Mexico

Coastal Region.

The low land, or tierra caliente region, which lies between the sierras and the coast, consists of sandy and marshy deposits near the sea, but some sections of the coastal lands, where debris from neighbouring mountains have accumu lated, may reach an altitude as great as 3,00o feet, while on the Pacific coast mountain spurs may extend down to the littoral (Cape Corrientes, Cerro del Leon). In Tabasco and in south west Campeche the low lands cover a much vaster extension and are made of the alluvial deposits of the Usumacinta and Grijalva net of rivers. The Yucatan peninsula, north of the Peten lagoon, is formed entirely of a white limestone of very low altitude, the geological age of which is quite recent (Sapper, Heilprin, Engerrand).

The difference between the aspect of the Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico) coast and that of the Pacific is as great in Mexico as it is in the United States. The former, 1,o8o m. long, is generally low and sandy, and shows no bay of commercial importance ex cept the shallow Tamiahua lagoon, the relatively deep Laguna del Carmen (the only one that has a natural harbour owing to the protection afforded by the islands of Carmen and Puerto Real), and those on the eastern coast of Yucatan, of which al most no use is made because the region itself is still undeveloped. The general lack of secondary articulations, characteristic of the Gulf coast, and the fact that all the rivers which have their mouths there are obstructed by sand-bars, explain why the good ports on the Gulf of Mexico are artificial ; and it must also be remembered that this coast is by far the most important in re spect to international communications. The leading ports are Tampico and Veracruz; the former, which is a river port, has been considerably improved by the building of breakwaters or jetties, while the latter is almost entirely man-made. Puerto Mexico (Coatzacoalcos), on the river of the same name—a port whose future on account of its situation could hardly be doubted—has been improved in the same way as Tampico. Large boats can go as far up the river as Minatitlan, 26 m. from the coast. Progreso, the henequen (Sisal hemp) port, has taken the place of old Sisal, but can accommodate small vessels only and is losing depth on account of the slow rising of that part of Yucatan. Tuxpan, notwithstanding its growing importance in connection with the oil business, has not been much improved. Frontera, in spite of its favourable location at the entrance of a large river, is almost useless on account of a bar, while Campeche, at the head of a small, artificial harbour, is almost entirely silted.

The Pacific coast, 2,86o m. long, rugged and much better ar ticulated, has excellent bays, one of which, that of Acapulco, is truly magnificent, though they are all cut off from the interior by the rough and abrupt ranges of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The only important ports are those connected with the interior by railway; viz., Guaymas, Topolobampo, Mazatlan, San Blas, Manzanillo and Salina Cruz. Lower California has some ex cellent natural bays, such as those of Ensenada de Todos Santos, La Magdalena, on the Pacific coast, and Santa Ines and La Paz on the Gulf of California.

There are no islands of great importance belonging to Mexico. El Carmen, with the port of the same name, on the Gulf of Mexico, Isla Mujeres and Cozumel on the east coast of Yucatan, are the only ones worthy of mention on the Atlantic coast, and the Tres Marias in the Pacific near San Blas, are used as a penal colony.

Rivers.

One would hardly expect that a country consisting mostly of a high denuded plateau and enjoying but a scanty rain fall would be provided with important rivers. It was, in fact, on that account that Mexico found it necessary to develop an efficient net of railways. On the Gulf side, where rivers are all obstructed with bars, we find first the Rio Grande del Norte or Rio Bravo, a river that is much more American than Mexican if we take into consideration the official boundary and the fact that its 1,800 m. of length is mainly in American territory. Ending in a small delta it has lost all the commercial importance it for merly possessed. Its leading branch on the Mexican side is the Conchos. Further south the Soto la Marina river hardly deserves mention because of the undeveloped region it traverses. The Panuco river is one of the relatively important streams of Mexico owing to its numerous branches and to the fact that its mouth, thanks to a system of jetties, has been much improved, in order to facilitate the considerable commerce of Tampico. It now drains the lakes of the Valley of Mexico. The Papaloapam, whose head waters are in the mountains of Oaxaca, and the San Juan, which flows through one of the richest regions of the tierra caliente, finally unite in the lagoon of Alvarado. The Coatzacoalcos, in the isthmus region, owes its importance to the works that have been constructed to improve its entrance, as a means of improv ing in turn the port of Puerto Mexico (Coatzacoalcos). It is navigable as far as Minatitlan, where there is a large oil refinery.