Photograph by Valdeavellano 



THE ALTAR SCREEN OF THE CHURCH OE CERRITO DE CARMEN 



This beautiful little church, the most beloved in the city, and regarded by many persons 

 as the very symbol of the stability of Guatemala City, has crumpled and crumbled before the 

 reiterated shocks. While the church itself has been destroyed, the image has been preserved 

 and set up under a temporary shelter. The worshiper can turn from contemplation of the 

 figure of Christ to see the ashes and the debris of "a city that was" spreading beneath him in 

 a panorama of devastation. 



volcanoes, and her principal southern 

 port, Amapala, is situated on Tigre 

 Island, a typical volcanic cone. Ancient 

 lava flows and deposits of volcanic mud 

 hardened into a light, friable stone are 

 found in central Honduras. Earth- 

 quakes have not entirely forgotten this 

 Republic, for only a few years ago the 

 flourishing town of Gracias was utterly 

 wrecked. 



Nicaragua, almost equally with her 

 northern sisters, has suffered heavily in 

 the past from earthquakes and volcanoes. 

 Leon, the metropolis of Nicaragua, was 

 formerly located on the shores of Lake 

 Nicaragua, near the base of Momotombo. 

 This capital was destroyed in 1609 and 

 removed to its present site, in the fertile 

 valley of Subtiaba. Even here, how- 

 ever, it has not ceased to suffer. 



Masaya volcano was active in 1522, 

 when the Spaniards first entered Nica- 



ragua, and again in 1772, 1858, and 1908. 

 Momotombo, which is nearly always 

 smoking, has had periods of great activ- 

 ity, especially in 1764 and 1852. Ome- 

 tepe and Madera, with smoke issuing 

 from their summits, dominate the scenery 

 of Lake Nicaragua. 



A VOLCANO THAT BLEW OEE ITS OWN HEAD 



But perhaps the most sensational erup- 

 tion recorded in the annals of Nicaragua 

 is that of Coseguina, at the entrance of 

 the Gulf of Fonseca. In 1835 this vol- 

 cano blew off its head and scattered dust 

 far and wide. The black pall obscured 

 the sun for days, and old Indians still 

 fix their ages and other events in rela- 

 tion to "La Oscuridad Grande" — The 

 Great Darkness. The dust settled thickly 

 over field and forest, and wild animals 

 as well as tame died by thousands from 

 thirst and hunger. 



