Mexico, its ancient and modern civilisation, history and political conditions, topography and natural resources, industries and general development; . teau, become much more prevalent in thenorth, and the vast sandy, arid plains, which coverenormous areas of land in Chihuahua and Coahuilaextending thence past the valley of the Rio Grande intothe great American deserts of Texas and New Mexico,are doubtless formed from the disintegration of the sand-stone and chalk horizons of that region. Leaving for a moment our examination of the greatplateau, let us observe the coast. On both sides of thecou
Mexico, its ancient and modern civilisation, history and political conditions, topography and natural resources, industries and general development; . teau, become much more prevalent in thenorth, and the vast sandy, arid plains, which coverenormous areas of land in Chihuahua and Coahuilaextending thence past the valley of the Rio Grande intothe great American deserts of Texas and New Mexico,are doubtless formed from the disintegration of the sand-stone and chalk horizons of that region. Leaving for a moment our examination of the greatplateau, let us observe the coast. On both sides of thecountry—the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean—weobserve that the littoral is composed of sandy the eastern or Gulf side these coastal plains vary inwidth from a few miles up to a hundred miles; for theCordillera approaches near to the sea at Vera Cruz, andrecedes far from it in Tamaulipas. Upon the Pacific side,however, the coastal plains are more restricted in width,as the Cordillera runs nearer the sea-coast, but leavinga wider strip at the north. Indeed, in the State ofGuerrero the Sierras rise almost abruptly from salt water,. S o PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 139 and the waves bathe the roots of the trees which coverthe mountain slopes. The country rises rapidly fromboth oceans—more rapidly from the Pacific side—andforms a succession of terraces upon the slopes of theSierra Madres, traversed by profound transversal cafionsand culminating in the crests of these mountains whichenclose the great plateau on both sides. The Sierra Madres, or Mexican Andes, have the generalAndine direction of north-north-west. They are dividedinto two systems—the western and the eastern—whoserespective crests in the north are from 400 to 500 milesapart, enclosing the mesa central, and which approachtowards the south. The Pacific range has some im-portant ramifications from its main system, but thegeneral Andine structure is maintained. The range isagain encountered in the long penin
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