Chapter IV: Front Matter (4)

The volcanic origin of the Andes and their comparatively recent
elevation still subject Chile, in common with other parts of the
western coast region, to frequent volcanic and seismic disturbances.
In some instances since European occupation, violent earthquake shocks
have resulted in considerable elevations of certain parts of the
coast. After the great earthquake of 1835 Captain Robert FitzRoy
(1805-1865) of H.M.S. "Beagle" found putrid mussel-shells still
adhering to the rocks 10 ft. above high water on the island of Santa
Maria, 30 m. from Concepcion, and Charles Darwin declares, in
describing that disaster, that "there can be no doubt that the land
round the bay of Concepcion was upraised two or three feet." These
upheavals, however, are not always permanent, the upraised land
sometimes settling back to its former position. This happened on the
island of Santa Maria after 1835. The existence of sea-shells at
elevations of 350 to 1300 ft. in other parts of the republic shows
that these forces, supplemented by a gradual uplifting of the coast,
have been in operation through long periods of time and that the
greater part of central and southern Chile has been raised from the
sea in this way. These earthquake shocks have two distinct
characteristics, a slight vibration, sometimes almost imperceptible,
called a _temblor_, generally occurring at frequent intervals, and a
violent horizontal or rotary vibration, or motion, also repeated at
frequent intervals, called a _terremoto_, which is caused by a
fracture or displacement of the earth's strata at some particular
point, and often results in considerable damage. When the earthquake
occurs on the coast, or beneath the sea in its vicinity, tidal waves
are sometimes formed, which cause even greater damage than the
earthquake itself. Arica has been three times destroyed by tidal
waves, and other small towns of the north Chilean coast have suffered
similar disasters. Coquimbo was swept by a tidal wave in 1849, and
Concepcion and Talcahuano were similarly destroyed in 1835. The great
earthquake which partially destroyed Valparaiso in 1906, however, was
not followed by a tidal wave. These violent shocks are usually limited
to comparatively small districts, though the vibrations may be felt at
long distances from the centre of disturbance. In this respect Chile
may be divided into at least four great earthquake areas, two in the
desert region, the third enclosing Valparaiso, and the fourth
extending from Concepcion to Chiloe. A study of Chilean earthquake
phenomena, however, would probably lead to a division of southern
Chile into two or more distinct earthquake areas.

Coast.

The coast of Chile is fringed with an extraordinary number of islands
extending from Chiloe S. to Cape Horn, the grouping of which shows
that they are in part the summits of a submerged mountain chain, a
continuation southward of the Cordillera Maritima. Three groups of
these islands, called the Chiloe, Guaytecas and Chonos archipelagoes,
lie N. of the Taytao peninsula (lat. 45 deg. 50' to 46 deg. 55' S.), and
with the mainland to the E. form the province of Chiloe. The largest of
these is the island of Chiloe, which is inhabited. Some of the smaller
islands of these groups are also inhabited, though the excessive
rainfall of these latitudes and the violent westerly storms render
them highly unfavourable for human occupation. Some of the smallest
islands are barren rocks, but the majority of them are covered with
forests. These archipelagoes are separated from the mainland in the
north by the gulfs of Chacao (or Ancud) and Corcovado, 30 to 35 m.
wide, which appear to be a submerged part of the great central valley
of Chile, and farther south by the narrower Moraleda channel, which
terminates southward in a confusing network of passages between the
mainland and the islands of the Chonos group. One of the narrow parts
of the Chilean mainland is to be found opposite the upper islands of
this group, where the accidental juxtaposition of Magdalena island,
which indents the continent over half a degree at this point, and the
basin of Lake Fontana, which gives the Argentine boundary a sharp
wedge-shaped projection westward, narrows the distance between the
two to about 26 m. The Taytao peninsula, incorrectly called the Tres
Montes on some maps, is a westward projection of the mainland, with
which it is connected by the narrow isthmus of Ofqui, over which the
natives and early missionaries were accustomed to carry their boats
between the Moraleda Channel and Gulf of Penas. A short ship canal
here would give an uninterrupted and protected inside passage from
Chacao Channel all the way to the Straits of Magellan, a distance of
over 760 m. A southern incurving projection of the outer shore-line of
this peninsula is known as Tres Montes peninsula, the most southern
point of which is a cape of the same name. Below the Taytao peninsula
is the broad open Gulf of Penas, which carries the coast-line eastward
fully 100 m. and is noticeably free from islands. The northern
entrance to Messier Channel is through this gulf. Messier, Pitt,
Sarmiento and Smyth's Channels, which form a comparatively safe and
remarkably picturesque inside route for small steamers, about 338 m.
in length, separate another series of archipelagoes from the mainland.
These channels are in places narrow and tortuous. Among the islands
which thickly fringe this part of the coast, the largest are Azopardo
(lying within Baker Inlet), Prince Henry, Campana, Little Wellington,
Great Wellington and Mornington (of the Wellington archipelago), Madre
de Dios, Duke of York, Chatham, Hanover, Cambridge, Contreras, Rennell
and the Queen Adelaide group of small barren rocks and islands lying
immediately north of the Pacific entrance to the Straits of Magellan.
The large number of English names on this coast is due to the fact
that the earliest detailed survey of this region was made by English
naval officers; the charts prepared from their surveys are still in
use and form the basis of all subsequent maps. None of these islands
is inhabited, although some of them are of large size, the largest
(Great Wellington) being about 100 m. long. It has likewise been
determined, since the boundary dispute with Argentina called attention
to these territories and led to their careful exploration at the
points in dispute, that Skyring Water, in lat. 53 deg. S., opens westward
into the Gulf of Xaultegua, which transforms Ponsonby Land and Cordoba
(or Croker) peninsula into an island, to which the name of Riesco has
been given. The existence of such a channel was considered probable
when these inland waters were first explored in 1829 by Captain
FitzRoy, but it was not discovered and surveyed until three-quarters
of a century had elapsed. Belonging to the Fuegian group south of the
Straits of Magellan are Desolation, Santa Ines, Clarence, Dawson,
Londonderry, Hoste, Navarin and Wollaston islands, with innumerable
smaller islands and rocks fringing their shores and filling the
channels between them. Admirable descriptions of this inhospitable
region, the farthest south of the inhabited parts of the globe, may be
found in the _Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's
Ships "Adventure" and "Beagle" between the years 1826 and 1836_ (3
vols., 1839).

