MEXICO. 



41 1 



country attains the elevation of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet, spreading out into immense plains, 

 called table-land, estimated to comprise three fifths of the whole country. The difficulty of 

 communication between the interior of Mexico and the opposite coasts, will long prevent this 

 country from becoming a great commercial power. 



12. Divisions. The Mexican confederacy consists of 19 States, 5 Territories, and the 

 Federal District, which contains the capital ; and, although the federal government has been 

 abolished, these divisions are still preserved. The States are subdivided into partidos or dis- 

 tricts. 



Stfiies and Territories. Population. 



Chiapas - - - . 93,000 



Yucatan - - - 500,000 



Tabasco - - - 75,000 



Oaxaca - - - 600,000 



Vera Cruz - - - 200,000 



Piiebla - - - 900,000 



Mexico - - - 1,500,000 



Mechoacan - - - 450,000 



Queretaro - - - 200,000 



Guanaxuato - • 450,000 



Xalisco .... 800,000 



Zacalecas - - - 272,000 



San Luis Potosi - - 250,000 



New Leon - - - 100,000 



Tamaulipas - - - 150,000 



Cohahuila - - - 125,000 



Cliiliuahua - - - 112,000 



Durango - - - 175,000 



Sonora and Cinaloa - - 180,000 

 Federal District .... 

 Territory of Tiascala ... 



" of New Mexico - - 150,000 



" of Coliina - - 150,000 



" of Upper California - 25.000 



" of Lower California - 15,000 



C.-ipitals. 

 Chiapas 

 Merida 



Tabasco or Hermosa 



Oaxaca 



Vera Cruz 



Piiebla 



Tlalpan 



Valladolid 



Queretaro 



Guanaxuato 



Guadalaxara 



Zacatocas 



San Luis Potosi 



Monterey 



Aguayo 



Monclova 



Chihuahua 



Durango 



Villa Fuerte 



Mexico 



Tiascala 



Santa Fe 



Colima 



Monterey 



Lorelo 



Population. 



3,000 

 10,000 



5,000 

 40,000 



- 30,000 

 70,000 



6,000 

 25,000 



- 40,000 

 60,000 



- 60,000 

 25,000 



- 40,000 

 15,000 



6,000 

 3,000 



- 30,000 

 25,000 



4,000 



180,000 

 small town. 



3,500 

 small town. 



2,.500 



The population of the confederacy is estimated at present to be about 7,000,000 souls, In- 

 cluding about 3,000,000 Indians, and as many of mixed breed. 



2. Toivns. JMexico., the capital city of the republic, is situated in the Federal District, at 

 about an equal distance from the sea on each side, at Vera Cruz and Acapulco. It lies in a 

 large valley, 63 miles in length, by 43 in breadth, which has the volcanic summits of Popoca- 

 tapetl and Iztaccihuatl on the south, and contains the five lakes already mentioned. This great 

 basin, called the valley of Mexico, is in no part less than 6,000 feet above the level of the 

 sea. The city is one of the most beautiful in the world ; the streets are broad and regularly 

 laid out, well paved, clean, and provided with wide footpaths ; the houses are generally hand- 

 some, and their flat roofs, ornamented with shrubs and flowers, have a pretty appearance, and 

 form an agreeable promenade. Many of the public buildings are magnificent, surpassing those of 

 any other American city. The cathedral is a splendid edifice, of which the centre is surmounted 

 by a dome resting upon 4 beautiful columns, and the front is adorned with 2 lofty towers, or- 

 namented with statues and pilasters ; the gold and silver ornaments in the chapel, attached to 

 the cathedral, are the richest in the world. Opposite the cathedral on the same square, is the 

 government-house, an immense quadrangular building, nearly a mile in circuit, in which, be- 

 sides the president's house, are contained the mint, the national library and printing office, a 

 prison, &c., and in the spacious grounds attached to it, is the public botanic garden. There 

 are several churches and convents, which are equally remarkable for beauty and grandeur of 

 style, their vast extent, and the richness of their decorations, among which are statues and 

 altars of massy silver, fine paintings and works of sculpture, &c. The mineria or mining 

 school, the spacious prisons of the acordada, the buildings of the University, the palace of the 

 Inquisition, and the hospital are also worthy of note. The population of Mexico is estimated 

 at about 180,000, of which about one half are Creoles, one fourth Indians, and the remainder 

 of mixed races. 



In the vicinity of Mexico is Huehuetoca, celebrated for the desagua or canal b}"^ which the 

 waters of lake Zumpango are discharged into the river Tula. It is one of the most giganttt.. 

 works of "the kind ever constructed, being about 13 miles in length, and In some places 197 

 feet in depth, and 360 at top In breadth. Guadalupe, a little village, is remarkable for a ricv'i 

 shrine of tb*' "^irgin Mary, to which thousands of pilgrims annually resort. Otumba, a small 



