TABASCO BOUNDARIES RIVERS LAGUNE. 181 



THE STATE OF TABASCO. 



This State, one of the smallest of the confederacy, was, previous 

 to the revolution, a province of the Intendency of Vera Cruz. It 

 bounds eastwardly on the State of Yucatan; south on Chiapas and 

 Oajaca; west on Vera Cruz, and northwardly on the Gulf of Mexico. 

 Nearly the whole of Tabasco slopes gradually towards the sea, and is 

 so extremely flat that it is often subject to inundations, and the com- 

 munication from village to village and parish to parish cut off alto- 

 gether, or only practicable in canoes. The State is consequently 

 full of streams, though they are generally short and shallow, whilst 

 their mouths are obstructed by bars and flats, The most remark- 

 able of these streams are — the Pacaitun, or as it is sometimes called, 

 Rio de Banderas ; the Usumasinta which also passes through Chia- 

 pas; the Tabasco; the Chiltepec ; Dos Bocas ; Capilco ; Rio de 

 Santa Anna; Tonala or Toneladas ; Tancochapa or San Antonio ; 

 Uspanapan and the Guachapa or Rio del Paso. 



On the eastern boundary of Tabasco lies the Laguna de Terminos, 

 which is fifteen leagues long and ten broad, In this inland sea are 

 locked the beautiful islands of Laguna, Carmen, and Puerto Real ; 

 and, in the two passes by which the sea is reached from this lagune, 

 twelve to thirteen feet of water are found in the larger, while but five 

 and a half feetare obtained in the smaller, or pass of Puerto Real. 



The climate of this State is excessively hot along the immediate 

 coast of the gulf; nor is it very sensibly changed as the interior is 

 reached, in consequence of the extreme flatness of the soil. During 

 the prevalence of the northers the harbors are exceedingly insecure; 

 but these violent storms somewhat temper the heat and render the 

 towns less sickly. 



Tabasco is divided into three departments with nine parishes: 

 1st. The Department of Villa Hermosa with the districts of Villa 

 Hermosa, Usumasinta, and Nacayuca. 2d, The Department of the 

 Sierra with the districts of Teapa, Tacotalpa and Jalapa. 3d. The 

 Department of Chontalpa with the districts of Macuspana, Cundua- 

 can and J alp a. 



These are subdivided into 49 parishes; (23 of which are in the 

 Department of Villa Hermosa, 10 in la Sierra, and 16 in Chontalpa;) 

 besides these there are 543 haciendas and ranchos, or estates and 

 farms; and, throughout the whole State there are 63 churches. 

 The mass of inhabitants in Tabasco, as elsewhere in these southern 



