TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPAXl)iH AMERICA 
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the ifitlimus of Panama, generally for a lower eminence, however. Teton 
is used in the United States and Canada. 
Tejon (disk-shaped) and huerjano (orphan) are also used for circum- 
scribed eminences. The latter is applied especially to solitary eminences 
standing far away from kindred masses. 
Tinaja . — A solitary, hemispherical mountain, shaped somewhat like 
the inverted bottom of a Mexican olla. The term is more generally u.sed, 
however, for water holes or natural bowls. 
SorifUa (watermelon). — An oblong, oval, or rounded eminence. Exam- 
ple, the Sandia range of New Mexico. 
Pelado . — A barren, treele.ss mountain. 
Other appropriate words describe the relative parts of a moun- 
tain or mountains : 
Cnmhre . — The highest elevation or highest peak of a sierra or cordillera. 
Pico . — A summit point. 
CuchiUa (knife). — u-seful term for the salients or comb-like, secondary 
crests which project at right angles between the lateral drainage originat- 
ing on the sides of a sierra. Example, the Cuchilla de Baracoa of Cuba. 
It is equivalent to the French arete. 
The adjective chiquito, meaning little, is applied to minor secondary 
fringing elevations accompanying ihe base of a sierra or cordillera, such 
as “ hogbacks.” 
NAMES APPLIED TO PLAINS 
The arid region of North America is about equally divided 
into mountains and plains. The plains belong to four great 
topographic categories, which in the rich Spanish nomenclature 
of the region maj' be termed mesas, bolsons, plazas, and cuestas (in- 
cluding hajadas). Mesas are summit plains ; cuestas and bajadas 
are inclined plains, which can also be classed as declivities; 
plazas and bolsons are valley plains or flat-bottomed valleys. 
The term mesa means, literally, a table. It is a flat surface on 
the top of hills or mountains. In New Mexico it is applied not 
only to the table-lands of a circumscribed summit, but to ex- 
tensive level benches abutting against higher eminences and 
bounded partially by escarpments called cejas. Extensive mesa 
regions are usually called by Americans jilateaux. 
Mesas of New Mexico and of the Trans-Pecos region of Texas 
are of three general t 3 'pes : plateau mesas, bench mesas, and 
cuesta mesas. The plateau mesa is a circumscribed summit 
whose continuity with other areas has been destroyed by erosion. 
The bench mesa is a bench or shoulder projecting against a region 
forming a higher background. Bench mesas may be classified 
by structure into bolson mesas, stream-terrace mesas, talus-fan 
