Railways from Eagle Pass to Mexico City runs the full length of the state. The trunk line from Juarez to the capital also passes through Torreon. The latter city and Saltillo likewise have through connections with Durango on the west, and with Monterrey, Matamoros, and Tampico in the east and north.

Area: 2,272 square miles.

COLIMA

Population: 80,500 (average density, 34.2).

Location: A small state fronting on the Pacific and bounded on all sides, except the west, by the states of Jalisco and Michoacan.

Physical Characteristics: Much of Colima consists of a low coastal plain lying along the Pacific. The climate is hot, humid and malarial. To the northeast, however, there is a mountainous section where conditions are much more agreeable.

Chief Industries: The state is very backward in its economic development. Stock raising and agriculture are the chief industries, and a large amount of salt is annually obtained south of Manzanillo. The lumber industry is also of some importance, but little has been done toward exploiting the mineral resources. Sugar, rice, cotton, coffee and tropical fruits are the principal agricultural products.

Principal Cities: Colima, the capital, with a population of about 27,000, is the chief commercial center of the state. Manzanillo, a port of entry some sixty miles from Colima, has about 2,000 inhabitants and carries on considerable export and import trade.

Transportation: A branch of the National Railways runs from Manzanillo and the capital to Guadalajara. Otherwise, there are no railways in the state; and the consequent lack of adequate transportation facilities seriously retards economic progress.

Area: 42,272 square miles.

DURANGO

Population: 509,585 (average density, 12.8).

Location: One of the north Mexican states, lying immediately south of Chihuahua. It is bounded on the east by Coahuila and Zacatecas; on the south by Zacatecas, Jalisco, and Nayarit; and on the west by Sinaloa.

Physical Characteristics: In climate and physical characteristics Durango very closely resembles the state of Chihuahua. It is extremely mountainous in the west, and contains much desert or semi-arid land along its eastern frontier. The climate is dry and healthful. The rainfall is light, and the only rivers of importance are the Nazas, and its tributary the Papasquiaro, the Santiago, and the Mezquital. A portion of the Bolson de Mapimi extends into Durango.

Chief Industries: Durango is preeminently an agricultural, stock raising and mining state. The agricultural products are chiefly cotton, grains, tobacco, and fruits. From the mineral standpoint Durango is one of the richest states in the Republic. Gold, silver, lead, copper, tin and iron are all produced within its borders, and its mining centers, Guanacevi, Velardeña, San Dimas, El Oro, Nombre de Dios, Promontorio and Mapimi, are internationally famous. The Cerro del Mercado (Iron Mountain) has also enjoyed a long continued and widespread reputation. The forests of western Durango are of considerable magnitude, but have never been adequately developed.

Principal Cities: The most important mining camps have been enumerated. Besides these there is the capital and chief city, Durango, with a population of about 40,000. The city is an important railway, mining, and agricultural center and also carries on a considerable amount of manufacturing. The principal products are textile goods, flour, tobacco, leather and iron.

Gomez Palacio, lying across the Durango-Coahuila boundary from Torreon, is a city of 20,000 inhabitants. It contains important cotton mills and the largest soap factory in Mexico. Santiago Papasquiaro is a town of 5,000 inhabitants located about sixty-five miles west of Durango. It is chiefly important as a mining center.

Transportation: Much of Durango is still without railway facilities. The northeast corner of the state, however, is crossed by the Mexican Central (National Railways); and a line of the Mexican International (National Railways) runs from Torreon to the capital. The latter city also has rail connections with Tepehuanes, a few miles beyond Santiago Papasquiaro and with Cañitas in Zacatecas.

Population: 763,170 (average density, 1556.8).

Location: Situated in the valley of Mexico, 265 miles by rail from Vera Cruz, 600 miles from Manzanillo on the Pacific, and about 850 miles from the American boundary at Laredo. Except where its southern boundary touches the state of Morelos, the Federal District is bounded on every side by the State of Mexico.

