THE USUMACINTA. 



147 



it is jo'necl in quick succession by most of its ujapcr affluents, and here it takes tlie 

 name of Rio Grande or Rio de Chiapa, from the town standing- on its banks. In 

 this part of its coui se it falls in a steep incline through a series of rapids and 

 cascades, and near Chiapa suddenly plunges into a rocky chasm whence it escapes 

 at a much lower level farther down. Where it becomes navigable it describes 

 a great bend towards the west under the narne of the Rio MezcalajDa, and on 

 reaching the low-lying pLams only a few yards above sea-level, it assumes its 



Fig. 63. — The Usumacinta. — View taken at the Paso Yalchilan, on the Guatemalan Feontiee. 



official title of Grijalva from the navigator by whom it was discovered in the year 

 1519. But the natives have preserved the old name of Tabasco, which Bernai 

 Diaz learnt from the Indians during the same expedition. On reaching the 

 alluvial plains the main stream begins to ramify in various directions, throwing 

 off some branches seawards, others to the Usumacinta, which is much the larger 

 of the two rivcrs. 



The Usumacinta, less known than the Grijalva because traversing a very 



