[Illustration: FIGS. 116-118--Temperature curves for locations in the Maritime Cordillera and its western valleys, October, 1911. For construction of curves see Figs. 109-113. Fig. 116 is for Camp 13 on the northern slope of the Maritime Cordillera (which here runs from east to west), October 13-15; Fig. 117 for Cotahuasi, October 26; Fig. 118 for Salamanca, October 31.]
FIGS. 119-120--Temperature curves for the Coast Desert, November, 1911. Fig. 119 is for Aplao, November 4 and 5; and Fig. 120 for Camaná, November 9 and 10. For construction of curves see Figs. 109 to 113.]
Abancay, 8,000 feet (2,440 m.), in one of the inter-Andean basins, is situated in the zone of marked seasonal precipitation. The single day's record shows the characteristic effect of cloud reducing the maximum temperature of the day and maintaining the relative humidity.
Camp 13, 15,400 feet (4,720 m.), lies near the crest of the Maritime Cordillera a little south of Antabamba. Afternoon storms are one of its most significant features. Cotahuasi, 9,100 feet (2,775 m.) is near the head of a west-coast valley. Its low humidity is worthy of note. That for Salamanca, 12,700 feet (3,870 m.), is similar but not so marked.
Aplao, 3,100 feet (945 m.), and Camaná at the seacoast are stations in the west-coast desert. The interior location of the former gives it a greater range of temperature than Camaná, yet even here the range is small in comparison with the diurnal extremes of the montaña, and the tempering effect of the sea-breeze is clearly apparent. Camaná shows a diurnal temperature range of under 10° F. and also the high relative humidity, over 70 per cent, characteristic of the coast.
From the west coast the great Andean Cordillera appears to have little of the regularity suggested by our relief maps. Steep and high cliffs in many places form the border of the land and obstruct the view; beyond them appear distant summits rising into the zone of clouds. Where the cliffs are absent or low, one may look across a sun-baked, yellow landscape, generally broken by irregular foothills that in turn merge into the massive outer spurs and ranges of the mountain zone. The plain is interrupted by widely separated valleys whose green lowland meadows form a brilliant contrast to the monotonous browns and yellows of the shimmering desert. In rare situations the valley trenches enable one to look far into the Cordillera and to catch memorable glimpses of lofty peaks capped with snow.