Page:A history of Chile.djvu/445

Rh plain, from which arise here and there considerable hills. Beyond the plain country the lofty Andes pierce the clouds with great volcanic peaks rising to a height of over twenty thousand feet, the. highest being opposite the center of Chile on each side of the Uspallata Pass between Mendoza and San Rosa. Here the great volcanic peaks of Tupangato and Aconcagua rise to a height of over twenty two thousand feet above the sea level. Numerous other peaks tower to a height of from fifteen thousand to eighteen thousand feet. In the mountains on the Chilean side are the sources of the many rivers which cut their way through the fertile plains and the Cordilleras to the Pacific; between the lofty snow-capped peaks are numerous valley pastures where herds are kept.

North of 31° the Cordillera ranges become less regular; they scatter into spurs as they approach the desert regions and are covered with sandy wastes. The Atacama desert is a plateau with a height varying from four thousand to ten thousand feet. The country along the coast bears evidence of recent upheavals, similar, though on a larger scale, to the elevation of several leagues of coast region at Valparaiso in 1882, when an uplift of about six feet occurred. Going inland there are found five terraces, indicating as many uplifts of the land at different periods, the terraces ranging in height from one hundred and eighty to two hundred and eighty feet. In the vicinity of Coquimbo the terraces extend back some distance into the country, forming little plains upon which the cities of Coquimbo and La Serena are built. Seashells are found in different places at elevations of from five hundred to one thousand three hundred feet, so that present changes of surface are mild compared with those of other ages. Chile is, in fact, a new creation, geologically speaking,