THE ANDINE ZONE forms the second great natural region of Peru. On the western slopes of the Cordillera, the rainfall becomes greater and the vegetation improves with increasing altitude. Wheat, maize, alfalfa, oats, and barley are all culti vated to a height of 11,500 feet in the more sheltered valleys, both on the western slopes of the mountains and on the table lands between the Cordilleran ranges. Above 12,000 feet, the quinua (the grain of which is about the size of mustard seed) is the staple food of man, and the land is generally covered with coarse, high grass. Throughout the whole of this region crops are grown chiefly to meet local needs, and stock-raising and mining are the two pursuits of more general importance. On the tablelands, frequently at an elevation of 13,000 feet, there are great herds of cattle and sheep, llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas. The llama is prized both for its wool and as a means of transport ; the alpaca for its wool alone. Of the Peruvian exports of wool, that obtained from the alpaca is by far the most valuable, and Peru contributes three-fourths of the world's supply of this commodity.
The Andine region is still more noted for its mineral wealth, which is found chiefly, but by no means exclusively, in the eastern Cordillera. Gold is obtained here both in alluvial deposits and in quartz-veins, and in the latter form it also occurs in the western foothills. Silver and copper are widespread, but are mainly worked
upon the high plateaus and in some of the valleys of the inter Andine country. These two minerals at present constitute over two-thirds of the value of the product of Peruvian mines. The great producing district is in the Cerro de Pasco, where a United States company is operating at an elevation of 14,400 feet above sea-level. Quicksilver is worked, as it has been for over three centuries, at Huancavelica, in the Western Cordillera. Lead, zinc, and iron are found in various places. Coal is widely distributed, but much of that used in the country is imported from abroad.
The undeveloped state of the mineral industry in Peru is evidenced by the fact that in 1910 the total output was valued at little over £3,000,000. The difficulties in the way of good communications by which machinery and fuel may be brought to the mines, the want of capital, and the hitherto unsettled political conditions have all contributed to this result. The mestizo, who is the chief inhabitant of the Andine zone, makes a good miner, but it is very doubtful whether sufficient labour is obtainable to allow of a rapid expansion.