300 



VOLCANOES — COASTS. 



Want of 



eastern 



haiboiii's. 



CHAP.xxiv. Mexico is less disturbed by earthquakes than Quito, 

 Frequency of Guatiniala, and Cuuiana, although these destructive 

 earthquakes, commotions are by no means rare on the western coasts, 

 and in the neighbourhood of the capital, where, however, 

 they are never so violent as in other parts of America. 

 There are only five active volcanoes in all New Spain : 

 Orizaba, Popocatepetl, Tustla, JoruUo, and Colima. 

 Advantage- The physical situation of that kingdom confers in- 

 oussituatiou. pgjjj^^jjjjjg advantages upon it in a commercial point of 

 view. Under careful cultivation it is capable of produc- 

 ing all that commerce brings together from every part 

 of the globe : sugar, cochineal, cacao, cotton, coffee, 

 wheat, hemp, flax, silk, oil, and wine. It furnishes 

 every metal, not even excepting mercury, and is supplied 

 with the finest timber ; but the coasts oppose obstacles 

 which it will be difficult to overcome. The western 

 shores are indeed furnished with excellent harbours ; 

 but the eastern are almost entirely destitute of them, 

 the mouths of the rivers there being choked up with 

 sands, which are constantly adding to the land. Vera 

 Cruz, the principal port on this side, is merely an open 

 road. Both coasts, too, are rendered inaccessible for 

 several months by severe tempests, which prevent all 

 navigation. The north winds, los nortes, prevail in the 

 ^Mexican Gulf from the autumnal to the vernal equinox. 

 They are very violent in March, though usually more 

 moderate in September and October. The navigators 

 who have long frequented the port of Vera Cruz are 

 familiar with the symptoms of the coming storm, which 

 is preceded by a great change in the barometer, and a 

 sudden interruption in the regular occurrence of its 

 horary oscillations. At first a gentle land-wind blows 

 from W.N.W., and is succeeded by a l)reeze rising from 

 the N.E., then from the S. A suffocating heat succeeds, 

 and tile water dissolved in the atmosphere is precipitated 

 on the walls and pavements. The summits of Orizaba, 

 of the Cofre de I'erote, and the mountains of Villa 

 Rica, arc cloudless, while their bases are concealed by 

 vapours. In this state of the air the tempest com- 



Periodic.-.l 

 BtonoB. 



