OAXACA. 



139 



of Oaxaca, lias acquired some commercial importance since its foundation in 1868. 

 On this coast the best harbour is that of Iluatulco {GuatuJco, Coatoico). where a 

 channel 650 yards wide gives access to a well-sheltered basin from 25 to 50 feet 

 deep. The little fishing station of Crespo», which collects pearl oysters and the 

 purple-yielding murex, stands on the beach within the harbour. At a neighbour- 

 Fig. 58.— Isthmus of Tehtjantepec. 



Scale 1 : 2,000,000. 



ing headland the sea plunges into a cavernous recess, reappearing farther off in 

 a bitfndero, or jet, about 150 feet above the surface. 



About one-third of the state is drained b}' the E-ivers Papaloapau and Coatza- 

 coalcos, which belong to the Atlantic basin. On this northern slope the chief 

 place is Ixtlan, which lies in a fertile district of the upper Pajmloapan valley 

 over against the superb Mount San Felipe. Ixllan now also bears the name of 