The western and larger part of Tierra del Fuego (q.v.) belongs to
Chile. About 63 m. S.W. of Cape Horn, in lat. 56 deg. 25' S., is the Diego
Ramirez group of small, rocky islands, the most southern possession of
the republic. Its westernmost possessions are Sala-y-Gomez and Easter
islands, the former in about 27 deg. S., 105 deg. W., and the latter, the
easternmost inhabited Polynesian island, in 27 deg. 6' S., 109 deg. 17' W.
Much nearer the Chilean coast (396 m.), lying between the 33rd and
34th parallels, are the three islands of the Juan Fernandez group, and
rising apparently from the same submerged plateau about 500 m. farther
north of the latter are the rocky islets of San Ambrosio and San
Felix, all belonging to Chile. North of Chiloe there are few islands
in close proximity to the coast. The more important of these are La
Mocha, off the southern coast of Arauco, in lat. 38 deg. 20' S., which is
8 m. long and rises to an elevation of 1240 ft. above the sea; Santa
Maria, 30 m. south-west of Concepcion, which partially encloses the
Bay of Arauco and is well cultivated; and Quiriquina, lying off the
port of Talcahuano in the entrance to Concepcion bay. There are a few
barren islands on the desert coast, the largest of which are between
Coquimbo and Caldera. Since the removal of their guano deposits they
have become practically worthless, except where they serve to shelter
anchorages.

Harbours.

The coast of northern and central Chile is singularly deficient in
good harbours. Those of the desert region are only slight indentations
in a remarkably uniform coast-line, sheltered on one side by a point
of land, or small island. The landings are generally dangerous because
of the surf, and the anchorages are unsafe from storms on the
unprotected side. Among the most frequented of these are Valparaiso,
Coquimbo, Caldera, Iquique and Arica. There are some small harbours
for coasting vessels of light draught along the coast of central
Chile, usually at the partially obstructed mouths of the larger
rivers, as San Antonio near the mouth of the Maipo, Constitucion at
the mouth of the Maule, and Llico on the outlet of Lake Vichuquen, but
there is no harbour of importance until Conception (or Talcahuano) Bay
is reached. There are three harbours on this bay, El Tome, Penco and
Talcahuano (q.v.), the last being the largest and best-protected port
on the inhabited part of the Chilean coast. Immediately south of this
bay is the large Bay of Arauco, into which the Bio-Bio river
discharges, and on which, sheltered by the island of Santa Maria, are
the ports of Coronel and Lota. The next important harbour is that of
El Corral, at the mouth of the Valdivia river and 15 m. below the
city of Valdivia. The Bay of San Carlos on the northern coast of
Chiloe, which opens upon the narrow Chacao channel, has the port of
Ancud, or San Carlos, and is rated an excellent harbour for vessels of
light and medium draught. Inside the island of Chiloe the large gulfs
of Chacao (or Ancud) and Corcovado are well protected from the severe
westerly storms of these latitudes, but they are little used because
the approach through the Chacao channel is tortuous and only 2 to 3 m.
wide, and the two gulfs, though over 30 m. wide and 150 m. long, are
beset with small rocky islands. At the north end of the first is the
Reloncavi, a large and nearly landlocked bay, on which stands Puerto
Montt, the southern terminus of the Chilean central railway. The large
Gulf of Penas, south of Taytao peninsula, is open to the westerly
storms of the Pacific, but it affords entrance to several natural
harbours. Among these are the Gulfs of Tres Montes and San Estevan,
and Tarn Bay at the entrance to Messier Channel. The next 300 m. of
the Chilean coast contain numerous bays and inlets affording safe
harbours, but the mainland and islands are uninhabited and the climate
inhospitable. Behind Rennell Island in lat. 52 deg. S., however, is a
succession of navigable estuaries which penetrate inland nearly to the
Argentine frontier. The central part of this group of estuaries is
called Worsley Sound, and the last and farthest inland of its arms is
Last Hope Inlet (Ultima Esperanza), on which is situated the Chilean
agricultural colony of Puerto Consuelo. The Straits of Magellan, about
360 m. in length, lie wholly within Chilean territory. Midway of them
is situated Punta Arenas, the most southern town and port of the
republic.

Rivers.

