OUR NEIGHBOR, MEXICO 



493 



BUZZARDS ON MARK! 



These birds are the scavengers of offal about i 

 with the improved sanitary facilities thei 



i, 600 feet elevation, and the seaports or 

 municipalities adjacent thereto. The 

 governmental control of main transpor- 

 tation routes and of telegraph systems 

 is a step taken with the expectation of 

 keeping public utilities free from ex- 

 traneous influences. 



the rivers offer magnificent water 



POWER 



The topographic conditions offer some 

 excellent opportunities for the develop- 

 ment of streams normally of small vol- 

 ume but with abrupt drops, forming 

 important water powers operating under 

 high heads, of which advantage has been 

 taken, and on some of the prominent 

 rivers the descent is sufficiently rapid to 

 encourage the utilization of large vol- 

 umes with relatively low fall. 



Many stream-beds are dry "arroyas," 

 or "barrancas," except during brief in- 

 tervals, when flood conditions tempora- 

 rily transform these into rushing torrents, 

 while the discharges of other rivers are 

 fairly maintained throughout the year, 

 and most water-courses have formed 

 rugged canyons in the rocks or deep 

 gashes in the alluvial plains. The num- 

 ber of important rivers is limited, and 



-HOUSE: VERA CRUZ 



e streets, and as such are protected, although 

 services are less essential than formerly 



the rapid descent from the mountains to 

 the coast permits navigation upon but few. 



Throughout much of Mexico irrigation, 

 which is liberally applied, is essential to 

 assure satisfactory crops, and the exten- 

 sion of artificial watering is receiving 

 attention. 



The. quantity and distribution of rain 

 varies greatly throughout the Republic, 

 the annual precipitation ranging from a 

 few inches in the northwestern section 

 to the total of 13 feet or more stated to 

 occur on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 

 In the northern desert regions many 

 months may pass with little if any rain- 

 fall, or there may occur phenomenal 

 downpours, such as reported at Monterey 

 in 1909, when over 34 inches were reg- 

 istered in 140 hours. Records covering 

 more than 30 years give the rainfall in 

 the valley of Mexico, in which the capi- 

 tal is located, at from 13 to 36 inches- 

 annually, the bulk of which fell in June, 

 July, August, and September. 



But the valley of Mexico, 7,400 feet 

 above sea-level, encircled by mountain 

 chains rising 1,500 to 5,000 feet higher, 

 with the snow-covered extinct volcanoes 

 within 50 miles, has climatic conditions 

 differing from that of other sections. 



