THE MONTANA, the third natural region of Peru, occupies about two-thirds of the whole country. It consists of the lower slopes and foothills on the east of the Andes, great open valleys free of timber and covered with grass, and wide areas of virgin forest. The rainfall is much greater than in either of the two preceding regions and the temperature is higher. The chief in habitants are Indians, although there are a number of mestizos and a few white men. Economic development is just beginning, and rubber is the most important product, though coffee, cacao, coca, and tobacco can all be grown. Iquitos, situated on the River Maranon below its confluence with the Ucayali, is the com mercial centre and port of the region. It is accessible to ocean going steamers, though 2,500 miles from the ocean.
COMMUNICATIONS.—The lack of good means of communication is a great hindrance to the economic development of Peru. In the whole country there are not 1,660 miles of railroad, and most of the lines are short, running from the coast inland to the foot of the Andes. Only two penetrate the mountains—the Central which has a maximum elevation of 15,645 feet, and runs from Callao on the coast to Huancayo, by way of Oroya, where it joins a line to Cerro de Pasco ; and the Southern from Mollendo to Puno, on Lake Titicaca, with a maximum elevation of 14,660 feet.
Near Puno a branch breaks off and runs to Cuzco. With these exceptions, the only means of transport on the Sierra is by mules or llamas, as good roads can hardly be said to exist. In the Montafla, the rivers provide from 5,000 to 10,000 miles of navigable waterway, according to the season, but the communications between these and their hinterlands are exceedingly bad.
The chief exports, as already indicated, are sugar, rubber, copper, wool, cotton, and silver, while the chief imports are textiles and machinery, The average value of the former in the years 1906-10 was estimated at £4,900,000, of which 33 per cent. was from the United Kingdom, 20 per cent. from the United States, and 15 per cent. from Germany. Within recent years British imports into Peru have declined, while those from the United States and Germany have shown a steady and marked increase. Of the exports, valued at £6,000,000 in 1906-10, 40 per cent. went to Great Britain, 25 per cent. to the United States, and 12 per cent. to Chile.
The chief ports are Callao, one of the most important on the whole Pacific coast, and the maritime centre of Peru ; and Mollendo, through which much of the Bolivian trade is carried on by the Southern railway.