Except in the extreme south the hydrography of Chile is of the
simplest description, all the larger rivers having their sources in
the Andes and flowing westward to the Pacific. Their courses are
necessarily short, and only a few have navigable channels, the
aggregate length of which is only 705 m. Nearly all rivers in the
desert region are lost in the sands long before reaching the coast.
Their waterless channels are interesting, however, as evidence of a
time when climatological conditions on this coast were different. The
principal rivers of this region are Sama (which forms the provisional
boundary line with Peru), Tacna, Camarones, Loa, Copiapo, Huasco,
Elqui, Limari and Choapa. The Loa is the largest, having its sources
on the slopes of the Cordillera south of the Minho volcano, between
21 deg. and 21 deg. 30' S. lat., and flowing south on an elevated plateau
to Chiuchiu, and thence west and north in a great curve to Quillaga,
whence its dry channel turns westward again and reaches the Pacific in
lat. 21 deg. 28' S., a few miles south of the small port of Huanillos. Its
total length is estimated at 250 m. The upper courses of the river are
at a considerable elevation above the sea and receive a large volume
of water from the Cordilleras. The water of its upper course and
tributaries is sweet, and is conducted across the desert in pipes to
some of the coast towns, but in its lower course, as in all the rivers
of this region, it becomes brackish. The Copiapo, which once
discharged into the sea, is now practically exhausted in irrigating a
small fertile valley in which stands the city of that name. The
Copiapo and Huasco have comparatively short courses, but they receive
a considerable volume of water from the higher sierras. The latter is
also used to irrigate a small, cultivated valley. The rivers of the
province of Coquimbo--the Elqui or Coquimbo, Limari and Choapa--exist
under less arid conditions, and like those of the province of
Aconcagua--the Ligua and Aconcagua--are used to irrigate a much larger
area of cultivated territory. The central agricultural provinces are
traversed by several important rivers, all of them rising on the
western slopes of the snow-clad Andes and breaking through the lower
coast range to the Pacific after being extensively used to irrigate
the great central valley of Chile. These are the Maipo (Maypo or
Maipu), Rapel, Mataquito, Maule, Itata, Bio-Bio, Imperial, Tolten,
Valdivia or Calle-Calle, Bueno and Maullin. With the exception of the
first three, these rivers have short navigable channels, but they are
open only to vessels of light draught because of sand-bars at their
mouths. The largest is the Bio-Bio, which has a total length of 220
m., 100 of which are navigable. These rivers have been of great
service in the agricultural development of this part of Chile,
affording means of transportation where railways and highways were
entirely lacking. Some of the larger tributaries of these rivers,
whose economic value has been equally great, are the Mapocho, which
flows through Santiago and enters the Maipo from the north; the
turbulent Cachapoal, which joins the Rapel from the north; the Claro,
which waters an extensive part of the province of Talca and enters the
Maule from the north; the Nuble, which rises in the higher Andes north
of the peaks of Chillan and flows entirely across the province of
Nuble to join the Itata on its western frontier; the Laja, which rises
in a lake of the same name near the Argentine frontier in about lat.
35 deg. 30' S. and flows almost due west to the Bio-Bio; and the Cautin,
which rises in the north-east corner of Cautin and after a tortuous
course westward nearly across that province forms the principal
confluent of the Imperial. The unsettled southern regions of Chiloe
(mainland) and Magallanes are traversed by a number of important
rivers which have been only partially explored. They have their
sources in the Andes, some of them on the eastern side of the line of
highest summits. The Puelo has its origin in a lake of the same name
in Argentine territory, and flows north-west through the Cordilleras
into an estuary (Reloncavi Inlet) of the Gulf of Reloncavi at the
northern end of the Gulf of Chacao. Its lower course is impeded in
such a manner as to form three small lakes, called Superior, Inferior
and Taguatagua. A large northern tributary of the Puelo, the Manso,
has its sources in Lake Mascardi and other lakes and streams
south-east of the Cerro Tronador, also in Argentina, and flows
south-west through the Cordilleras to unite with the Puelo a few miles
west of the 72nd meridian. The Reloncavi Inlet also receives the
outflow of Lake Todos los Santos through a short tortuous stream
called the Petrohue. The Comau Inlet and river form the boundary line
between the provinces of Llanquihue and Chiloe, and traverse a densely
wooded country in a north-westerly direction from the Andes to the
north-eastern shore of the Gulf of Chacao. Continuing southward, the
Yelcho is the next important river to traverse this region. It drains
a large area of Argentine territory, where it is called the Rio
Fetaleufu or Fetalauquen, its principal source being a large lake of
the same name. It flows south-west through the Andes, and then
north-west through Lake Yelcho to the Gulf of Corcovado. The Argentine
colony of the 16th of October, settled principally by Welshmen from
Chubut, is located on some of the upper tributaries of this river, in
about lat. 43 deg. S. The Palena is another river of the same character,
having its source in a large frontier lake called General Paz and
flowing for some distance through Argentine territory before crossing
into Chile. It receives one large tributary from the south, the Roo
Pico, and enters an estuary of the Gulf of Corcovado a little north of
the 44th parallel. The Frias is wholly a Chilean river, draining an
extensive Andean region between the 44th and 45th parallels and
discharging into the Puyuguapi channel, which separates Magdalena
island from the mainland. The Aisen also has its source in Argentine
territory near the 46th parallel, and drains a mountainous region as
far north as the 45th parallel, receiving numerous tributaries, and
discharging a large volume of water into the Moraleda channel in about
lat. 45 deg. 20' S. The lower course of this river is essentially an
inlet, and is navigable for a short distance. The next large river is
the Las Heras, or Baker, through which the waters of Lakes Buenos
Aires and Pueyrredon, or Cochrane, find their way to the Pacific. Both
of these large lakes are crossed by the boundary line. The Las Heras
discharges into Martinez Inlet, the northern part of a large estuary
called Baker or Calen Inlet which penetrates the mainland about 75 m.
and opens into Tarn Bay at the south-east corner of the Gulf of Penas.
Azopardo (or Merino Jarpa) island lies wholly within this great
estuary, while at its mouth lies a group of smaller islands, called
Baker Islands, which separate it from Messier Channel. The course of
the Las Heras from Lake Buenos Aires is south and south-west, the
short range of mountains in which are found the Cerros San Valentin
and Arenales forcing it southward for an outlet. Baker Inlet also
receives the waters of still another large Argentine-Chilean lake, San
Martin, whose far-reaching fjord-like arms extend from lat. 49 deg. 10'
to 48 deg. 20' S.; its north-west arm drains into the Tero, or La Pascua,
river. Lake San Martin lies in a crooked deeply cut passage through
the Andes, and the divide between its southern extremity (Laguna Tar)
and Lake Viedma, which discharges through the Santa Cruz river into
the Atlantic, is so slight as to warrant the hypothesis that this was
once a strait between the two oceans. After a short north-westerly
course the Toro discharges into Baker Inlet in lat. 48 deg. 15' S., long.
73 deg. 24' W. South of the Toro there are no large rivers on this coast,
but the narrow fjords penetrate deeply into the mountains and bring
away the drainage of their snow-capped, storm-swept elevations. A
peculiar network of fjords and connecting channels terminating inland
in a peculiarly shaped body of water with long, widely branching arms,
called Worsley Sound, Obstruction Sound and Last Hope Inlet, covers an
extensive area between the 51st and 53rd parallels, and extends nearly
to the Argentine frontier. It has the characteristics of a tidewater
river and drains an extensive region. The sources of the Argentine
river Coile are to be found among the lakes and streams of this same
region, within Chilean territory. A noteworthy peculiarity of southern
Chile, from the Taytao peninsula (about 46 deg. 50' S. lat.) to Tierra
del Fuego, is the large number of glaciers formed on the western and
southern slopes of the Cordilleras and other high elevations, which
discharge direct into these deeply cut estuaries. Some of the larger
lakes of the Andes have glaciers discharging into them. The formation
of these icy streams at comparatively low levels, with their discharge
direct into tidewater estuaries, is a phenomenon not to be found
elsewhere in the same latitudes.