Physical Characteristics: The Federal District, surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, and itself lying at an elevation of about 7,000 feet, is situated in the southwestern corner of the Valley of Mexico. Its climate is temperate and delightful throughout the year, with an average rainfall of about twenty to twenty-five inches. Lying partially within the boundaries of the Federal District are the three lakes, Texcoco, Chalco and Xochimilco. The region was formerly too swampy and poorly drained for the best conditions of health; but in 1900 the completion of the great drainage canal, first conceived by the Spanish conqueror, Cortés, remedied the worst of these conditions.

Chief Industries: The Federal District, because of the City of Mexico, is the center of the nation's financial and commercial life. Here the chief banks of the Republic are located and its most important mercantile establishments, both wholesale and retail. There are also many manufacturing plants within the District.

Principal Cities: The City of Mexico, capital and largest city in the Republic, has a population of about 500,000. It is the center, not only of the nation's political and economic activities, but of its cultural and intellectual life as well. A detailed description of the city will be found in any standard guide-book on Mexico.

Tacubaya, a city of 18,000 inhabitants, lies four miles southwest of the capital. Xochimilco, population 11,000, is situated near the margin of the lake of the same name, 12 miles from Mexico City. Tlalpam, about midway between Tacubaya and Xochimilco, has a population of 5,000. Other towns of some importance are also located within the District, but for the most part they are merely tributary to the national capital.

Transportation: The City of Mexico is the railway nucleus of the country. Roads radiate from it in all directions, connecting it with almost every important city in the Republic. The lines to Vera Cruz and northward to the American border are especially important.

Area: 10,950 square miles.

GUANAJUATO

Population: 1,085,681 (average density, 95.1).

Location: A central plateau state, bounded on the north by Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí; on the east by Querétaro; on the south by Michoacán; and on the west by Jalisco.

Physical Characteristics: The state is mountainous for the most part, but contains a considerable amount of exceedingly fertile lowland. Its most famous valley is that of the Santiago, through which flows the Lerma River.

Chief Industries: Manufacturing is carried on to some extent, and the state ranks high in the production of cereals, tobacco, beans, garbanzos, and vegetables. It is also one of the chief centers of the pulque industry. But the preeminent business of the state is mining. The famous Veta Madre lode, discovered in 1558, runs close to the city of Guanajuato. On this lode, as well as in other parts of the state, are located some of the oldest and finest mines in Mexico. The production is principally silver, with some gold.

Principal Cities: Guanajuato, the capital, with a population of 45,000, is situated near the center of the state, about 250 miles from Mexico City, and at an altitude of over 6,800 feet. During certain seasons of the year its climate is disagreeably cold, and heavy rains occur from June to October. It is one of the most historic and picturesque cities of Mexico, and has been a famous mining center for over 350 years. Celaya, population 26,000, is an important junction of the Mexican Central and National Railways, seventy miles from Guanajuato. It is also a manufacturing and agricultural center of some note. Irapuato, about the same size as Celaya, is likewise an important junction point for the Guadalajara and Pacific Coast traffic. The surrounding country is given over to mining and agriculture, and the city itself has a number of manufacturing establishments, including an electric light and power plant. Leon, the largest city of the state, has a population of about 65,000. It is situated thirty-five miles northwest of Guanajuato on the Mexican Central Railway, and is an important mining and agricultural center.

Besides the cities just enumerated there are perhaps half a dozen smaller cities in Guanajuato with a population ranging from 5,000 to 15,000. Among these may be mentioned Silao (15,000); San Luis de la Paz (10,000); San Miguel de Allende (11,000); and Acambaro (13,600).

Transportation: The line of the Mexican Central from Querétaro to Aguascalientes passes through the southern and western portions of the state. From this road, at Irapuato, an important branch line turns southwest to Lake Chapala and Guadalajara. The National Railway line (Mexican Central) which runs from Chihuahua to the City of Mexico, with a number of branches, serves eastern and central Guanajuato.

Area: 25,279 square miles.

GUERRERO

Population: 620,416 (average density, 20.1).

Location: The state fronts south and west on the Pacific. On the north it is bounded by the states of Mexico and Morelos, and on the northeast and east by Puebla and Oaxaca.

