MEXICO. 



483 



MEXICO. The Eepublic of Mexico contains 

 less than half the territory comprised in the 

 old Spanish province of New Spain. The area 

 of the Spanish viceroyalty, according to the 

 best estimates, was 1,690,317 square miles, but 

 the successful attempt of Texas, in 1836, to 

 achieve her independence, reduced it 257,504 

 square miles ; the treaty of Guadalupe Hidal- 

 go, at the termination of the war with the 

 United States, took off about 650,000 square 

 miles more ; and the Mesilla or Gadsden Trea- 

 ty, which finally settled the boundary, left 

 Mexico a territorial extent of 766,482 square 

 miles. The entire northern frontier at present 

 is 1,792 miles long, running between Mexico on 

 the one hand, and the State of California, Ter- 

 ritories of Arizona and New Mexico, and the 

 State of Texas, on the other. The greatest 

 length of the country on one direct line is 

 2,000 miles, the greatest width 1,100. The 

 width of the isthmus of Tehuantepec is re- 

 duced to 130 miles, and the southern frontier, on 

 the borders of Balize and Central America, 

 measures 532 miles. The entire coast-line on 

 the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea 

 has an extent of 1,600 miles, that on the Pa- 

 cific Ocean and Gulf of California is not less 

 than 4,200 miles. 



The Constitution adopted in 1857 divides the 

 country into 23 States, one Federal District, 

 and one Territory. The Territory comprises 

 the peninsula of Lower California, which has 

 an extent of 58,620 square milea, with only 

 9,000 inhabitants. Its capital is the little town 

 of La Paz, which contains about 1,000 people. 

 The Federal District comprises 87 square miles 

 of territory, over which the Government has 

 exclusive authority, lying within and about the 

 city of Mexico. The States are the following, 

 arranged in their order, proceeding from the 

 northern frontier: 



In the above enumeration, exhibiting the 

 States as they now are, it will be observed 

 that they are twenty-five in number. This 



arises from the division of the original State 

 of Nuevo Leon y Coahuila into its two con- 

 stituent parts, and the formation of Tehuante- 

 pec from portions of the neighboring States. 

 The total population of the Republic is about 

 8,400,000. There has never been an accurate 

 census made, and the above figures are based 

 on careful estimates. The surface of Mexico 

 is extremely varied, and to this circumstance, 

 together with its great extent from north to 

 south, is owing the remarkable diversity of 

 climate and vegetation. The great Cordillera 

 enters Mexico from the south, and presently 

 divides into two branches, which follow the 

 general direction of the coast on either side. 

 The eastern branch gradually subsides until it 

 finally sinks to the general level, and spreads 

 out upon the broad plains of Texas ; but the 

 western ridge, running parallel witli the Pacific 

 shore, continues in the great chain of the 

 Kocky Mountains in the United States. The 

 vast extent of territory lying between these 

 two Cordilleras consists of a lofty table-land 

 with an elevation of 6,000 to 8,000 feet, gen- 

 erally called the plateau of Anahuac. This 

 comprises 'more than one-half of the whole 

 country. Over this vast surface are scattered 

 some very high mountain-peaks, with here and 

 there a continuous ridge of considerable length. 

 The most remarkable portion of this lofty 

 region is the plain of Tenochtitlan, in which 

 the capital of the country is situated. It has 

 an oval form, 55 miles long by 37 broad, and is 

 surrounded by ridges of basaltic rock. Tower- 

 ing aloft on the southeast of this plain are the 

 great volcanoes of Popocatepetl, 17,716 feet 

 high; Iztaccihuatl, 15,700 feet; Cittalapetl, or 

 Orizaba, 17,380 feet; and Nanhcampapetl, or 

 Cope de Perote, 13,416 feet above the sea- 

 level. Within the plain of Tenochtitlan nearly 

 one-tenth of the surface is occupied by small 

 lakes. The largest of these is Tezcuco, which 

 covers an area of 70 square miles. They are 

 situated at different levels, are fed by several 

 small streams,' but have no natural outlet. 

 Owing to this latter circumstance, destructive 

 inundations were quite common until 1789, 

 when the immense undertaking of cutting a 

 canal to the Gulf of Mexico was completed. 

 This is cut through the rock, 150 feet deep and 

 300 feet wide, for a distance of twelve miles, 

 and cost the sum of 1,292,000. Besides the 

 volcanoes mentioned as overlooking the plain 

 of Tenochtitlan, there are several others in dif- 

 ferent parts of the table-land, some of which 

 are in a state of activity. Earthquakes are 

 frequent, but are not usually of a violent char- 

 acter. 



The rivers of Mexico, compared with the 

 extent of territory, are few and insignificant, 

 and the country suffers from lack of water. 

 Lakes of moderate size are, however, quite 

 numerous, and much might be done in the way 

 of artificial irrigation. The largest of the 

 Mexican rivers is the Kio Grande del Norte, or 

 Great River of the North, which forms the 