Lakes.

The lakes of Chile are numerous and important, but they are found
chiefly in the southern half of the republic. In the north the only
lakes are large lagoons, or morasses, on the upper saline plateaus
between the 23rd and 28th parallels. They are fed from the melting
snows and periodical storms of the higher Andes, and most of them are
completely dry part of the year. Their waters are saturated with
saline compounds, which in some cases have considerable commercial
value. In central Chile above the Bio-Bio river the lakes are small
and have no special geographical interest, with the exception perhaps
of the Laguna del Maule, in 36 deg. 7' S., and Laguna de la Laja, in 37
deg. 20', which lie in the Andes near the Argentine frontier and are
sources of the two rivers of the same names. Below the Bio-Bio river
there is a line of large picturesque lakes extending from the province
of Cautin, south through that of Llanquihue, corresponding in
character and position to the dry lacustrine depressions extending
northward in the same valley. They lie on the eastern side near the
Cordilleras, and serve the purpose of great reservoirs for the
excessive precipitation of rain and snow on their western slopes. With
one exception they all drain westward into the Pacific through short
and partly navigable rivers, and some of the lakes are also utilized
for steamship navigation. These lakes are Villarica on the southern
frontier of Cautin, Rinihue and Ranco in Valdivia, and Puyehue,
Rupanco, Llanquihue and Todos los Santos in Llanquihue. The largest of
the number are Lakes Ranco and Llanquihue, the former with an
estimated area of 200 sq. m. and the latter of 300 sq. m. Lake Todos
los Santos is situated well within the Andean foothills north-east of
Puerto Montt and at an elevation of 509 ft., considerably above that
of the other lakes, Lake Ranco being 230 ft. above sea-level. The
great Andean lakes of General Paz (near the 44th parallel), Buenos
Aires (in lat. 46 deg. 30' S.), Pueyrredon, or Cpchrane (47 deg. 15' S.)
and San Martin (49 deg. S.), lie partly within Chilean territory. In the
extreme south are Lagoa Blanca, a large fresh-water lake in lat. 52 deg.
30' S., and two large inland salt-water sounds, or lagoons, called
Otway Water and Skyring Water, connected by FitzRoy Passage.

_Geology._--Chile may be divided longitudinally into two regions which
differ from each other in their geological structure. Along the coast
lies a belt of granite and schist overlaid unconformably by Cretaceous
and Tertiary deposits; inland the mountains are formed chiefly of
folded Mesozoic beds, together with volcanic rocks of later date. The
great longitudinal valley of Chile runs approximately, but only
approximately, along the boundary between the two zones. Towards the
north the coastal zone disappears beneath the sea and the Andean zone
reaches to the shore. The ancient rocks which form the most
characteristic feature of the former do indeed occur upon the coast of
Peru, but in the north of Chile they are found only in isolated masses
standing close to the shore or, as at Mejillones, projecting into the
sea. South of Antofagasta the old rocks form a nearly continuous band
along the coast, extending as far as Cape Horn and Staten Island, and
occupying the greater part of the islands of southern Chile.
Lithologically they are crystalline schists, together with granite,
diorite, gabbro and other igneous rocks. They are known to be
pre-Jurassic, but whether they are Palaeozoic or Archaean is
uncertain. They are strongly folded and are overlaid unconformably by
Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits. In the north both the Cretaceous and
Tertiary beds of this zone are limited in extent, but towards the
south Mesozoic beds, which are at least in part Cretaceous, form a
band of considerable width. The Tertiary beds include both marine and
terrestrial deposits, and appear to be chiefly of Miocene and Pliocene
age. The whole of the north part of Tierra del Fuego is occupied by
plateaus of horizontal Tertiary strata.

The Chilean Andes correspond with the Western Cordillera of Bolivia
and Peru, and consist almost entirely of Jurassic and Cretaceous beds,
together with the products of the Tertiary eruptions. The Mesozoic
beds are thrown into a series of parallel folds which run in the
direction of the chain and which are generally free from any
complications such as overthrusting or overfolding. The Cretaceous
beds form a synclinal upon the eastern side of the chain (and, in
general, beyond the Chilean boundary), while the Jurassic beds are
thrown into a number of folds which form the axis and the western
flank. Through the Mesozoic beds are intruded granitic and other
igneous rocks of Tertiary age, and upon the folded Mesozoic foundation
rise the volcanic cones of Tertiary and later date. The Trias is known
only at La Ternera near Copiapo, where coal-seams with Rhaetic plants
have been found; but the rest of the Mesozoic series, from the Lias to
the Upper Cretaceous, appears to be represented without a break of
more than local importance. The deposits are marine, consisting mainly
of sandstone and limestone, together with tuffs and conglomerates of
porphyry and porphyrite. These porphyritic rocks form a characteristic
feature of the southern Andes, and were at one time supposed to be
metamorphic; but they are certainly volcanic, and as they contain
marine fossils they must have been laid down beneath the sea. They are
not confined to any one horizon, but occur irregularly throughout the
Jurassic and occasionally also amongst the Cretaceous strata. They
form, in fact, a special facies which may frequently be traced
laterally into the more normal marine deposit of the same age. The
fauna of the Mesozoic beds is very rich, and includes forms which are
found in northern Europe, others which occur in central Europe, and
others again which are characteristic of the Mediterranean region. It
lends no support to Neumayr's theory of climatic zones. A large part
of the chain is covered by the products of the great volcanoes which
still form the highest summits of the Chilean and Argentine Andes. The
rocks are liparites, dacites, hornblende and pyroxene andesites. The
recent lavas of the still active volcanoes of the south are
olivine-bearing hypersthene-andesite and basalt.[1]

