Page:Travels in Mexico and life among the Mexicans.djvu/203

Rh The mountain chain that is so depressed at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec divides into two as it reaches Mexican territory, forming the eastern and western Cordilleras that run along either coast. These great mountain ranges, then, guard an immense central plateau, supporting some of the highest pinnacles on this continent.

Between the bases of these ranges and the coasts there is a broad expanse of comparatively level land, known as the savanas, or llanos. This portion of the country is hot, and in the main unhealthy. The great plains are characterized by general aridity in the dry season, and are partially submerged in the season of rains. Covered with coarse grass, they are the resort of great herds of cattle, but their vegetation consists principally of stunted, prickly, and thorny trees. Like oases in this grassy desert are the spots fertilized by some stream or lake, where the trees and plants are of the tropics, and all the fruits of the hot zone are produced in abundance: such as cacao and coco, vanilla and spices, sugar-cane, bananas,