THE KINGDOM OF GUATEMALA. 
5 
Ometepec in the Lake of Nicaragua, and have turned 
rivers, changed prevailing winds, and otherwise altered 
the physical conditions of the country. 
Gold sands from the disintegrated veins sparkle in 
every mountain-brook, and the deposits of silver are 
no doubt as rich as those of Mexico, Nevada, and Potosi. 
Aguas calientes , or hot springs, are found all over the 
country, and earthquakes, often severe, are common on 
the Pacific slopes. 
All along the Atlantic side the rock material is lime¬ 
stone or dolomite, while as one goes westward he meets 
andesyte and other forms of trachytic lava, such as 
pumice and obsidian. Even among the limestone moun¬ 
tains of the northeast are occasional volcanic deposits, 
exactly as might be expected when so extensive an 
upheaval has taken place. 
Whatever has been the exact process by which this 
essentially mountainous country has been formed, we 
have at present at its northern boundary the high plain 
of Anahuac, extending from Mexico (where it is inter¬ 
rupted by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec) through Guate¬ 
mala ; of somewhat lower level in Honduras and Sal¬ 
vador ; sinking to almost sea-level in Nicaragua (154 
feet); and rising again in the Altos of Veragua to about 
3,250 feet. This main range has its axis much nearer 
the Pacific shore and almost parallel to it, being in San 
Salvador distant seventy-five miles, and in Guatemala 
(Totonicapan) only fifty. Towards the Pacific the slope 
is steep, interrupted by many volcanoes ; while on the 
Atlantic side the gently terraced incline is broken into 
subsidiary ridges extending to the very shores. In the 
oceanic valleys and along the coast are the only low- 
