6 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 4 
THE RECENT VOLCANOES 
Abysmal indeed are the canyons where rivers flow 
between lofty volcanoes, providing narrow lines of 
communication between Highland and Lowland. The 
spectacular grandeur of this landscape defies descrip- 
tion. Many of the long-dormant cones are wooded 
to their summits, except for open patches cleared 
for cornfields (pl. 26, a). High up, the natural vege- 
tation becomes less luxuriant, with oaks and pines 
sprinkled over slopes covered with bunchgrass. 
Some volcanoes are sharp-edged, grayish, and 
bare at their summits, the recent ash having not yet 
been invaded by vegetation. These are only lightly 
etched with gullies, whereas the older ones are deeply 
dissected. Quite commonly there are clusters of 
cones, lined up across the main file. In these groups, 
invariably the oldest cone is at the northern end and 
the youngest at the southern. This is best illustrated 
near Quezaltenango. At the southern edge of town 
is old, eroded Cerro Quemado; 5 miles (8 km.) to 
the south is high, conical Santa Maria, which erupted 
violently in 1902; an equal distance still farther south 
is the new volcano “Santiaguito” which began to 
grow after the lateral explosion of Santa Maria (pl. 
38, d). Similarly Atitlan, a high, sharp cone with 
fumaroles, is south of older, rounded Toliman, in a 
single cluster (pls. 23, b and c; 24, c); and Fuego, 
with a consistent history of frequent eruptions since 
prehistoric times, is immediately south of Acatenango, 
which has no such record of activity, though the two 
form one great double cone (pl. 44, d). 
So straight is the row of peaks, ranged along the 
inner margin of the Coastal Plain, that from the top 
of one near the center the others appear to be bunched 
on opposite horizons, northwest and _ southeast. 
Ordinarily it is only in the early morning, however, 
that they stand out sharp and clear; for the rising 
sun often ushers in a sea of clouds that soon en- 
velops the summits. During the rainy months they 
may be thus obscured for days at a time. And when 
the voza, or burning, is in progress, before the corn 
is planted, the air is filled with an almost impene- 
trable blue haze. This is especially noticeable during 
April. 
THE CORDILLERA (LOS ALTOS) AND 
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE 
The term “Los Altos” is popularly applied to the 
lofty Cordillera, the Continental Divide range, along 
the seaward slope of which the file of recent cones 
has developed, in many instances to the same height 
as the older range, or even slightly higher, and in 
a line that parallels its axis. Today, as apparently 
was the case in late pre-Columbian times, this is the 
most populous homeland of the Central American 
Indians. The high basins that have been formed 
between these ranges offer almost ideal conditions 
for human settlement, with cool climates the year 
around, voleanic ash of enormous depth, which 
weathers to excellent soils, and abundance of streams, 
fed by heavy rains from May through October. 
The asymmetry of the physical landscape in this 
zone reflects the geologic contrast (map 5): to the 
north, gently rounded mountains of older volcanic 
structure, with occasional subdued peaks and flat- 
topped remnants; to the south, sharp cones, geo- 
logically recent, with great canyons between them, 
through which, on a clear morning, the broad ex- 
panse of Lowland verdure may be seen stretching 
hazily, flecked with occasional lagoons, to the faintly 
gleaming band of the Pacific Ocean on the distant 
horizon (pl. 47). 
Oak and pine woods are scattered through the 
Highlands, remnants of forests once far more ex- 
tensive, which have fallen before the axes and fires 
of shifting native planters. Cornfields and grassy 
and bushy clearings that have periodically yielded 
crops in the past, cover great areas, even on steep 
slopes that were once heavily wooded. Coarse, 
sedgelike tufts of giant bunchgrass share with pines 
the upper elevation zones, while rolling, misty sum- 
mits among the highest mountains are crowned with 
cypress groves (pl. 32). In this lofty land are 
flowered meadows, always damp and green, where 
shepherds find a winter haven for their flocks of black 
sheep, far above the seared pastures of the lower 
country. On the summits, when the afternoon 
clouds have swirled in from below, one has the sensa- 
tion of being on an island floating in vaporous space. 
Sometimes, when the fog is especially heavy, there 
is the impression of being under water, and the 
feathery branches of cypress and pine loom like giant 
seaweeds. 
Except for limited plateau areas, and the open, 
level basin around Quezaltenango, the Highlands 
may be characterized as a land of barranca (ravine 
or gorge) landscapes in dissected mountains. The 
immensely deep canyons are often so sharp and 
abrupt that the unwary traveler is likely to come 
upon them most unexpectedly. The white buildings 