_Climate_.--The climate of Chile varies widely, from the tropical
heat and extreme arid conditions of the northern coast to the low
temperatures and extreme humidity of western Tierra del Fuego and the
southern coast. The high altitudes of the Andean region also introduce
vertical zones of temperature, modified to some extent by the rainless
plateaus of the north, and by the excessive rainfall of the south. In
general terms it may be said that the extremes of temperature are not
so great as in corresponding latitudes of the northern hemisphere,
because of the greater expanse of water in comparison with the land
areas, the summers being cooler and the winters warmer. The cold
antarctic, or Humboldt, current sweeps northward along the coast and
greatly modifies the heat of the arid, tropical plateaus. The climate
of northern and central Chile is profoundly affected by the high
mountain barrier on the eastern frontier and by the broad treeless
pampas of Argentina, which raise the easterly moisture-laden winds
from the Atlantic to so high an elevation that they sweep across Chile
without leaving a drop of rain. At very rare intervals light rains
fall in the desert regions north of Coquimbo, but these are brought by
the prevailing coast winds. With this exception these regions are the
most arid on the face of the globe, highly heated by a tropical sun
during the day and chilled at night by the proximity of snow-covered
heights and a cold ocean current. Going south the temperature slowly
falls and the rainfall gradually increases, the year being divided
into a short rainy season and a long, dry, cloudless season. At
Copiapo, in 27 deg. 22' S., 1300 ft. above the sea, the mean annual
temperature is 60 deg. and the rainfall about 1 in., but at Coquimbo, in
29 deg. 56' S., the temperature is 59.2 deg. and the rainfall 11/2 in. At
Santiago, in 33 deg. 27' S., 1755 ft. above the sea, the mean temperature
is 54 deg. and the annual rainfall 161/2 in., though the latter varies
considerably. The number of rainy days in the year averages about 21.
At Talca, in 35 deg. 36' S. and 334 ft. above sea-level, the mean annual
temperature is nearly one degree above that of Santiago, but the
rainfall has increased to 19.7 in. The long dry season of this region
makes irrigation necessary, and vegetation has something of a
subtropical appearance, palms growing naturally as far south as 37 deg.
The climate is healthy and agreeable, though the death-rate among the
common people is abnormally high on account of personal habits and
unsanitary surroundings. In southern Chile the climate undergoes a
radical change--the prevailing winds becoming westerly, causing a long
rainy season with a phenomenal rainfall. The plains as well as the
western slopes of the Andes are covered with forest, the rivers become
torrents, and the sky is covered with heavy clouds a great part of the
year. At Valdivia, in 39 deg. 49' S. and near the sea-level, the mean
annual temperature is 52.9 deg. and the annual rainfall 108 to 115 in.,
with about 150 rainy days in the year. These meteorological conditions
are still more accentuated at Ancud, at the north end of the island of
Chiloe, in 41 deg. 46' S., where the mean annual temperature is 50.7 deg.
and the annual rainfall 134 in. The equable character of the climate at
this point is shown by the limited range between its summer and winter
temperatures, the mean for January being 56.5 deg. and the mean for July
45.9 deg. The almost continual cloudiness is undoubtedly a principal
cause, not only of the low summer temperatures, but also of the
comparatively high winter temperatures. Frosts are infrequent, and
snow does not lie long. The climate is considered to be healthful
notwithstanding the excessive humidity. The 600 m. of coast from the
Chonos Archipelago south to the Fuegian islands have a climate closely
approximating that of the latter. It is wet and stormy all the year
through, though the rainfall is much less than that of Ancud and
Valdivia. The line of perpetual snow, which is 6000 ft. above
sea-level between lat. 41 deg. and 43 deg., descends to 3500 (to 4000)
ft. in Tierra del Fuego, affording another indication of the low maximum
temperatures ruling during the summer. At the extreme south, where
Chilean territory extends across to the Atlantic entrance to the
Straits of Magellan, a new climatic influence is encountered in the
warm equatorial current flowing down the east coast of South America,
which gives to eastern Tierra del Fuego a higher temperature than that
of the western shore. The Andes, although much broken in these
latitudes, also exert a modifying influence on these eastern
districts, sheltering them from the cold westerly storms and giving
them a drier climate. This accounts for the surprising meteorological
data obtained from Punta Arenas, in 53 deg. 10' S., where the mean annual
temperature is 43.2 deg. and the annual rainfall only 22.5 in. Other
observations reduce this annual precipitation to less than 16 in.
According to observations made by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition
(1901-1903), at Orange Bay, Hoste Island, in lat. 55 deg. 31' S., long.
68 deg. 05' W., which is more exposed to the westerly storms, the mean
temperature for 11 months was 41.98 deg. and the total precipitation
(rain and snow) 53.1 in. The mean maximum temperature was 49.24 deg.,
and the mean minimum 35.83 deg. The observations showed 284 days with
rain or snow, of which 70 were with snow.

