. Ancient civilizations of Mexico and Central America. Indians of Mexico; Indians of Central America. 16 MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA Its name in Aztecan is Citlaltepetl, which means Star Mountain. Two other famous peaks of Mex- ico are Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, both names being pure Aztecan. The first means Smoking Mountain and the second White Woman. These volcanic crests rise into the snowy zone from the table-land which is itself about 8,000 feet above the sea. In southern Mexico the plateau area enclosed be- tween the principal sierras narrows perceptibly, because the shore line of the
. Ancient civilizations of Mexico and Central America. Indians of Mexico; Indians of Central America. 16 MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA Its name in Aztecan is Citlaltepetl, which means Star Mountain. Two other famous peaks of Mex- ico are Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, both names being pure Aztecan. The first means Smoking Mountain and the second White Woman. These volcanic crests rise into the snowy zone from the table-land which is itself about 8,000 feet above the sea. In southern Mexico the plateau area enclosed be- tween the principal sierras narrows perceptibly, because the shore line of the Pacific and the mountain range that parallels it swing more and more towards the east. At the Isthmus of Tehuantepec a low valley separates the high- land area of Mexico from that of Central America. This sec- ond table-land is not so wide as the one we have just considered and is more deeply dissected by rivers. The mountains of Gua- temala rise to a considerable al- titude, the highest being Tacana with 13,976 feet elevation. Ac- tive volcanoes are numerous and earthquakes frequent and often disastrous. The Volcan de Agua and the Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Water and Volcano of Fire) look down upon Cuidad Vieja and Antigua Guate- mala, the old Spanish capitals which each in turn destroyed. The cordillera still presents its most abrupt front to the Pacific and on the eastern side, in Guatemala and Honduras, there are high forest-. Fig. 2. The Smoke reaches the Stars, a Mexican Picture of a Volcanic Eruption in the Codex Telleriano Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Spinden, Herbert Joseph, 1879-1967. New York : American Museum of Natural History
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