﻿SALVADOR 
  — 
  STANDLEY. 
  313 
  

  

  other 
  centers, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  vast 
  crater 
  in 
  which 
  lies 
  the 
  Lake 
  of 
  

   Ilopango. 
  

  

  Only 
  two 
  important 
  actual 
  eruptions 
  of 
  the 
  Volcano 
  of 
  San 
  Salva- 
  

   dor 
  are 
  on 
  record, 
  the 
  first 
  of 
  which 
  took 
  place 
  in 
  1658, 
  when 
  a 
  

   great 
  flow 
  of 
  lava 
  descended 
  to 
  the 
  north, 
  covering 
  the 
  village 
  of 
  

   Nejapa. 
  This 
  old 
  lava 
  field, 
  though 
  now 
  overgrown 
  with 
  vegetation, 
  

   is 
  a 
  conspicuous 
  feature. 
  In 
  June, 
  1917, 
  there 
  occurred 
  a 
  second 
  

   violent 
  eruption, 
  during 
  which 
  another 
  large 
  flow 
  of 
  lava 
  was 
  

   thrown 
  out 
  over 
  nearly 
  the 
  same 
  course 
  as 
  the 
  former 
  one, 
  and 
  for- 
  

   tunately 
  not 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  capital. 
  This 
  flow 
  came 
  from 
  a 
  

   vent 
  on 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  mountain, 
  and 
  not 
  from 
  its 
  central 
  crater, 
  

   which 
  is 
  an 
  immense 
  circular 
  pit, 
  1,260 
  feet 
  deep. 
  In 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  

   this 
  crater 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  outburst 
  of 
  1917 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  beautiful 
  lake, 
  

   but 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  eruption 
  the 
  water 
  was 
  thrown 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  

   form 
  of 
  vapor 
  and 
  precipitated 
  as 
  rain. 
  The 
  vapor 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  

   charged 
  with 
  acids 
  or 
  other 
  deleterious 
  substances, 
  for 
  the 
  rain 
  killed 
  

   all 
  vegetation 
  upon 
  which 
  it 
  fell. 
  In 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  crater, 
  

   where 
  the 
  lake 
  formerly 
  existed, 
  was 
  formed 
  a 
  diminutive 
  cone, 
  

   about 
  300 
  feet 
  high, 
  in 
  whose 
  summit 
  there 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  perfectly 
  

   symmetrical 
  crater 
  imaginable. 
  Eruptions 
  of 
  rock 
  from 
  this 
  minia- 
  

   ture 
  crater 
  continued 
  for 
  some 
  time 
  after 
  the 
  first 
  violent 
  outburst 
  of 
  

   smoke 
  and 
  flame, 
  but 
  they 
  did 
  no 
  damage. 
  The 
  city 
  of 
  San 
  Salvador 
  

   was 
  mostly 
  destroyed 
  by 
  the 
  earthquake 
  accompanying 
  the 
  eruption, 
  

   although 
  there 
  was 
  little 
  loss 
  of 
  life. 
  In 
  1919 
  there 
  occurred 
  another 
  

   violent 
  earthquake, 
  much 
  more 
  destructive 
  to 
  life 
  than 
  the 
  first, 
  but 
  

   this 
  was 
  not 
  accompanied 
  by 
  an 
  eruption. 
  

  

  The 
  Volcano 
  of 
  San 
  Vicente, 
  the 
  second 
  highest 
  peak 
  of 
  Salvador, 
  

   has 
  not 
  been 
  active 
  within 
  historic 
  times, 
  but 
  there 
  lies 
  at 
  its 
  foot 
  

   a 
  group 
  of 
  hot 
  springs 
  and 
  fumaroles 
  that 
  indicate 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  

   wholly 
  extinct. 
  Farther 
  on, 
  to 
  the 
  east, 
  stands 
  the 
  Volcano 
  of 
  San 
  

   Miguel, 
  which, 
  while 
  only 
  the 
  third 
  in 
  absolute 
  elevation, 
  is 
  by 
  

   far 
  the 
  most 
  imposing 
  of 
  Salvadorean 
  mountains, 
  on 
  account 
  

   of 
  its 
  symmetrical 
  form 
  and 
  its 
  isolation, 
  and 
  because 
  it 
  rises 
  from 
  

   a 
  low 
  plain. 
  It 
  has 
  erupted 
  several 
  times, 
  and 
  at 
  present 
  there 
  is 
  

   nearly 
  always 
  a 
  cloud 
  of 
  smoke 
  and 
  steam 
  streaming 
  like 
  a 
  plume 
  

   from 
  its 
  summit. 
  

  

  AGRICULTURE. 
  

  

  The 
  principal 
  industry 
  of 
  Salvador 
  is 
  agriculture, 
  and 
  here 
  

   agriculture 
  is 
  almost 
  synonymous 
  with 
  coffee 
  growing. 
  Coffee 
  is 
  

   cultivated 
  everywhere 
  at 
  altitudes 
  of 
  1,000 
  feet 
  or 
  more, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  

   often 
  planted 
  right 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  summits 
  of 
  the 
  highest 
  mountains. 
  

   It 
  is 
  the 
  chief 
  source 
  of 
  the 
  wealth 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  and 
  the 
  annual 
  

   exportation 
  amounts 
  sometimes 
  to 
  over 
  $12,000,000 
  a 
  year. 
  The 
  ex- 
  

  

  