_Flora_.--The indigenous flora of Chile is less extensive and less
interesting than those of Argentina and Brazil, but contains many
peculiar genera and species. A classification of this flora
necessitates its division into at least three general zones--the
desert provinces of the north, central Chile, and the humid regions of
the south. The first is an arid desert absolutely barren along part of
the coast, between Tacna and Copiapo, but with a coarse scanty
vegetation near the Cordilleras along watercourses and on the slopes
where moisture from the melting snows above percolates through the
sand. In the valleys of the Copiapo and Huasco rivers a meagre
vegetation is to be found near their channels, apart from what is
produced by irrigation, but the surface of the plateau and the dry
river channels below the sierras are completely barren. Continuing
southward into the province of Coquimbo a gradual change in the arid
conditions may be observed. The higher summits of the Cordilleras
afford a larger and more continuous supply of water, and so dependent
are the people in the cultivated river valleys on this source of water
supply that they watch for snowstorms in the Cordilleras as an
indication of what the coming season is to be. The arborescent growth
near the mountains is larger and more vigorous, in which are to be
found the "algarrobo" (_Prosopis siliquastrum_) and "chanar"
(_Gourliea chilensis_), but the only shrub to be found on the coast is
a species of _Skytanthus_. Near the sierras where irrigation is
possible, fruit-growing is so successful, especially the grape and
fig, that the product is considered the best in Chile. In regard to
the indigenous flora of this region John Ball[2] says: "The species
which grow here are the more or less modified representatives of
plants which at some former period existed under very different
conditions of life." Proceeding southward cacti become common, first a
dwarfed species, and then a larger columnar form (_Cereus quisco_).
The streams are fringed with willows; fruit trees and alfalfa fields
fill the irrigated valleys, and the lower mountain slopes are better
covered with a thorny arborescent growth. The divides between the
streams, however, continue barren as far south as the transverse
ranges of mountains across the province of Aconcagua.

To some degree the flora of central Chile is of a transition character
between the northern and southern zones. It is much more than this,
however, for it has a large number of genera and species peculiarly
its own. A large majority of the 198 genera peculiar to the South
American temperate regions belong exclusively to central Chile. This
zone extends from about the 30th to the 36th parallel, perhaps a
little farther south to include some characteristic types. The
evergreens largely predominate here as well as in the extreme south,
and on the open, sunburnt plains the vegetation takes on a subtropical
aspect. One of the most characteristic trees of this zone is the
_peumo_ (_Cryptocarya peumus_), whose dense evergreen foliage is
everywhere conspicuous. The _quillay_ (_Quillaja saponaria_) is
another characteristic evergreen tree of this region, whose bark
possesses saponaceous properties. In earlier times the coquito palm
(_Jubaea spectabilis_) was to be found throughout this part of Chile,
but it has been almost completely destroyed for its saccharine sap,
from which a treacle was made. One of the most striking forest trees
is the _pehuen_ or Chilean pine (_Araucaria imbricata_), which often
grows to a height of 100 ft. and is prized by the natives for its
fruit. Three indigenous species of the beech--the _roble_ (_Fagus
obliqua_), _coyhue_ (_F. Dombeyi_), and _rauli_ (_F. procera_)--are
widely diffused and highly prized for their wood, especially the
first, which is misleadingly called _roble_ (oak). Most of the woods
used in construction and manufactures are found between the Bio-Bio
river and the Taytao peninsula, among which are the _alerce_
(_Fitzroya patagonica_), _cipres_ or Chiloe cypress (_Libocedrus
tetragona_), the Chilean cypress (_L. Chilensis_), _lingue_ (_Persea
lingue_), laurel (_Laurus aromatica_), _avellano_ (_Guevina
avellana_), _luma_ (_Myrtus luma_), _espino_ (_Acacia cavenia_) and
many others. Several exotic species have been introduced into this
part of Chile, some of which have thriven even better than in their
native habitats. Among these are the oak, elm, beech (_F. sylvatica_),
walnut, chestnut, poplar, willow and eucalyptus. Through the central
zone the plains are open and there are forests on the mountain slopes,
but in the southern zone there are no plains, with the exception of
small areas near the Straits of Magellan, and the forests are
universal. In the variety, size and density of their growth these
forests remind one of the tropics. They are made up, in great part, of
the evergreen beech (_Fagus betuloides_), the deciduous antarctic
beech (_F. antarctica_),[3] and Winter's bark (_Drimys Winteri_),
intermingled with a dense undergrowth composed of a great variety of
shrubs and plants, among which are _Maytenus magellanica, Arbutus
rigida, Myrtus memmolaria_, two or three species of _Berberis_, wild
currant (_Ribes antarctica_), a trailing blackberry, tree ferns,
reed-like grasses and innumerable parasites. On the eastern side of
the Cordillera, in the extreme south, the climate is drier and open,
and grassy plains are found, but on the western side the dripping
forests extend from an altitude of 1000 to 1500 ft. down to the level
of the sea. A peculiar vegetable product of this inclement region is a
small globular fungus growing on the bark of the beech, which is a
staple article of food among the Fuegians--probably the only instance
where a fungus is the bread of a people.

It is generally conceded that the potato originated in southern Chile,
as it is found growing wild in Chiloe and neighbouring islands and on
the adjacent mainland. The strawberry is also indigenous to these
latitudes on both sides of the Andes, and Chile is credited with a
species from which the cultivated strawberry derives some of its best
qualities. Maize and quinoa (_Chenopodium quinoa_) were known in Chile
before the arrival of Europeans, but it is not certain that they are
indigenous. Species of the bean and pepper plant are also indigenous,
and the former is said to have been cultivated by the natives. Among
the many economic plants which have been introduced into Chile and
have become important additions to her resources, the more prominent
are wheat, barley, hemp and alfalfa (_Medicago sativa_), together with
the staple European fruits, such as the apple, pear, peach, nectarine,
grape, fig, olive and orange. The date-palm has also been introduced
into the southern provinces of the desert region. Among the marine
productions on the southern coast, a species of kelp, _Macrocystis
pyrifera_, merits special mention because of its extraordinary length,
its habit of clinging to the rocks in strong currents and turbulent
seas, and its being a shelter for innumerable species of marine
animals. Captain FitzRoy found it growing from a depth of 270 ft.

