The State of NEW MEXICO, between Colorado and the Mexico border, was settled by the Spaniards nearly 300 years ago, and many of the inhabitants are of Spanish descent. The Pueblo Indians in the Rio Grande and Zuñi valleys are semi-civilized. SANTA FÉ, the capital, on a creek which flows into the Rio Grande, is, with the single exception of St. Augustine on the coast of Florida, the oldest European settlement in the United States. Mining and sheep-farming are the chief industries, but there are large horse and cattle ranches, and, as also in the three States to the north, more land is being brought into cultivation by means of irrigation. With sufficient moisture, cereals, vegetables, and fruits grow well.

GREAT PLATEAU DIVISION.

Four States-Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona-occupy the central and larger portion of the Great Plateau or basin between the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada on the west. Most of the Great Basin proper, which lies between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains. is within the State of Nevada. The western half of Utah also belongs to this lower plateau; the eastern section of that Territory, and the northern part of Arizona, belong to the higher and more arid Colorado Plateau. The climate of this vast expanse of rugged country is extremely dry-the rainfall being not unfrequently less than one inch during the year. In the south the summer is oppressively hot, while in the north the winter is very cold. As in the Rocky Mountain States, no cultivation is, generally speaking, possible without irrigation. More than half the population of this division is in Utah-there agriculture is the chief occupation; in the rest of the division, mining is almost the only industry.

IDAHO is a mountainous State, but the valleys are fertile, and some grain and potatoes are grown. Mining for gold and silver and stock-rearing are, however, the principal industries. BOISE CITY, the capital, IDAHO CITY, and SILVER CITY are the chief mining centres.

NEVADA, the "Silver State," is a rich mining State. It produces fourfifths of the silver mined in the United States, more than half the lead and much of the gold, while copper, borax, and other minerals are also mined. The silver mines of Nevada are in the western part of the State, on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. The famous "Comstock lode" at Virginia City has yielded hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of silver, and other mines are extraordinarily rich. VIRGINIA CITY, on the Comstock lode, CARson City, the capital, EUREKA, and GOLD HILL, are important mining towns, but none of them are large.

UTAH is remarkable as being the headquarters of the Mormons' or Latter-Day Saints, who also form a large element in the population of Idaho, 1. The Mormons, however peculiar their religion | son when he says:-"You walk home through one may be, are very industrious and thrifty. Phil of their rural towns, along the tree-shaded streets, Robinson, the well-known special correspondent, with water purling along besi le you as you walk, says that there are no paupers among them and and the clear breeze from the hills blowing the that 95 per cent. of them live in their own houses | perfume of flowers across your path in gusts, with and on their own land. They have undoubtedly the cottage homes, half smothered in blossoming done a wonderful work in Utah. The nature of fruit trees, on either hand, and a perpetual succe that work is perhaps best described by Mr. Robin | sion of gardens."

Arizona, Montana, and Wyoming, and are found in other States. In spite of a considerable Gentile" emigration attracted by the mines-Utah is very rich in the precious metals-and the increasing trade of the Mormon capital, Salt Lake City, the Mormons still form four-fifths of the population of this formerly desert region, but which is now dotted with thriving farms and prosperous villages. Stock-rearing and agriculture are the leading industries, but in the Wasatch and other mountains, mining, chiefly for gold and silver, is the chief occupation. SALT LAKE CITY (54), is in the Jordan Valley to the southeast of the Great Salt Lake, on the eastern side of which is OGDEN (15), an important railway centre, where the Union Pacific Railway from the east connects with the Central Pacific Railway from the west.

ARIZONA State includes some of the most wonderful examples of landsculpture on the face of the globe. The Great Cañon of the Rio Colorado in the north-west is the most stupendous and magnificent of a system of cañons several hundred miles in length. These vast gorges are so irregular, and of such enor mous depths, that much of the Territory is inaccessible, and probably will ever remain so. But though the climate is drier and hotter than any other part of the country, there is some pasture for sheep and cattle, and cereals and semi-tropical fruits grow well, wherever there is sufficient moisture. Arizona is very rich in minerals, and silver-mining is the leading industry; gold, copper, coal, and salt are also found, and there are large pine forests in the eastern part of the Territory. TUCSON, the largest town, is in the south, on the Southern Pacific Railway. PRESCOTT, the former capital, is in the centre of the Territory, midway between the Colorado and its tributary the Gila River. On the latter river is PHOENIX, the present capital.

PACIFIC DIVISION.

The Pacific Division of the Western States is, in every respect, much more advantageously situated than either of the other divisions: indeed, the three States into which the Pacific Coast region of the United States is divided-California, Oregon, and Washington-compare favourably with the Atlantic or Gulf States as regards both resources and climate. West of the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range, the climate is mild and the rainfall ample, and even excessive in the north-west around Puget Sound. The natural features of this region have been already described. They include the lofty ranges of the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada, and the great valleys between them and the minor Coast Ranges. The mountain slopes are covered with magnificent forests, and the fertile valleys yield splendid crops of the finest wheat. This division is chiefly famous, however, for its immense stores of mineral wealth -gold, silver, quicksilver, and coal are mined, but copper, lead, salt, and other minerals abound.

