ENGINEERING REPORTS. 
53 
are a number of fine Haciendas on this river. Most of the land 
bordering the Tonala and Tancochapa rivers, below the Haci- 
enda of San Jose, is subject to periodic inundation. For a dis- 
tance of six or eight miles south and west of Station " A" the 
country presents a very smooth, uniform surface; beyond which 
it is traversed by elevated ridges or ranges of hills, varying in 
height from three to five hundred feet above the sea-level. 
With the exception of Tecuanapa, the nearest mountains in a 
southerly direction are from 30 to 40 miles distant. 
On our return to Mina-titlan we took the road to Paso 
ISTuevo, via Moloacan and Ishuatlan. From the Hacienda of 
San Jose to the Cerro Acalapa the surface of the country is gently 
undulating, and alternates with woods and prairie, the soil gen- 
erally consisting of a light sandy loam. From the Cerro Acalapa 
to the Gulf there is a continuous chain of highlands separating 
the basins of the Ooatzacoalcos and Tonala rivers. Between these 
and the Ooatzacoalcos we find a considerable interval of low 
land, which, however, decreases in width as we approach the 
mouth of the river ; at which point, as well as at Paso Nuevo, 
the highlands extend to the banks of the stream. This latter 
place is the only point between the mouth of the river and Mina- 
titlan above overflow. 
With regard to the practicability of constructing a railroad 
on the east side of the Ooatzacoalcos I may here state, that 
the road can be located from Paso Nuevo to a point on the 
Uspanapa, near the confluence of the Arroyo de Mexcalapa, 
over very favorable ground as regards both alignment and 
grades ; thence to the mouth of the Malatengo Biver, the route 
as laid down on the map would encounter no highlands of 
sufficient elevation to offer any serious obstacle to the construc- 
tion of the road. The distance would, however, be greater 
than by the line to the west of the Ooatzacoalcos ; and the com- 
paratively large amount of drainage necessarily passing the line 
of road, requiring expensive constructions, with the risk of dam- 
age from the effects of floods, would seem to be conclusive in 
favor of the western route, notwithstanding the superior advan- 
tages offered at Paso Kuevo for a harbor, and as a terminus for 
the road. 
