112 



MEXICO, CENTEAL AMEEICA, WEST INDIES. 



ruined pyramid of a temple known as the " Cerrito de Montezuma." On an 

 affluent of the Lermu, north-east of Guadalajara, stands the town of Lagos, in an 

 angle of the state midway between Aguascalientes and Guanajuato. Thanks to 

 its geographical position Lagos promises to become the common emporium of 

 sev^eral of the upland states ; its markets are already much frequented, though to 

 a far less extent than the annual fairs of the neighbouring San Juan de los Lagos, 

 which lies at a much lower elevation in a depression of the valley. Bolanos, a 

 smaller place than Lagos but formerly more important as a mining centre, also 

 lies on a northern affluent of the Lerma, the Rio Jerez, but in a region of difficult 

 access at the outlet of a formidable gorge dominated by jagged rocky walls. South 



Fig. 44. — Satst Bias. 

 Scale 1 : 700,000. 



I05°40' 



West d.P Greenwich 



0to5 



Fathoms. 



Depths. 



5 to 12 



F.-itlioms. 



12 Fathoms, 

 and upwards. 



12 Miles. 



of BolaTws and beyond the Lerma, the town of Tequila stands at the foot of a high 

 precipitous cliff ; this place is famous for its maguey brandy, commonly known as 

 tequila. 



The town of Tepic, capital of a separate territory, lies like Guadalajara some 

 distance to the south of the Rio Lerma, the lower course of which it may be said 

 to command. Its prosperity is due to the salubrity of its position, -3,000 feet 

 above sea-level, in the midst of gardens and orchards, and on the edge of a 

 volcanic plateau within sight of the Pacific Ocean. It thus serves as a health 

 resort for the ports of this malarious seaboard, on which are deposited the alluvia 

 of the Rio Lerma. When the conqueror, Nuno de Guzman, took possession of this 