CALIFORNIA, the "Golden State," richly deserves the title, for the gold mines on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and the quicksilver mines of the Coast Range are the richest in the world. Its silver mines are also very rich. The Great Valley, lying between the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges and watered by the Sacramento and its tributary the San Joaquin, produces wheat and other cereals of the finest quality. Oranges, grapes, and other fruits are

grown in abundance, and much wine is made. Lumbering is an important industry in the north, and the wool clip is the largest in the Union. California is noted for its grand scenery-the Yosemite Falls and Valley are absolutely unique. Its celebrated "Big Trees" are gigantic evergreens, some of them 400 feet in height and roo feet in girth. SACRAMENTO (30), on the Sacramento River in the Great Valley, is the capital of the State, but SAN FRANCISCO (343) is the largest city. San Francisco occupies a peninsula on the south side of the Golden Gate, as the entrance to the noble Bay of San Francisco is called. It is the commercial metropolis of the Pacific Coast, and communicates with the States to the east and north by railways, and with the principal home and trans-Pacific and Atlantic ports by steamers, which take out gold and silver, wheat and wool, and other western products, and bring back tea and silk from China and Japan, metal wares and textile fabrics from the Atlantic States, machi ery from England, &c. On April the 18th, 1906, San Francisco was almost completely destroyed by a devastating earthquake and subsequent fire, rendering a quarter of a million people homeless; but the city, with characteristic American energy, is rapidly being rebuilt. OAKLAND (67), on the opposite side of the Bay of San Francisco, is a beautiful suburban town, and the terminus of the Central Pacific Railway. LOS ANGELES (103) is the chief centre of the wine and wool districts in the south, and is also a favourite winter resort, the climate being extremely mild and equable. STOCKTON (14), about 50 miles east of Oakland, is an important wheat market. At NEW ALMADEN, 50 miles south-east of San Francisco, are the famous quicksilver mines, the richest in the world.

OREGON, the "Beaver State," extends north of California to the Columbia River, which divides it from Washington. It is a State of immense agricultural and mineral resources. Gold and copper are mined in the Blue Mountains, and both iron and coal are plentiful. Wheat and other cereals are grown in the fertile valley of the Willamette, and here also are the chief towns, of which PORTLAND (90), the chief port, SALEM, the capital, and ALBANY, are the largest. The gigantic forests of pines, firs, cedars, and spruces, on the western slopes of the Cascade Range, furnish the best masts and spars in the world, and the salmon fisheries and canning establishments of the Columbia River are second only to those of the Fraser in British Columbia.

WASHINGTON, the extreme north-western State of the Union, includes the abundantly watered and heavily timbered country lying between the Columbia River and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the boundary of British Columbia. The eastern half of the State is a grazing country; the western portion, traversed by the giant Cascade Mountains, has an extremely humid climate, and is covered with dense forests of gigantic evergreen trees. The numerous saw mills along Puget Sound, the salmon canneries on the Columbia River, and the coal mines at Seattle and Bellingham Bay, occupy most of the people, but there are fine agricultural districts around the Sound and in the valleys of the Yakima and the Snake Rivers. Lumber, fish, wheat, and coal are at present the principal exports, but gold, silver, copper, and lead have been discovered. OLYMPIA, the capital, is at the extreme point of the southernmost arm of the Sound. SEATTLE(81), and TACOMA (36) are rising ports on its eastern shores. WALLA WALLA is the commercial centre of the Snake River district in the south-east. The San Juan Islands, in the channel between the northern coast and Vancouver, belong to this State. The great rivers of Washington have their rise beyond its limits-the Columbia in British Columbia, and its chief tributary, the Snake or Shoshone River, in the north-west of Wyoming.

MEXICO.

The Confederate Republic of MEXICO includes the northern and larger portion of the isthmus which unites North and South America. It is bounded on the north by the United States, on the west and south by the Pacific, and on the east by the Mexican Gulf. To the south-east it adjoins the narrow regions known as Central America.

The Mexican portion of the isthmus varies in width from 500 miles in the north to 125 in the south. Its area is estimated at 740,000 square miles, or more than 12 times that of England and Wales.

The coasts of Mexico are in general low and unbroken. The principal inlets are the Gulf of Campeachy on the east, and the Gulf of California and that of Tehuantepec on the west. The Atlantic coast-line of the republic has a total length of 1,600 miles, but the Pacific coasts are much longer, extending to about 4,000 miles.

PHYSICAL FEATURES: Mexico consists of a high plateau, bordered by a narrow strip of low land on either side. This low plain is generally of greater breadth upon the side of the Gulf of Mexico than upon that of the Pacific Ocean. From the low coastplain, the country rises towards the interior by a succession of terraces, one above another, until at length the summit of the tableland is reached.' The higher parts of this vary from 6,000 to 9,000 feet above the sea; the plain upon which the city of Mexico stands is about 7,500 feet.