_Fauna._--The fauna of Chile is comparatively poor, both in species
and individuals. A great part of the northern deserts is as barren of
animal life as of vegetation, and the dense humid forests of the south
shelter surprisingly few species. There are no large mammals in all
this extensive region except the Cetacea and a species of the
_Phocidae_ of southern waters. Neither are there any dangerous species
of Carnivora, which are represented by the timid puma (_Felis
concolor_), three species of wildcats, three of the fox, two of
_Conepatus_, a weasel, sea-otter and six species of seal. The rodents
are the most numerously represented order, which includes the _coypu_
or nutria (_Myopotamus coypus_), the chinchilla (_Chinchilla
laniger_), the tuco-tuco (_Ctenomys brasiliensis_), a rabbit, and 12
species of mice--in all some 12 genera and 25 species. The coypu,
sometimes called the South American beaver, inhabits the river-banks,
and is highly prized for its fur. It is also found along the
river-courses of Argentina. The ruminants are represented by a few
species only--the guanaco (_Auchenia huanaco_), _vicuna_ (_A.
vicugna_), _huemul_ (_Cervus chilensis_), which appears on the Chilean
escutcheon, and the _pudu_ deer, a small and not very numerous
species. There are two species of the Edentata, _Dasypus_ and
_Pichiciego_, the latter very rare, and one of the opossums. European
animals, such as horses, cattle, sheep, swine and goats, have been
introduced into the country and do well. Sheep-raising has also been
inaugurated with some degree of success in the vicinity of the Straits
of Magellan. The avifauna, with the exception of waterfowl, is also
limited to comparatively few species. Birds of prey are represented by
the condor, vulture, two species of the carrion-hawk (_Polyborus_),
and owl. The Chilean slopes of the Andes appear to be a favourite
haunt of the condor, where neighbouring stock-raisers suffer severe
losses at times from its attacks. The _Insessores_ are represented by
a number of species. Parrots are found as far south as Tierra del
Fuego, where Darwin saw them feeding on seeds of the Winter's bark.
Humming-birds have a similar range on this coast, one species
(_Mellisuga Kingii_) being quite numerous as far south as Tierra del
Fuego. A characteristic genus is that of _Pteroptochus_, of which
there are three or four species each characterized by some conspicuous
peculiarity. These are _P. megapodius_, called _El Turco_ by the
natives, which is noticeable for its ungainly appearance and awkward
gait; the _P. albicollis_, which inhabits barren hillsides and is
called _tapacollo_ from the manner of carrying its tail turned far
forward over its back; the _P. rubecula_, of Chiloe, a small timid
denizen of the gloomy forest, called the _cheucau_ or _chuca_, whose
two or three notes are believed by the superstitious natives to be
auguries of impending success or disaster; and an allied species
(_Hylactes Tarnii_, King) called the _guid-guid_ or barking bird,
whose cry is a close imitation of the yelp of a small dog. The
southern coast and its inland waters are frequented by several species
of petrel, among which are the _Procellaria gigantea_, whose strength
and rapacity led the Spaniards to call it _quebranta huesos_
(breakbones), the _Puffinus cinereus_, which inhabits the inland
channels in large flocks, and an allied species (_Puffinuria
Berardii_) which inhabits the inland sounds and resembles the auk in
some particulars of habit and appearance. There are numerous species
in these sheltered channels, inlets and sounds of geese, ducks, swans,
cormorants, ibises, bitterns, red-beaks, curlew, snipe, plover and
moorhens. Conspicuous among these are the great white swan (_Cygnus
anatoides_), the black-necked swan (_Anser nigricollis_), the
antarctic goose (_Anas antarctica_) and the "race-horse" or "steamer
duck" (_Micropterus brachypterus_).

The marine fauna is less known than the others, but it is rich in
species and highly interesting in its varied forms and
characteristics. The northern coast has no sheltered waters of any
considerable extent, and the shore slopes abruptly to a great depth,
which gives it a marine life of no special importance. In the shoal
waters about Juan Fernandez are found a species of codfish (possibly
_Gadus macrocephalus_), differing in some particulars from the
Newfoundland cod, and a large crayfish, both of which are caught for
the Valparaiso market. The sheltered waters of the broken southern
coast, however, are rich in fish and molluscs, especially in mussels,
limpets and barnacles, which are the principal food resource of the
nomadic Indian tribes of those regions. A large species of barnacle,
_Balanus psittacus_, is found in great abundance from Concepcion to
Puerto Montt, and is not only eaten by the natives, by whom it is
called _pico_, but is also esteemed a great delicacy in the markets of
Valparaiso and Santiago. Oysters of excellent flavour are found in
the sheltered waters of Chiloe. The Cetacea, which frequent these
southern waters, are represented by four species--two dolphins and the
sperm and right whale--and the _Phocidae_ by six species, one of which
(_Phoca lupina_) differs but little from the common seal. Another
species (_Macrorhinus leoninus_), popularly known as the sea-elephant,
is provided with short tusks and a short trunk and sometimes grows to
a length of 20 ft. Still another species, the sea-lion (_Otaria
jubata_), furnishes the natives of Tierra del Fuego with an acceptable
article of food, but like the _Phoca lupina_ it is becoming scarce.

Of Reptilia Chile is singularly free, there being recorded only eleven
species--five saurians, four ophidians, one frog and one toad--but a
more thorough survey of the uninhabited territories of the south may
increase this list. There are no alligators in the streams, and the
tropical north has very few lizards. There are no poisonous snakes in
the country, and, in a region so filled with lakes and rivers as the
rainy south, only two species of batrachians. The insect life of these
strangely associated regions is likewise greatly restricted by adverse
climatic conditions, a considerable part of the northern desert being
absolutely barren of animal and vegetable life, while the climate of
Tierra del Fuego and the southern coast is highly unfavourable to
terrestrial animal life, for which reason comparatively few species
are to be found. Writing of a journey inland from Iquique, Charles
Darwin says (_Journal of Researches, &c._, p. 444): "Excepting the
_Vultur aura_, ... I saw neither bird, quadruped, reptile, nor
insect." Of his entomological collection in Tierra del Fuego, which
was not large, the majority were of Alpine species. Moreover, he did
not find a single species common to that island and Patagonia. These
conditions subsist with but few modifications, if any, from the
Straits northward to the 42nd parallel, the extreme humidity, abnormal
rainfall and dark skies being unfavourable to the development of
insect life, while the Andes interpose an impassable barrier to
migration from the countries of the eastern coast. The only venomous
species to be found in central Chile is that of a spider which
frequents the wheat fields in harvest time.

