CLIMATE, LAKES AND RIVERS. Ill 



in my collection, is one of the very few specimens collected 

 by Mr. Belt. 



Nicaragua, like nearly all the other Republics of Mexico, 

 Central and South America, can be divided in three distinct 

 zones, that of tierras calientes (hot countries), tierras 

 templadas (temperate countries) and tierras frias (cold coun 

 tries) according to their altitude above the sea. All the lowlands 

 up to 1,000 feet, belong to the first zone, those from 1,000 to 

 3,000 feet, belong to the second zone and the remainder belongs 

 to the third zone. Plantain, Cocoa, Palm, Siphonia, Cedar, 

 Cotton and other trees and plants are found in the first zone. 

 The best coffee is cultivated in the second zone, where the 

 plantains, maize, beans, &c., also do well. In the third zone 

 wheat, barley, vines and other European fruit trees are 

 cultivated. 



From the first to the third zone, the climate varies accord 

 ing to the altitude. In some parts of the country, in one day, 

 you can pass from a tropical climate to that of a semi-arctic 

 region. The higher you ascend, the healthier is the climate, 

 but as a whole, excepting fevers, the climate of Nicaragua 

 may be considered as healthy. 



The principal rivers of Nicaragua are the San Juan 

 River, which flows from the south-eastern extremity of the 

 Lake of Nicaragua to San Juan del Norte, which course is 

 very changeable. Since 1853, when I travelled the whole 

 length of this river in a small American steamer, a large 

 proportion of the water has been carried away by the Rio 

 Colorado, which flows through the Costa Rica territory, 

 and at the present moment, navigation for steamers is 

 impracticable. 



Many are the rivers flowing into the lake ; but they are 

 not of much consequence, the Rio Frio and Rio Acoyapo are 

 the principals. Another large river, the source of which is not 

 very far from Segovia, is Rio Escondido, which empties itself 

 on the Atlantic, in the bay of Bluefields, the capital of the 

 Mosquito Indians. 



On the Pacific, there is a small river emptying in the Bay 

 of Salinas, the place chosen by various engineers as the 

 terminus of the Nicaragua Inter-oceanic Canal. 



Two important lakes exist in the Republic of Nicaragua. 

 The first and most important is the celebrated Lake of 

 Nicaragua, with its many islands, standing at an elevation of 

 128 feet above the sea. The second is the Lake of Managua, 

 close to the town of Managua, the actual capital of the 



