CLIMATE. 
179 
To recapitulate in a few words, the facts above stated, it will 
be seen that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec naturally divides itself 
into three regions, each different from the other in topography, 
geological formation, and salubrity. 
The plain of Coatzacoalcos River, flat and low, with an ex- 
tremely fertile alluvial soil, covered with thick forests, inter- 
sected by many rivers, here and there subject to inundation, 
although the least healthy, yet enjoys a high degree of salubrity, 
and no fears need be entertained, as proved by the experience 
of the French emigrants, for those who may in future settle 
permanently in this region, and much less so for those who may 
cross it as travellers. 
The region of hills and mountains is as healthy as the most 
salubrious portions of Europe ; full of romantic scenery, it is 
even now highly attractive, and will, in progress of time, when 
inhabited by an enterprising and laborious population, become 
one of the most beautiful spots on the earth. 
Last comes the plain of Tehuantepec, nearly as healthy as the 
hilly region, although warmer, presenting all the characteristics 
of a healthy tropical climate. 
All these three regions together form a broad surface of 
country from the Gulf of Mexico to the coast of the Pacific, of 
a great variety of resources and of remarkable healthiness, a 
feature peculiar to the Isthmus, as the lands on both of its sides 
are very unhealthy ; such as Yera Cruz and Tabasco on the Gulf, 
Acapulco, Huatulco, and the coast of Guatimala on the Pacific 
shore. This peculiar and exclusive salubrity of the Isthmus is, 
in my opinion, chiefly due to its configuration, which forms 
as it were a gate, walled on both sides by heavy masses of 
mountains, through which pass currents of air, that render the 
country they traverse so permanently salubrious. That the 
winds prevail only within the limits of the Isthmus, and not 
within a few miles on either side of it, I am informed from most 
reliable sources. 
