Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/260

240 I have been struck with the mountains of the Antigua, whose bases arise from the verge of its streets to an elevation nearly three times as great as that of Ajusco; and which, from their relative elevation above the level of the sea, and on account of their being situated under a warmer latitude, are covered with perpetual verdure, to their very summits! Chimborazo, the highest peak of the Andes in South America, is 21,441 feet; but it rests upon a plain of 9,514, leaving for its actual height from its base only 11,927 feet, 2,700 of which are covered with snow.

The two highest of the Mexican mountains Popocatēpetl and Ixtacxihuātle, viewed from a distance, present, with their snow-clad summits, a grand and terrific appearance. The loftiest, which is 17,710 feet above the level of the sea, rises from its base to the height of about 10,000 feet, whereas the three indestructible volcanoes of Guatemala (it is extraordinary that they have no names,—perhaps Shadrach,