_Population._--The population of Chile is largely concentrated in the twelve agricultural provinces between and including Coquimbo and Concepcion, though the next six provinces to the south, of more recent general settlement, have received some foreign immigrants, and are rapidly growing. In the desert provinces the population is limited to the mining communities, and to the ports and supply stations maintained for their support and for the transport, smelting and export of their produce. The province of Atacama has, in addition to its mining population, a considerable number of agriculturists located in a few irrigated river valleys, which class is largely increased in the adjoining province of Coquimbo. The more northern provinces, however, maintain their populations without the support of such small cultivated areas. In the southern territories unfavourable conditions of a widely different character prevail, and the population is restricted to a few small settlements and some nomadic tribes of Indians. Here, however, there are localities where settlements could be maintained by ordinary means and the population could be greatly increased. Since the census of 1895 the population of Punta Arenas has been largely increased by the discovery of gold in the vicinity. The twelve provinces first mentioned, which include the celebrated "Vale of Chile," comprise only 17% of the area of the republic, but the census of 1895 showed that 72% of the total population was concentrated within their borders. The four desert provinces north of Coquimbo had only 8% of the total, and the seven provinces and one territory south of Concepcion had 20%. According to the census of 1895 the total population was 2,712,145, to which the census officials added 10% to cover omissions. This shows an increase slightly over 7% for the preceding decennial period, the population having been returned as 2,527,320 in 1885. The census returns of 1875 and 1866 gave respectively 2,068,447 and 2,084,943, showing an actual decrease in population. During these years Chile held the anomalous position of a country spending large sums annually to secure immigrants while at the same time her own labouring classes were emigrating by thousands to the neighbouring republics to improve their condition. Writing in 1879, a correspondent of _The Times_[4] stated that this emigration then averaged 8000 a year, and in bad times had reached as many as 30,000 in one year. The condition of the Chilean labourer has been much improved since then, however, and Chile no longer suffers so serious a loss of population. In 1895, the foreigners included in the Chilean population numbered 72,812, of which 42,105 were European, 29,687 American, and 1020 Asiatic, &c. According to nationality there were 8269 Spanish, 7809 French, 7587 Italian, 7049 German, 6241 British, 1570 Swiss, 1490 Austro-Hungarian, 13,695 Peruvian, 7531 Argentine, 6654 Bolivian, 701 American (U.S.), 797 Chinese. According to residence, 1,471,792 were inhabitants of rural districts, and 1,240,353 of towns. The registration of births, marriages and deaths is compulsory since the 1st of January 1885, but the provisions of the law are frequently eluded. Notwithstanding the healthiness of the climate, the death-rate is high, especially in the large cities. In Santiago and Valparaiso the death-rate sometimes rises to 42 and 60 per 1000, and infant mortality is very high, being 73% of the births in some of the provincial towns. This unfavourable state of affairs is due to the poverty, ignorance and insanitary habits of the lower classes. The government has made repeated efforts to secure immigrants from Europe, but the lands set apart for immigrant settlers are in the forested provinces south of the Bio-Bio, where the labour and hardships involved in establishing a home are great, and the protection of the law against bandits and criminal assaults is weak. The Germans have indeed settled in many parts of these southern provinces since 1845, and by keeping together have succeeded in building up several important towns and a large number of prosperous agricultural communities. One German authority (Hueber) estimates the number of Germans in two of these provinces at 5000. The arrivals, however, have been on the whole discouragingly small, the total for the years 1901-1905 being only 14,000.

Although Chileans claim a comparatively small admixture with the native races, it is estimated that the whites and creoles of white extraction do not exceed 30 to 40% of the population, while the _mestizos_ form fully 60%. This estimate is unquestionably conservative, for there has been no large influx of European blood to counterbalance the race mixtures of earlier times. The estimated number of Indians living within the boundaries of Chile is about 50,000, which presumably includes the nomadic tribes of the Fuegian archipelago, whose number probably does not reach 5000. The semi-independent Araucanians, whose territory is slowly being occupied by the whites, are concentrated in the eastern forests of Bio-Bio, Malleco and Cautin, all that remains to them of the Araucania which they so bravely and successfully defended for more than three centuries. Their number does not much exceed 40,000, which is being steadily reduced by drunkenness and epidemic diseases. A small part of these Indians live in settled communities and include some very successful stock-raisers, but the greater part live apart from civilization. There are also some remnants of tribes in the province of Chiloe, which inhabit the island of that name, the Chonos and Guaytecas archipelagoes and the adjacent mainland, who have the reputation of being good boatmen and fishermen; and there are remnants of a people called Changos, on the desert coast, and traces of Calchaqui blood in the neighbouring Andean foothills.

There is a wide difference in every respect between the upper or ruling class and the common people. The former includes the landed proprietors, professional men and a part of those engaged in commercial and industrial pursuits. These educated classes form only a small minority of the population. Many of them, especially the landed proprietors, are descendants of the original Spanish settlers and are celebrated for their politeness and hospitality. The political control of the republic was secured to them by the constitution of 1833. The common people were kept in ignorance and practically in a state of hopeless servitude. They were allowed to occupy small leaseholds on the large estates on condition of performing a certain amount of work for the landlord. Every avenue toward the betterment of their condition was practically closed. The condition of the itinerant labourers (_peons_) was still worse, the wages paid them being hardly sufficient to keep them from starvation. The Chilean _peon_, however, comes from a hardy stock, and has borne all these hardships with a fortitude and patience which go far to counterbalance his faults. Recent reforms in education, &c., together with the growth of manufacturing industries, are slowly leading to improvements in the material condition of the common people.