Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/626

* NICARAGUA. 532 NICARAGUA. widened and deepened the Colorado branch of the delta so that most of the river now discharges south of Crejtown in Costa Kii-a, leaving Grey- town harborj which has also been silted by tlio sea, very shallow. The port of Gracias fi Dies is also shallow. Bluefields, on a large lagoon, is the most important east-eoast port. The Pacific coast is liigh. and tlic water is deep close to the sliore. The harljor of Corinto is one of the licst-|)rlected ports on tlio I'acific. ami •San Jvian del Sur has a small but deep and safe harbor. Saint Andrews. Old Providence, and Great and Little Corn islands, near the Carib- bean coast, are centres of banana and cocnanut growing. Geographically Nicaragua is divided into dis- tinct zones by two chains of mountains, which, more or less broken, and with numerous llanl;ing spurs, traverse the Republic in a north- west and southeast direction parallel with the Pacific coast. The western or coast range is a part of the mountain system extending through most of Central America. In Nicaragua it is only ten to twenty miles from the Pacific, and its nearness to the ocean accounts for the fact that no considerable streams discharge from that sloi)e into the Pacific. This western range, with the depressed plain lying between it and the eastern range, forms the principal line of volcanic energy- and is marked by a numlxr of extinct and active volcanoes built up by outpouring lava. None of them reaches 7000 feet al)ove sea- level. Masaya (2072 feet) was violently active at different jieriods from the time of the Spanish Conquest until 1772. when a vast mass of lava was ejected from its crater, covering a tract of land eight miles long by two wide. It was dormant belwwn 1861 and May. 1002. when it resumed activity. Coseguina (over .'iOOll feet) had a terrific eruption period in 18:!.">. I)ut has since been inactive. The Spaniards founded the city of Leon Viejo at the foot of Momotombo, but the eruption of IfiOO so alarmed the citizens that they removed en masse 2."! miles from the town they had foinded and established new Leon on its present site. In recent years this volcano has <?jected dust and scoria without inllicting dam- age. Other wcil-known volcanic summits are Telica. Las Pilas. Mi)mbachi>. Za|iaterii. OiiU'tepe, etc. The severe earthipiakis re<orde(l in Nica- ragua are associated with its v(dcanic phenomena. The eastern range enters Nicaragua from Honduras and extends in a general southeastern direction to the coast north of the San Juan River, about 50 miles from its month. It sends out numerous spurs toward the Caribbean, be- tween which flow the many rivers of the coun- try, lictween the ea-^tern and wislcrn ranges lies the gri'at interior basin, aliout 'MM miles long and 100 miles wide, where the pupulatinn and industries are in great part centred, chiefly near the west shores, or a little to the north and west of the two great lakes of the country. The dominating topographic features are thus the wide. low. rolling plain of the east, interspersed with mountains and spurs, and, toward the northwest, with highlands; the two eorililleras; the depressed plain between them with its two large lakes; and the steep, narrow Pacific slope. HvmtocRAPllv. In the plain nr basin between the ranges are two large lakes, Managua and Nicaragua, connected by the river Tipitapa and ■collecting the drainage of the basin, which has an area of about 12,000 square miles. The larger lake, Nicaragua, comprises over 3000 square miles, and is 110 miles long. Its longer axis is parallel with the Pacific, from which it is only eleven miles distant at the nearest point. It is from 12 to 200 feet deep, with its surface al)out 100 feet above the sea-level. It receives the waters of the shallower Lake Managua (,32 miles long ay IG wide). The waters of these lakes are carried to the Caribbean by the San .Juan River, which has an average width of 1.300 feet, and a minimum dis- charge of aljout 10,000 cubic feet per sei'ond. Its course is 120 miles, and it is navigable for small- drauglit steamers except at a few rapids, vhich ofi'er obstruction in the dry season. The river has recently played little part in the commerce of the country, but in the construction of the Nicaragua Canal it was proposed to use its wa- ters for many miles. The other rivers are mainly to the north of the San Juan, east of the nmun- tain ranges, and drain the wide, forested plain. Most important among them are the .Segovia or Wanks, about 300 miles in length, but with a narrow drainasre basin, which does not carry a volume of water proportionate to its length; the Rio Grande, about 230 miles long, navigable for small ves.sels for 100 miles from the sea if a chan- nel were cut through its bar: and the Bluefields P.iver, navigable for Go miles, its banks lined with banana plantations, whose crop is carried on the river to Bluefields for shipment to the Ciiited States. The Pacific coast rivers are un- important. Ci.iM.^TE. The climate is very warm, but not unhcalthful, the prevailing trade winds mitigat- ing the discomforts of the temperature, which varies little, seldom rising above 85° or falling below 70°. The seasons are divided into the wet and the dry. Init on the Carilibcan side they are lint well defined, as rain falls nearly every day in the year. The precipitation at Greytown is 200-2.J0 inches annually, while in the west, in the higher land, the ])iecipitation is only (i.»-80 inches. The soil is very productive. On the Ca- ribbean slope it is mainly reddish clay covered by leaf humus, and the cultivated regions of the west have a deep, black soil, in which fertilizing' lavas and volcanic dust are large constituents. Fl.OR.. The eastern plain is covered with trees of great size, beneath which is a thick growth of buslies and vines. There are .t4 varii'ties of trees suitable for hardwood lumber; 40 varieties supplying industrial or medicinal gums, balsams, resins, fibres, oils, extracts, food, drink, and spices; and 74 varieties of fruit trees, of which 17 are wilil and .57 cultivated. Rublier abounds, but the supply has been depleted by ruinous methods of collection. For this reason rubber- collecting, except in the Bluefields ilisfrict. has been prohiliited until 1007. though it may be gathered from cultivated trees on rubber plan- tations which are now being ojiened. It is be- lieved that the cultivation of rubber will be svic- cessful. The resources of the forest are enor- mous, but as yet are little utilized. Citri9 fruits flourish, especially in the western part of the country. The cultivation of most tropical crops is considerably developed and has a great future. F.MXA. Animal life is very rich and varied, particularly in the moist eastern regions. The principal mammals are the jaguar, cougar, wild swine, deer, monkeys, squirrels, and epos-