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The Andes: A Geographical Portrait

Robert B. Kent

To cite this article: Robert B. Kent (2016) The Andes: A Geographical Portrait, The AAG Review
of Books, 4:3, 124-126, DOI: 10.1080/2325548X.2016.1187489

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The AAG Review OF BOOKS
The Andes:
A Geographical Portrait
Alex Borsdorf and Christoph
Stadel. Heidelberg, Germany:
Springer, 2015. xii and 368 pp.,
maps, tables, photographs,
glossary, references. $179.00
cloth (ISBN 978-3-319-03529-1);
$139.00 e-book (ISBN 978-3-
319-03530-7).
Reviewed by Robert B. Kent,
Department of Urban Studies
and Planning, California State
University, Northridge, CA.
The Andes are one of the world’s most
identifiable megaregions, beginning near the Caribbean
coast and then turning southward and stretching along
the western margin of the entire South American con-
tinent from about 10° N to almost 55° S. Defined by its
mountainous nature, it is a region marked by dramatic
variation in environmental conditions that have been
created by differences in altitude, latitude, and aspect.
The region has been attractive to human settlement for
thousands of years and its temperate zones especially
have been highly productive and densely settled for mil-
lennia. A series of advanced civilizations developed here,
capped by the Inca, whose empire of millions of subjects
stretched over much of the region’s extent. It fell to Span-
ish conquistadors in the early sixteenth century. Densely
populated, rich in agricultural and extractive resources,
and with a benign climate, the region became the focus of
Spanish colonial authorities in the Americas for much of
their colonial development and settlement. Several of the
major colonial cities in the Andes later became the na-
tional capitals of the newly independent Andean repub-
lics: Caracas in Venezuela, Bogota in Colombia, Quito
in Ecuador, and La Paz in Bolivia. The Andes region in-
cludes portions of seven different countries (Venezuela,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina)
The AAG Review of Books 4(3) 2016, pp. 124–126. doi: 10.1080/2325548X.2016.1187489.
©2016 by American Association of Geographers. Published by Taylor & Francis, LLC.
and is currently inhabited by 60 to 70
million people.
The Andes: A Geographical Portrait,
published initially in 2013 in Ger-
man as Die Anden: Ein geographisches
Porträt, and subsequently translated
to English, presents a contemporary
regional geography of the Andean re-
gion. The authors, both geographers
with extensive field research experi-
ence and scholarly publication on the
Andes, see their book as an update to
Cunill Grau’s (1978) earlier regional
geography, La América Andina, pub-
lished first in French in 1966 and then
later in Spanish. As the authors note in
the preface, The Andes is organized in a traditional fash-
ion with the early chapters of the book introducing the
region and examining its environmental conditions, with
later chapters focusing broadly on its human geography,
demography, economics, politics, and future development.
The book’s first chapter sets the study of the Andes in
context, introduces several geographical concepts perti-
nent to an understanding of the region and its natural en-
vironment, and concludes with an overview of geographi-
cal research on the Andes. There is a special emphasis on
those contributions from the German language literature.
Physical geography is the focus of the second chapter.
Tectonics, geology, mineral deposits, relief, altitudinal zo-
nation, plant communities, soils, natural hazards, and hy-
drology are all addressed. Using the metaphor of a “water
tower,” the authors elaborate at some length on the role
of the Andes as a source of water and power in the moun-
tains, the Amazon lowlands and coastal regions. A short
chapter on conservation and protected areas, examining
biosphere reserves, national parks, corridors, and indig-
enous areas, rounds out the introductory environmental
focus of the book. Several case studies, including one on
Machu Picchu, are presented in this third chapter.
The region’s human geography is chronicled in the next
three chapters. Pre-Inca civilizations, the Inca and their
empire, and the Spanish colonial period and its aftermath
are documented in Chapter 5. In Chapter 5, ethnic and
demographic structures and process, with a particular fo-
cus on indigenous heritage and communities as well as
emigration, are presented. Well illustrated with colorful
maps and diagrams, Chapter 6 documents the settlement
hierarchy and characteristics of urban places in the An-
des, including small towns and villages, market centers,
medium-sized cities, and national capitals. Case studies
here highlight Ambato, Ecuador, Santiago de Chile, and
Ushuaia, Argentina.
The final chapters of The Andes confront the region’s eco-
nomic geography, political landscape, and prospects for
the future. The components of the regional economy are
outlined in Chapter 7, beginning with a lengthy look at
Andean agriculture starting with indigenous agriculture
and domesticates but also bringing the reader up to date
on agricultural change and innovation into the twenty-
first century. Mining and industry, as well as the service
sector (informal and formal) are discussed, and consider-
ably more attention is paid to tourism’s role in the regional
economy. The transportation network and the challenges
presented by a mountainous environment are the focus
in Chapter 8. Brief sections offer glimpses at the nature
of air traffic, railroads, roads and highways, fluvial ship-
ping, and cable cars in the evolving mix of transportation
alternatives and geography in the Andes. Chapter 9 looks
at the region’s political geography as well as its religious
orientations and diversity. Useful vignettes in this chap-
ter inform the reader about historical and current bor-
der conflicts, indigenous reform movements in Bolivia,
and the trajectories of prominent political figures (Hugo
Chavez and Michelle Bachelet). The concluding chapter
addresses a development agenda for the region. Prospects
