CHERAN: a sierra TARASCAN village — BEALS 



Coalcoman, which again reaches elevations of 

 over 10,000 feet. The rain shadow of this 

 range accounts for the subarid conditions of 

 part of the basin area. Although these moun- 

 tains are little known, apparently they rise 

 fairly steeply on both faces and the coastal 

 area beyond is narrow and of little use. 



The drainage of Michoacan presents some 

 peculiarities. In the north and west central 

 region are lakes of various size, of which per- 

 haps the best known is Lake Patzcuaro. In 

 common with some other lakes in the area, 

 Lake Patzucuaro has no outlet, but its waters 

 are nevertheless not brackish. The high poros- 

 ity of the volcanic soil may account for this 

 phenomenon, for the lake has evidently been 

 isolated from other drainages for a long period 

 of time. This isolation is attested by the fact 

 that the native fish are all very primitive 

 viviparous species. 



Moreover, despite heavy rainfall in some 

 areas (at Lake Patzcuaro the average annual 

 rainfall is around 60 inches), there are virtu- 

 ally no permanent streams and even springs 

 are rare. Most Tarascan towns suffer from 

 almost constant water shortage despite the 

 heavy precipitation. In contrast, some of the 

 lower lands have abundant large running 

 streams. In places, underground springs of 

 great size emerge at elevations of about 5,500 

 feet. Near Uruapan, for example, a large 

 stream is formed by a group of such springs. 



The present-day range of the Tarascans can- 

 not be defined with great accuracy, partly be- 

 cause of the lack of detailed studies and partly 

 because of the degree of acculturation under- 

 gone by many settlements. Villages which 

 outwardly differ in no visible respect from well- 

 known Tarascan settlements often contain no 

 persons speaking Tarascan. All around the 

 edges of Tarascan territory occur villages in 

 various degrees of assimilation to Mexican cul- 

 ture and with various degrees of physical 

 mixture with the Mestizo population. As a 

 result, the present-day distribution of the 

 Tarascans can only be approximated (map 1). 

 On the east, the basin of Lake Patzcuaro is 

 definitely Tarascan, although some towns, such 

 as Tzintzuntzan, the traditional capital of the 

 Tarascan "Empire," are no longer Tai*ascan- 

 speaking. The western edge of Tarascan ter- 



ritory is close to the railroad which runs 

 through the town of Zamora to Los Reyes. 

 The southern boundary might be defined 

 roughly as on a line from Los Reyes to Uruapan 

 and thence close to the railway from Uruapan 

 to Patzcuaro, while the new highway from 

 Mexico City to Guadalajara in some places runs 

 just inside the northern limits and in others, 

 just outside. Within or near the borders of 

 the present-day Tarascan area occur a number 

 of old Mexican towns closely associated with the 

 historic Tarascans and their contemporary cul- 

 ture, which provide the administrative centers 

 and the major market places. These towns are 

 Patzcuaro, Zacapu, Purepero, Zamora, Los 

 Reyes, and Uruapan. In some instances other 

 towns of local importance have arisen more 

 recently, towns which were once Tarascan but 

 are now occupied by Mestizos and deculturated 

 Tarascans. A good example of such a town is 

 Chilchota. 



Viewed as a whole, the Tarascan area may 

 be characterized generally as an elevated tem- 

 perate region of sufficient rainfall, deep volcanic 

 soils, and pine or mixed pine and hardwood 

 forests. In detail there are differences, and a 

 number of regions may be identified. 



The easternmost region is that about Lake 

 Patzcuaro. The lake has an elevation of 

 slightly over 7,000 feet, and most of the villages 

 are either on the shore or upon islands in the 

 lake. The forests have been cleared away 

 around the lake except upon lands too steep to 

 cultivate with the plow. Rainfall is heavy, but 

 is concentrated in the summer months. The 

 climate is temperate and cool even in mid- 

 summer. 



North of Lake Patzcuaro is a large fertile 

 valley or depression near Zacapu, ringed about 

 by hills and mountains covered with forest. 

 Although there is but little difference in eleva- 

 tion from Lake Patzcuaro, the climate is warm- 

 er and some tropical or subtropical plants such 

 as sugarcane are grown on a small scale. 



Over a range of mountains to the west of 

 Zacapu is a fertile valley known as La Canada. 

 Here the climate is warmer and more arid, as 

 is evidenced by the frequency of irrigation and 

 extensive cultivation of citrus fruit, bananas, 

 and similar tropical and subtropical plants. 



