406 
GUATEMALA. 
volcano was formed above the level of the lake (1,600 
feet above the sea). 
It is dangerous to form conclusions as to the general 
course of volcanic action anywhere, for science is very 
much in the dark as to the causes of eruptions and earth¬ 
quakes, as to the condition of the interior of our globe, 
whether fluid or solid, and also as to whether the lavas 
poured out during an eruption have been fluid since the 
earth was formed, or have been suddenly melted either as 
cause or effect of what we call an eruption. In the Central 
American volcanic region, as was stated at the beginning 
of this chapter, little has been done in the way of scien¬ 
tific exploration, and the facts recorded, beyond popular 
accounts of some especial disturbance, are so meagre that 
no large space would be required to present them to the 
reader. This is not, however, the place to enter into a 
scientific discussion, and I must content myself with a few 
bare statements. 
In the first place, the volcanoes of the country discharge 
both ashes and lava, the latter being most frequently tra- 
chytic. Basaltic lavas occur, though less frequently than 
in Mexico and farther northward; and the columnar struc¬ 
ture seen so well at Regia in Mexico is very rare in Guate¬ 
mala. On the other hand, pumice and obsidian, which are 
classed with the acid or trachytic lavas, are abundant, the 
latter furnishing material for knives, while the former 
has many applications in the arts of the present day. I 
have seen both basalt and basaltic rapilli in eastern Guate¬ 
mala near the boundary of San Salvador, and basaltic 
sand is common on the southern coast. 
Another feature of the Central American volcanoes is 
their remarkable regularity of form. This is due to the 