for sustainable rural development are outlined here, with
a strong call for a campesino-oriented, cultural focus on
rural development initiatives. Urban development strate-
gies receive less attention, but a thorough review of the
economic, social, political, ecological, and cultural chal-
lenges to the region in the twenty-first century is offered.
The volume concludes with an epilogue by Bruno Mes-
serli that sets the publication of this book in the con-
text of mountain research and the cadre of scholars who
pursue this specialty. A glossary and a lengthy reference
section end the book.
This book has many strengths. It reflects the broad knowl-
edge and deep field experience of two dedicated and pro-
lific geographers who have pursued research in the Andes
SUMMER 2016 125
for many decades, indeed much of their lifetimes. In some
ways, the book is a tour de force. Photographs are a key
element of the book’s content. The book is printed in full
color on a large page format (11 in. × 8.25 in.) and each
chapter opens with a photograph covering two pages, usu-
ally a stunning vista of the Andean landscape or its peo-
ple. Besides these compelling chapter openers, the book
is richly illustrated with about 400 of the authors’ pho-
tographs. Most are excellent images that are effective at
engaging and informing the reader. The book concludes
with an extensive list of scholarly references pertaining to
the Andean region.
Despite its strengths, the book does have some shortcom-
ings. The authors never clearly identify the Andean re-
gion either geographically or culturally. The book does
open with a two-page hypsometric-tint map that clearly
illustrates the region’s elevational characteristics, and in
the first chapter the authors describe the region as being
subdivided into the southern, central, and northern An-
des. This discussion barely engages the issue of regional
definition, however. The authors do address the concept
of core and periphery in the introductory chapter and dis-
cuss the concept of lo andino in Chapter 5, but no effort
is made to define the Andean region from these perspec-
tives. In comparison, in an earlier study of the Andes,
Gade (1999, 31–41) did this very effectively. The authors
opt for an extremely broad definition of the Andean re-
gion, one this reviewer finds unreasonable. They seem to
feel that anywhere close to the Andes, or perhaps any-
where where lots of people with Andean roots have mi-
grated, is part of the Andean region. Thus, the authors
identify Santa Marta, Colombia, which sits on the Ca-
ribbean shore in the north of the country, as the “oldest
colonial town in the Andes” (p. 183) and include Ushuaia
(pp. 199–202), also situated at sea level, but at the ex-
treme south of the continent on the Straits of Magellan
in the Atlantic Ocean, as part of the Andes region. That
is crazy. Further, Lima, Peru, situated on a narrow coastal
plain adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, is also identified as an
Andean city (p. 172), as are Santiago de Chile and Men-
doza and San Juan, Argentina. There are lots of people of
Andean origin in Lima, as hundreds of thousands have
migrated from the highlands to the coast and Lima spe-
cifically, but at the end of the day, Lima is not an Andean
city. It is true that Santiago de Chile, Mendoza, and San
Juan can all be said to be located in the shadows of the
Andes, but none of these are Andean cities.
There are a few other issues that are problematic. Al-
though the table of contents is reasonably detailed, other
information on the contents is not included. There are no
lists of the book’s maps, tables, figures, or vignettes. This
is unfortunate. Even more lamentable, though, the book
has no index. This is a long book that covers a consider-
able amount of material, and although the book’s table of
contents is detailed, it is no substitute for a well-crafted
index. For a regional geography of a major world region,
it includes few maps (about thirty in the entire book).
For instance in Chapter 7, “Economic Structures and Re-
gions,” there is only one map (of place names). Statistical
data are limited and with the exception of the chapter on
rural and urban settlement, there are also few tables in
any of the chapters. Indeed, there are only twelve in the
entire book. Furthermore, some statistical data on popula-
tion are drawn from sources that are not entirely credible.
The Fischer Weltalmanach and the Der neue Fischer Wel-
talmanach are used as sources for city populations. Regret-
tably, the uncritical use of these sources has led to some
glaring inaccuracies. Who knew that the second largest
city in Chile is Puente Alto or that the second largest city
in Argentina is La Matanza/San Justo (p. 166)? No one, I
suspect, because both of these “cities” are really just urban
districts of their respective national capitals, Santiago de
Chile and Buenos Aires. Similarly, the population of the
city of Mendoza in Argentina is reported as 76,000 when
it is actually about 1 million; its neighbor, San Juan, is
126 THE AAG REVIEW OF BOOKS
reported to have 109,000 when its population is actually
almost 500,000 (p. 199). Here the population of the city’s
central district has been reported as if it were true for the
entire urban area. The use of more conventional research
sources like the national census of the respective coun-
tries or United Nations data would have likely avoided
these errors.
Overall, however, the authors have set an ambitious goal
that they have largely fulfilled. They have prepared an
excellent comprehensive regional geography informed
by years of research, publication, travel, and residence in
the region. This book will serve as a useful guide and key
reference tool for understanding the Andean region for
years to come.
References
Borsdorf, A., and C. Stadel. 2013. Die Anden: Ein geogra-
phisches porträt [The Andes: A geographical portrait].
Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.
Cunill Grau, P. 1978. La America Andina. Barcelona:
Ariel.
Gade, D. W. 1999. Nature and culture in the Andes. Madi-
son, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.