104 bulletin: museum of compakative zoology, 



nearly the whole northern coast of Yucatan.^ It is fed in large part by 

 springs through which the underground water of the interior reaches the 

 surface. Its breadth varies greatly with the season, being much greater 

 during the period of rains. Its waters, which are bi'ackish, abound with 

 small fish, some of which are, however, large enough to be of food value ; 

 while birds, especially herons and water fowl, are abundant among the 

 mangroves and on the open stretches. On the sandy costal strip the 

 vegetation is low and scrubby, scarcely higher than one's head, and here 

 small lizards constitute the characteristic faunal element. 



At San Ignacio the " brush " is higher, but is not dense. Extensive 

 areas are devoted to henequen growing, and it was in these open places 

 that the Burrowing Owl was found. In many places the rock is bare 

 and weathered, so that the numerous fossil shells imbedded in it stand 

 out at the surface in bold relief The country about Merida is practi- 

 cally the same. 



At Chichen-Itza the forested condition prevails. In general the soil 

 is somewhat thicker, but even here it only thinly covers the underlying 

 rock, which crops out everywhere. The general topography is very flat 

 and level, but is broken up somewhat by the unequal weathering of the 

 rock and the erosion of temporary streams during times of heavy rains. 

 Chapman ^ describes the forest as " a dense scrub of trees and saplings, 

 averaging one and a half to three and a half inches in diameter and 

 fifteen to thirty feet in height." There are, however, not infrequently 

 trees of greater size. Here and there are clearings a few acres in extent 

 where the Indians have established their milpas or corn fields. These 

 are made by cutting down the larger trees and leaving them to dry. 

 The place is then burned over at the end of the dry season, and the corn 

 planted upon the approach of the rains. This process is very exhaustive 

 to the soil, and the milpas consequently have to be changed frequently 

 to new locations. A dense, scrubby growth, however, immediately 

 springs up on the deserted area. 



The cenotes deserve a word of special mention. There are two of 

 these in the immediate neighborhood of the ruins of Chichen-Ttza. The 

 Sacred or Sacrificial Cenote is nearly circular in outline, with a diameter 

 of one hundred and ninety feet, while its walls are vertical, and sixty- 



^ For a discussion of the nature and origin of the sandy costal strip and the 

 cienaga, see Die Kiistenbildung des nfirdlichen Yukatan, by Arthur Schott. Peter- 

 mann's Geogr. Mittheilungen, 1886, 12, p. 127-130. 



2 Chapman, Frank M. Notes on birds observed in Yucatan. Bull. Amer. Mus. 

 Nat. Hist., 1896, 8, p. 271-290. 



