4 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 4 
in largely by the range of the Continental Divide, 
which swings southward near San Juan Ostuncalco. 
Thermal springs are fairly numerous. There are at 
least seven important ones: two near Quezaltenango, 
two near Momostenango, and three near Totonicapan 
(which gets its name therefrom). All are utilized 
for washing clothes and bathing, often for therapeutic 
purposes. Near Momostenango, hot water is essen- 
tial in the felting of blankets and woolen cloth, which 
represent the chief basis of the local economy. One 
thermal spring below Zunil has the characteristics of 
a small geyser. 
The floor of the open valley is so level as to re- 
semble an old lake bottom, though there are no beach 
lines, lacustrine deposits, or other apparent evidences 
to indicate the former existence of a lake here. Strat- 
ified pumice beds, though probably wind-laid in places 
have the appearance of having been sorted and de- 
posited by water. Undoubtedly, thick strata of yel- 
lowish to cream-colored ash, ejected from the four 
adjacent cones, filled up a former canyon which may 
have been cut to a considerable depth. This pyro- 
clastic material, along with alluvial and colluvial 
detritus of volcanic origin washed down from the 
steep slopes, is the chief constituent of the deep and 
fertile soil of the valley. The tributaries of the 
Samala River curve and zig-zag through rather 
narrow entrenchments 10 to 15 m. (33 to 49 ft.) 
deep, with a gentle gradient that averages about 150 
ft. per mile (about 28 m. per km.). The climate of 
the only station for which data are available, namely, 
Quezaltenango, is cool, with light annual rainfall 
concentrated almost entirely in summer. The rainfall 
is probably somewhat heavier along the north side of 
the valley, which is less sheltered from moist south 
winds. The area, almost treeless (pl. 38, a and f), 
is mainly planted to corn, vetch, wheat, potatoes, and 
beans, though short-grass pasture is considerable, 
mostly fallow crop land. It is grazed almost en- 
tirely by sheep; by systematically shifting their pens, 
soil fertilization is accomplished. This practice is 
very widespread in the Highlands (pl. 32, d and e). 
Bunchgrass and pine border the valley higher up 
along the slopes, the latter being particularly abun- 
dant toward Totonicapan. 
An examination of map 1 will reveal a network of 
trails and roads across the Upper Samala Valley, in 
the region around Quezaltenango. There are many 
more, almost innumerable footpaths leading out from 
the numerous centers of population to the rural dwell- 
ings and crop lands of this densely settled basin. It 
is so level and open that intercommunication is free 
and markedly developed. This is apparently reflected 
in a far greater cultural uniformity here than in the 
Lake Atitlan region, where communities are isolated. 
LANDSCAPE TYPES 
THE COASTAL PLAIN (LA COSTA) 
Along the Pacific shore there are high barrier 
beaches (pl. 1, b and c) and, especially at the mouths 
of the numerous rivers, hooks, spits, and sand bars. 
These enclose inlets and lagoons, of various degrees 
of brackishness, some of them estuarine—narrow, 
coastwise embayments, which in Louisiana would be 
called “bayous.” They extend along almost the en- 
tire littoral, generally referred to by the natives 
as “orillas del mar,” to distinguish it from the greater 
costa, or Pacific Lowland. A number of widely 
separated Ladino (non-Indian; see p. 12) shore 
settlements have been established, two of them ports 
with rail connections; but for the most part they are 
tiny hamlets clustered on the sand as at Tahuesco, 
shaded by graceful coco palms. The inhabitants here 
take full advantage of the quiet, black waters of these 
lagoons, where canoe navigation is safe (pl. 1, a). 
They live by seine fishing and by evaporating salt 
from sea water, or “cooking” it from salt-crusted silt 
(pl. 1, d). 
Back from the beach, mainly along the lower river 
banks and inner margins of the lagoons, areas of 
massive mangrove swamp alternate with jungles of 
low-growing fan palms where the ground is drier. 
Farther inland, groves of magnificent corozo palms 
(pl. 2, a) are scattered through the Coastal Plain, 
relics of more extensive and luxuriant forests of 
former times. For the most part, however, the flat 
alluvial Lowland is covered with rather open vege- 
tation (pl. 3, a, b, d); large, grassy pastures and 
sporadic cornfields and canebrakes, shaded in patches 
by tall, spreading trees, the branches of which are 
draped with the sprays of orchids, bromeliads, and 
other epiphytes. Large fleet-footed, gray-green and 
brownish iguanas, like miniature ghosts of prehistoric 
monsters, may be glimpsed, especially during the dry 
season, sprinting across the trail on tiptoes, their long 
tails held well above the ground as they scurry to the 
safety of giant tree trunks. 
Sparseness and a seared aspect of the vegetation 
are especially apparent during the long dry season 