The surface of the Mexican Plateau is diversified both by continuous chains of high ground and by isolated mountain-peaks, many of which are volcanoes. Among the latter, Citlaltepetl or Star Mountain, also called Orizaba, reaches 17,880 feet, and is believed to be the culminating point of Mexico. The colossal volcano of Popocatepetl, which is visible from the capital, about 60 miles distant, is about 100 feet lower in elevation. The "Smoking Mountain," for such is the meaning of the name, sends forth smoke, but has not been in eruption for nearly 350 years. "Within its crater, which is a mile across and 1,000 feet deep, are enormous beds of pure sulphur. For the purpose of obtaining this mineral, several persons make their abode in the crater, ascending and descending its walls with the aid of ropes. Jorullo, another volcan of this chain, is remarkable for having been thrown up in a single night (in 1759), from fertile fields of sugar and indigo to a height of 1,600 feet above the level of the plateau."

The Mexican Plateau is bordered on the east by the Sierra Madre, a prolongation of the Rocky Mountains. But neither in these mountains, nor in the lower sierras on the western side of the plateau, are there any elevations approaching in height to the lofty volcanoes between Mexico and the depression of Tehuantepec. The upland plains are generally treeless, but the main chain of the Sierra Madre is covered with pines, cedars, oaks, &c.

1. The surface of the tableland of Mexico is, says | races and in the interior plateau form the Arran Guyot, such that, though varying greatly in eleva- cas, so frequently mentioned in descriptions of tion, it may be traversed without difficulty, from Mexico. north to south, through its entire length. But the routes from the interior plateau to either coast, over the mountains and successive terraces, present many obstacles.

a The deep valleys and ravines on the coast ter

3. Professor Heilprin gives the heights of those mountains as follows:-Orizaba, 18,207 test; and Popocatepetl. 17.515 feet.-Alpine Journa February, 1891.

Mexico has no rivers of any considerable magnitude. Some of the streams which water portions of the interior plateau terminate in salt lakes, without reaching the sea.

The Rio Grande forms the boundary between Mexico and the United States. Of the rivers within Mexico the largest is the Santiago, which drains the central part of the country and flows into the Pacific.

The principal lakes are Chapala, through which the Santiago flows; Cɛ 7man, in the north; and the small lake of Tezcuco, near Mexico.

CLIMATE: The climate of Mexico varies from north to south, being on the whole mild in the north, warm in the centre, and tropical in the south.

But the temperature also varies from the coast to the great tablelands in the interior. The low plains which stretch along the coast are intensely hot and generally unhealthy. The interior plateaux enjoy a moderate temperature, and the various elevations which are passed through in the ascent to them exhibit a progressive diminution of heat. Generally speaking, elevations above 2,000 feet are free from the unhealthy influences which belong to the damp and heated atmosphere of the coast.'

PRODUCTIONS: The natural productions, both mineral and vegetable, are rich and varied, but they are turned to comparatively little account.

Gold and silver, with numerous other useful metals and minerals, are extensively distributed. The silver mines in the Sierra Madre were formerly the richest in the world. A great many mines are still worked, but the mineral produce of Mexico in the present day is inconsiderable compared to its former

amount.

A rich variety of fruits, medicinal herbs, and other vegetable productions, are native to Mexico. One of the most characteristic is the cochineal-plant, a species of cactus upon which the cochineal-insect (valued for its red dye) thrives. Vanilla, cacao, and jalapa are native to Mexico. Tobacco, coffee, indigo, and sugar are grown; the first named is indigenous to the soil.

INHABITANTS: This vast region, which is about 6 times the size of the United Kingdom, had in 1900 a population of 13,545,000, of whom only about 19 per cent, are of pure or nearly pure white race, while no less than 38 per cent. are Indians, and 43 per cent. mixed race.

The whites are almost exclusively of Spanish descent. About four millions are mestizoes, that is, of mixed Indian and Spanish blood.

Distinctions of Race were abolished by the Constitution of 1824, but of a total population of 13%1⁄2 millions only 31⁄2 millions are taxable, and very few of the mixed Indian race can be regarded as civilised. Some of the gente sin razon as the Spaniards derisively call the Indians, rise, however, to high positions in the State, and Benito Juarez, the famous Federalist President, by whose orders

T The Mexicans themselves denote these differences by their rough division of the country into Tierras calientes-hot lands; Tierras templadastetaperite lands; and Tierras frias-cold or cool lan is. The Tierras calientes include the coastal zone from the sea level to 3.000 feet, the Tierras templadas embrace the terraces and uplands be

tw en 3.000 and 8,000 feet, and the Tierras frias, the higher regions, from 8,000 feet upwards.

2. Between 1827 and 1880, silver was produced to the value of 180 millions sterling, and gold to the value of £98.com. 70 per cent, of the exports con sists of silver and gold.