1893 Perron map CENTRAL VALLEY, CHILE (#155)

Description

Perron18_155
1893 Perron map CENTRAL VALLEY, CHILE (#155)
Nice map titled
Valle mediane du Chili Meridional,
from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression, nice hand coloring. Overall size approx. 20.5 x 16 cm, image size approx. 12.5 x 10 cm. From
La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes
, 19 vol. (1875-94), great work of Elisee Reclus. Cartographer is Charles Perron.
Central Valley
Spanish Valle Central
geological depression in central Chile between the Western Cordillera of the  Andes and the coastal range, extending for about 400 miles (650 km) from the  Chacabuco Range in the north to the Biobío River in the south. The valley is the  agricultural heartland of Chile and consists of a 40- to 45-mile- (64- to  72-km-) wide plain made up of a vast thickness of heavily mineralized alluvial  soils deposited by the region's principal rivers, the Maipo, Rapel, Cachapoal,  Teno, Maule, Itata, and Ñuble. This central section of Chile enjoys a  Mediterranean climate, with the cool, dry summers and mild, rainy winters  characteristic of the western coasts of all the continents between 30° and 40°  latitude. Vegetation varies with altitude: near sea level Solanum maritimum, a  relative of the potato, is common; up to 2,500 feet (760 metres) characteristic  plants include a treelike lily (Crinodendron patagua), Bellota miersii, and low  trees such as Acacia. The original dry forest, however, has gradually succumbed  to urban and agricultural encroachment.
The valley was the original focus of Spanish colonization beginning in the  mid-1500s. It continues to be the home of the majority of Chileans and is the  predominant agricultural region of the country, containing 40 percent of all its  cultivated land, and the main wine-producing regions of the country are found in  the valley. Santiago, the capital and cultural centre of the nation, is situated  at the northern end of the valley. Four other significant urban  centres—Rancagua, Talca, Chillán, and Temuco—are located to Santiago's south  along a longitudinal railroad constructed midway between the Andes and the  coastal range; each city is a centre of settlement of Chile's rich agricultural  hinterlands outside Santiago. A section of the Chilean portion of the  Pan-American Highway runs southward through the valley from Santiago, and air  service connects all major centres.