the west, for example, anywhere between latitudes 5° and 35° S., it is necessary to make an ascent from sea level to 10,000 to 15,000 feet, the heights of the passes, within a horizontal distance of less than 100 miles in most cases. On the eastern side of the highland, similarly, a horizontal distance of but little more than 100 miles separates mountain peaks of 20,000 feet from flat plains less than 1000 feet above sea-level. With such great extent, high altitudes and marked relief, the Andean Highland must be an important factor in the geography of the continent. The Andes, however, should not be discussed as a whole with respect to the important influences which they have exerted in South American development, because of the different characteristics and relations, from one place to another, in their great north and south extent. It is convenient to make at least three divisions, according to well-marked characteristics which distinguish each section from the others. These three divisions may be called the Southern Andes, the Middle Andes, and the Northern Andes, each division representing not far from one-third the whole length of the Cordillera. The chief distinction between sections are: (1) width; (2) altitudes; (3) development of separate ranges and plateaus; and (4) con tinuity, or relations to drainage. There are also from section to section differences in geological relations, climate, vegetation and other natural resources which help to accentuate the contrasts. THE SOUTHERN ANDES The Southern Andes, extending from the southern tip of the continent to about latitude 30° S. may be described, in general, as a narrow, complex range, running very nearly due north and south. Along this axis, the width of the mountain zone varies from forty or fifty miles to more than one hundred miles in some places; the width tending to increase toward the north. The summit altitudes increase from six or seven thousand feet near the southern end to the highest peaks of the continent near the northern end; Aconcagua exceeding 23,000 feet, with Tupungato and Mercedario probably reaching 22,000 feet. These, and many others ranging from 14,000 to 18,000 feet, are volcanoes, only a few of which are active. Through most of its length this mountain zone is occupied by two or more ranges, approximately parallel, with no great contrast in elevations from one range to another. For the most part the ranges stand so close together that there are few valleys of much importance, and very little development of intermontane plateaus. As a whole, the Southern Andes are less of a barrier than either of the other two divisions, partly because the altitudes average lower, partly because the mountain zone is not so wide, and especially because low passes are much more numerous. At the northern end of this section, streams are small and few, none of them cross the Cordillera, and the passes are high, 10,000 to 13,000 feet, the most famous, Uspallata Pass, having an elevation of about 12,790 feet. From about the 38th parallel southward streams are larger and more numerous, and some of them cross the Cordillera, as a result of which there are many more passes, at comparatively low elevations, 3,000 to 6,000 feet. South of the 42nd parallel, however, the inhospitable character of the region west of the Andean crest robs most of these passes of any importance which they otherwise might have. The results of lower altitudes, narrow mountain zone and numerous breaks in the ranges are found in the extent to which the sections along the eastern flank have been influenced by relations with Chilean settlements on the west. Between the 38th and 42nd parallels, for example, the relations with the transAndean districts have been on the whole more important than those with the Argentine centers to the east. |