Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-09-01

prepared by the National Geographic
Society, Washington, D. CO
Peru, which has been celebrating
the hundredth anniversary of its in
dependence from Spain, in the pres
ence of commissioners officially repre-
senting the United States and other
nations. is far enough out of the
beaten path of most North Americans
to be but vaguely known to them. 1t
is often thought of, no doubt, as a
little republic clinging to the sides of
the lofty Andes lest it slip and be
lost in the Pacific But in area and
interest Peru is by no means neg
ligible; and if it has failed to take
an important place in world affairs,
either commercial or political, it may
well be that that fact is due, not to
lack Of size and resources and poten-
tiaI wealth and power, but rather to
immaturity.
Peru has every climate under
heaven, together with many of the
products and conditions that go with
them. 1t has the sand dunes of the
gated valleys of California; the dry
grazing lands of Australia; the pro-
ductive mountain valleys and uplands
of Kashmir: the bleak plateaus of
Tibet; the snowy peaks of Switzer-
land; and the tropical jungles of Cen
tral Africa and Brazil. And off it's
shores, tropical in latitude but mild in
temperature, the waters, so cold that
often they are uncomfortable for bath
ing, are alive with the sea life of the
near-antarctic
Much of Peru is occupied by the
towering Andes, with few passes less
than 10000 feet high, and with numer-
Gus peaks exceeding 21,000 feet.
These great ramparts are chiefly re-
spOnsible for the diversity of Peru's
climatic conditions. They precipitate
the moisture of the Atlantic winds
| and SO create the tropical jungles that
stretch from their bases toward the
interior of the continent; thrust slopes
and plateaus up into the cool regions
of the upper air; and cut off the Pa
cific coast section from the moisture
laden winds, making much Of it a
desert.
Coast Strip Has Rivers but No Rain.
| Although the strip of Peru between
| the Pacific and the western foothills
| of the Andes is devoid of rain and
| largely desert, many streams from the
mountains break across this region to
the sea, and the relatively narrow val
! leys, irrigated from their waters, con-
stitute the most fertile land of the
country.
Most of the desert land between the
| parallel rivers is not so from lack OF
fertility but because of the absence
| of life-giving water. This is a most
unusual region lying within the tropics
and adjoining the sea, where normal
Iy vegetable growth would be abund,
ant. If it could be viewed from a
distance of a thousand miles through
a telescope it would probably appear
much as the supposed canals of Mars
have been described as appearing to
some observers-dark, roughly parallel
IneS of vegetation on a drab, verdure-
less background. Some of the bench
lands have been reclaimed for cOnsid
erable distances from the rivers, and
projects have been considered to i'm,
pound the waters that rush down from
the melting Andean SHOWS and bring
under cultivation practically the whole
coast region.
Peru has an area of about T00,OO
square miles and is therefore only
| slightly smaller than Mexico and vel
over a quarter the size of the United
States exclusive of Alaska. If PERT
could be laid down on the surface OF
the United States so that its southern
most point coincided with the south
ernmost projection of Texas its north
eastern corner would lie near Peoria
Ill.,, and it's northwestern extremity
near Cheyenne. Wyo. The rough tri
angle would cover practically all OF
Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, half OF
Nebraska, parts of Illinois. Missouri
Colorado, Iowa and South Dakota
and fragments of New Mexico ant
Wyoming.
Where the Incas FIourished.
Just as the United States was set
tied from the Atlantic coast and de
velOped first its coastal strip, leavin:
as an unknown region for generations
the country to the west beyond 1T
mountains and deserts, so Peru haI
developed in the reverse direction
The European cOnQuerors of its Inc;
empire entered the country from th'
Pacific coast, and it is along this stril