166 



MKXICO 



In area Mexico almost equals Great Hritain and 

 Ireland, France, (icrmaiiy, and Austria Hungary 

 together. The figures given in tlir lollowing table 

 are ollioiiil. but in must cases tliry ran IH- accepted 

 onlv a* a|i|>n>\iinat<! : large sections of Miclioocan 

 and Guerrero, and also ( Sonora, have mil \et 

 ln-eii explored ; and there are still many Indians 

 that have never even come in contact with 

 tin- white man. Of the entire population the 

 whites are estimated to form 19 per cent., the 

 Indian- .'is. and the half caste- \,,,, ,/,,.,.M \\\ pel cent. 

 The estimated population in 1898 wax 12,250,000. 



There are separate articles in this work on most 

 of the states and chief towns. 



Surface. For the most nart Mexico consists of 

 an immense tableland, which commences in the 

 United States as far north as Colorado, and gradu- 

 ally rises to over 8100 feet at Marquez (the highe-t 

 point touched I iy the railway), 7ti miles N. by W. of 



Mexic ity ; and a mean elevation nearly a> ^n-at 



U maintained in all the south cenlral plateau : 



at El I'.i-u. on the iioithern frontier, tl levation 



i- only :tTI7 feet. The prevailing formations are 

 metAinor|ihie. hut paitly overlaid by igneous rocks 

 of every ;;eolo-ie e|io,'|i, rich in nietallifenms ores. 

 In the hiylii'-t ranges ^-raniles and other igneous 

 rocks |.re\ ail. with de|>oMts oi sulphur and puniii-e, 

 and other recent voleanie iliscliar^es. In the north 

 Chalk and sandstones In-come prevalent. The 

 escariimentK of this plateau form most of the so- 

 called CordillcriLs ; Htimboldt's theory of a continu- 

 ous chain exte ndin^ from I'atapiiiia 'to Alaska lias 

 now IMIMI alwindoniil. The nicwt ini|Kirtant i 

 in the Sierra Madre (over 10,(KK feet, and extend- 

 iiiK from Tehiiante|ieo into the l'nite<l States); 

 parallel ith thi- run the sierras of the east coast 

 and of Ixiwer ( 'ulifoniin. The surface of the count rv 

 b also much broken uji by short cross-ridges anil 

 deUched peaks, the pniinpal beinj; the Conlillera 

 de Anahuar (N.V. ), ciilminntinj; in Nevado de 

 Tidiical !' . the hi-hest|H,int on the North 



American continent, and Popocatepetl (17. 

 The 1'ico ile Oiizaha. eat of ro|K'ale|-ll, is 18,206 

 feet high. .N|oit of the Mexican \nlcanoes are 

 extinct nr <|i:i> - 1 ni, ami violent earthquakes are 

 of rare occurrence. No disturbance so remarkable 



has occurred -ince the upheaval of .lornllo (q.v. ) in 

 I7.V.I. < n the Atlantic siile the plateau deM-ends 

 abruptly t<i the narrow strip (alioiit '" miles i of 

 gently sloping coast-land : towards the I'acilic, 

 where the coast-lands vary in width from 4(1 to 70 

 miles, the descent is more gradual. (If the pp 

 lakes the only one of great si/e i- Chapala (i|.v.l, 

 which is traversed l.v the Ilio (Irandede Santiago; 

 but considerable l>odies of water collect in di i 

 -ions in the uplands dnrinj.' the heavy lains. and 

 even flood the siirronndin-; country for a lime. 

 The rivers of Mexico are of little use tor naviga- 

 tion. South of tin* Kin (irande del Norte. on the 

 Texan frontier, they are mostly impetuous moun- 

 tain-torrents, or How thror.^h rocky pii-Me- i /,,-. 

 rnitriix), sometimes 1000 feet deep. Only in the 

 narrow strips letween the plateau and the , 

 are they available as channels of trade and com- 

 munication ; and in this respect perhaps Arabia 

 alone is less favoured than .Mexico. 



Climate anil Aijriculturr.- -In the plateau rejjtfon, 

 or tirrras tem/i/(U/<ts, the climate is almost that <if 

 perpetual spring, and the atmosphere remarkably 

 free from moisture. It is to this peculiar dryness 

 that the city of Mexico, the soQ of whicli has 

 been soaked with the tilth of centuries and never 

 properly drained, owes its immunity from pesti- 

 lence; but, on the other hand, throughout the 

 plateau agriculture is dependent on the use and 

 control of water for irrigation purposes, and an im- 

 mense desert tract extends livtwccn Chihuahua and 

 Zocatecas. Wood in all this upland region is scarce 

 and dear, though there are valuable forests in the 

 extreme not ih and south. On the coast lands wood 

 and water are abundant, and the soil fertile, but 

 the climate is such that white men cannot work .1- 

 lalxmrers there. Vet Mexico contains ii> line 

 agricultural land as any in the world, and in most 

 narte two crops a year are yrown : while already a 

 score of agricultural colonies, drawn from \arious 

 nationalities, have iH'en established in the country. 

 Northern Mexico is the original home of the 

 ' cattle ran^i'' business, and theie vast henls ..f 

 horses, cattle, and sheep form the principal wealth 

 of the people. Tin- coast l>clt ami the terraces up 

 to :i(KKI feet constitute the lirrnix r.</,,///r,v, where 

 the temperature ranges from 60 to I Hi !'., and, 

 in the south at least, the magni8cenf tropical > 

 tation and the yellow fever and ruinitn reijjn with 

 equal vigour. Two or three hours by the Vcra 

 Cm/. Kailway eanies the traveller fr ..... Ksjieran/n, 

 at the very ed^-e of the plateau, down into the 

 Lean of tiie tropics. The cold lands, or tii'rrux 

 J'I'KIX, embrace all the country alH>ve alMiut S(KiO 

 feet, including the few highest peaks covered with 

 perpetual snow. South of about ~2H N. there are 

 only the wet and the dry season, the former from 

 June to OctolK-r. Farther north there are four 

 seas,, MS; hut iii the highest /one the rainfall is 

 very scanty, and northern Mexico and the Cali 

 fornian peninsula especially are exiMised to seasons 

 of drought. The vegetation of Mexico has the same 

 wide range as the climate. In the lowlands dye- 

 woods and valuable timlicrs abound in the virgin 

 forests, as well as medicinal plants, india rubber, 

 palms. >\c. : and oranges and bananas, many 

 varieties of cactus, olives, sii^ar, coll'ee. ciH-oa, lice, 

 indigo, cotton, and tobacco, liesidcs the omnipresent 

 mai/e, all thrive. Maii\ of the-e products, includ- 

 ing the palms, oranges, cacti, olives, tolwicco, and 

 of course the mai/e, grow as readily over a great 

 part of the temperate /one. where the ehaiacteristic 

 vegetation embraces pines, ovoi green oaks, the 

 maguey or .I'/"' 1 ' """ > " """ li|.v.), and the licne 

 quen (Agave titilana, sec FlliKot s Smsr VNCKS;. 



The last two a re nearly as frequent also in thc/iVrra.1 

 fricu. The \ ine flourishes in some districts, especi- 

 ally near El Paso, Durango, and 1'arran in Cuahuila, 