Physical Characteristics: Except along the coast, where there is a low, fertile plain some twenty miles in width, the state of Guerrero is largely mountainous and difficult of access. Its lowlands are hot and receive an abundant rainfall; but in the higher altitudes the climate is exceptionally agreeable. One large river, the Balsas, flows from west to east across the state and then turns south to Michoacán. At various times in the past Guerrero has been subject to violent earthquakes.

Chief Industries: The state possesses unusually valuable resources in minerals, forests, and agriculture. But these resources are almost wholly undeveloped. Some coffee, cotton and cereals are grown, and stock raising is regarded as an important industry. In a small way, too, the gold, silver, copper and lead deposits of the state are being exploited; but neither in mining nor agriculture has Guerrero advanced beyond a very rudimentary stage. Nor have the timber possibilities of the state yet begun to be realized.

Transportation: The lack of transportation facilities is the chief cause of Guerrero's backward economic condition. The only railway line within the state is a branch of the National Railways, which extends from Cuernavaca to the Balsas River, by way of the city of Iguala. It serves a very limited territory between the Balsas River and the state of Morelos. The rest of the state must depend for its transportation upon trails and wagon roads.

Principal Cities: Chilpancingo, the capital, has a population of only 9,000. It is situated at an altitude of 4,250 feet, and can be reached only by horseback or stage coach. Iguala, the largest city, with a population of 12,000, lies 78 miles north of Chilpancingo, on the Quernavaca branch of the National Railways. It is historically famous as the place where the "Plan of Iguala'' was proclaimed in the concluding months of Mexico's war for independence. Acapulco is an important Pacific port of about 7,000 inhabitants. It lies 115 miles from Chilpancingo, with which it is connected by wagon road, and serves as the chief import and export center for the limited business done along the coast between Manzanillo and Salina Cruz. Historically, Acapulco is distinguished as the ancient port of the Manila galleon. From Acapulco a great highway ran to Vera Cruz, by way of Mexico City; and for hundreds of years this road served as the overland link for Asiatic-European commerce.

Area: 8,637 square miles.

HIDALGO

Population: 655,187 (average density, 75.8).

Location: A central plateau state bounded on the north by San Luis Potosí; on the east by Vera Cruz and Puebla; on the south by Mexico and Tlaxcala; and on the west and northwest by Querétaro.

Physical Characteristics: Except in the south and west the state is extremely mountainous. It has a number of rivers (chief of which are the Rio Grande and the Tula), and a lake of considerable size known as the Metztitlan. The climate for the most part is temperate, but the difference in the temperature between the highlands and lowlands is rather marked.

Chief Industries: Hidalgo is one of the great mining states of Mexico, and in the Pachua-Real del Monte district possesses one of the richest mineral regions of the world. The chief products are silver, gold, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, and tin. Some platinum, mercury, and manganese are also found.

Hidalgo is also rich from the agricultural standpoint. Its chief crops are cereals (especially barley), peppers, tobacco, coffee, fruits, and sugar-cane. The state also contains nearly half a million acres of timber land, most of which is undeveloped.

Principal Cities: Pachuca, the capital and largest city, has a population of 45,000, and as already indicated, is one of the oldest and most important mining centers in Mexico. It is also a manufacturing and commercial city of some note. The famous Real del Monte, one of the greatest silver producing districts in the world, lies only six miles from Pachuca and is really tributary to that city. Zimapan, in the northern part of Hidalgo, is another mining camp of some importance, producing principally silver, lead, and copper. Tulancingo, population 10,000, is an important agricultural center lying thirtyeight miles east of Pachuca.

Transportation: The northern and central portions of Hidalgo are without railroads; but in the south, Pachuca is joined to Mexico City by two branches of the Mexican Central (National Railways); by a branch of the Mexican Railway (Vera Cruz); by a branch of the Interoceanic; and by the Hidalgo and Northeastern. The main line of the National Railways from Mexico City to Laredo also passes through the southwestern corner of the state.

Area: 33,492 square miles.

