IETHODIST REVIEW JULY, 183. ART. L-TIE KLP”PLC OF M 8 xico, call'd by the Aztcs Mer, and ! Itsast line on the Facili», reckoning 20 1,600 adds. The total rficial area is th: 768,604 miles. Pa population in 1850 was 8,5772279. pialty, Mexico is a vas rable-kind of exparatively whed Cordilleras are merely pments of this lean, and which rise only at mean level. Tae piipal cetar pee nates in dovela leones or Lou *S53 tee* hig`o, and Izt mi mil (15,795). D is Citlaltepetl, or the Peak or Orizaba, rish of 17.176 feet. Formerly a region of treners v, Mexico's volcanoes are now dying on "equent and rarely destructive, being a lings, than 7 prenotos, or shakingu. and wa "spouts seldom ocenr, except in ee, "} the coast. The day ser comprises the n ontl. fra September Inclusive, and the rainy season exterads ove of the rem drder of the The rain-f1-1 Jevation of from 3.690 to 8.000 feet. The rivers are w-mainly in deeply ent Feds, and are navigale. I 31-FIFTH SERILS, VOL. I. METHODIST REVIEW. JULY, 1885. ART. I.-TIIE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO. MEXICO, called by the Aztecs Mexitli, and by the Spaniards Estados Unidos de Mexico, extends from the Gulf of Mexico on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west, and from the southern boundary of our own country-latitude 33° north, to the fifteenth parallel, where it abuts on the Central American States. Its coast line on the Pacific, reckoning both sides of the Gulf of California, is over 4,000 miles, and on the Gulf of Mexico 1,600 miles. The total superficial area is about 763,804 square miles. Its population in 1880 was 9,577,279. Geologically, Mexico is a vast table-land of comparatively recent upheaval. Most of the so-called Cordilleras are merely cumbres, or escarpments of this plateau, and which rise only at intervals above its mean level. The principal central cross ridge of mountains culminates in the snow-clad cones of Popocatepetl (17,853 feet high) and Iztaccihuatl (15,795). To the east of these is Citlaltepetl, or the Peak of Orizaba, rising to the altitude of 17,176 feet. Formerly a region of tremendous igneous activity, Mexico's volcanoes are now dying out. Earthquakes are infrequent and rarely destructive, being rather temblores, or tremblings, than terremotos, or shakings. Electric storms and water-spouts seldom occur, except in certain localities on the coast. The dry season comprises the months from June to September inclusive, and the rainy season extends over most of the remainder of the year. The rain-fall is heaviest at an elevation of from 3,000 to 8,000 feet. The rivers are few, flow mainly in deeply cut beds, and are unnavigable. The 31-FIFTH SERIES, VOL. I. |