JALISCO

Population: 1,220,160 (average density, 37.9).

Location: Jalisco is one of the most peculiarly shaped states in Mexico. On the north it thrusts an irregular wedge between Nayarit and Zacatecas, reaching as far as the southern boundary of Durango. To the northwest a similar, though somewhat more regular wedge, separates Zacatecas and Aguascalientes from the state of Guanajuato. Thus on the north Jalisco is bounded by Nayarit, Durango, Zacatecas, and Aguascalientes; on the east by San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato and Michoacán; on the south by Michoacán and Colima; and on the west by the Pacific.

Physical Characteristics: From the standpoint of actual and potential wealth, attractiveness of climate, and general progress, Jalisco ranks among the first states of the Republic. The Sierra Madre chain (Sierra de Nayarit and Sierra de Jalisco) gives much of the state a very mountainous character; but the numerous valleys, the great eastern plateau region, and the low coastal plain on the Pacific, afford almost unlimited areas for agricultural development. The state, moreover, is exceptionally well watered; and in the Rio Grande de Santiago (Lerma), which rises in Lake Chapala and flows diagonally across Jalisco and Nayarit to the Pacific, possesses one of the largest and most famous of Mexican rivers. Lake Chapala, lying partly in Jalisco and partly in Michoacán, is the largest of Mexican lakes and one of the most beautiful. Besides the Santiago there are a number of other important rivers, chief of which are the Ameca, Acaponeta, and San Pedro; and in addition to Lake Chapala there are various lakes of smaller size, most important of which are the Magdalena and Sayula. The active volcano of Colima (14,120 feet) and the Nevado de Colima (15,544 feet) are among the most famous mountain peaks of Mexico.

Chief Industries: From the standpoint of agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and hydro-electric development, Jalisco stands in the front rank of Mexican states. She is the chief corn producing state in the Republic, and for this reason, as well as for the production of other cereals, has long been known as the "granary of Mexico."' Sugar-cane, maguey, vegetables, tobacco, indigo, and fruits are also grown extensively throughout the state.

Mining, though relatively less important in Jalisco than in most west coast plateau states, is still of great importance. Silver, copper, gold and zinc are the chief minerals exploited. The principal mines are located in the districts of Hostotipaquillo, Etzatlan, Ameca, Ayutla and Autlan.

Principal Cities: Guadalajara, the capital, is the second largest city of Mexico, claiming a population of nearly 150,000. It is situated at an altitude of 6,000 feet, and enjoys almost a perfect climate throughout the year. Historically, it was one of the most important cities of Spanish rule, and about 1550 was made the seat of the audiencia of Nueva Galicia. The modern city is attractive, up-to-date, and prosperous. It carries on a considerable amount of manufacturing, and serves as the financial, political and commercial center of western Mexico. There are no other cities in Jalisco of much importance.

Transportation:

Jalisco, like most other Mexican states, needs more railroads to realize its economic possibilities. The main line of the Mexican Central crosses the northwest corner of the state, and Guadalajara has excellent railway connections with Mexico City by the Irapuato division of this line. The Mexican Central also extends south from Guadalajara to Manzanillo on the Pacific. Westward a branch has been built to Ameca and the work of connecting this road with the Southern Pacific of Mexico, which at present terminates south of Tepic, is now in progress. It will require some years, even under the most favorable conditions, to complete this junction, but when it is accomplished, Jalisco will undergo an economic transformation.

LOWER CALIFORNIA

Area: 58,338 square miles.

Population: 53,254 (average density .9).

Location: Lower (Baja) California is a long, narrow peninsula, bounded on the north by the state of California, on the west by the Colorado River and the Gulf of California (formerly known as the Vermillion Sea), and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. On the mainland across the Gulf it is paralleled by the states of Sonora and Sinaloa.

Physical Characteristics: A chain of mountains runs almost the full length of the Peninsula. All of the territory, except in the higher altitudes, is exceedingly dry and much of it is desert. A number of small rivers or streams, however, find their way down from the mountains to the sea, and the valleys thus formed are amazingly fertile.