Mexico is a land of surprises, a country of extremes, a nation of contrasts--where the old and the new, the poor and the rich, the crude and the refined are neighbors, and where ultra conservatism is elbowed by evidences of modern progress.
The topography in 75 miles jumps from ocean level to the snow-capped summit of Orizaba, 17,362 feet above that datum, ~nd the climate varies from perpetual summer of the Torrid Zone to perennial snows on Popocatepetl, its neighbor Ixtaccihuatl and other mountains. The flora include cacti of the desert, wheat and maize of the temperate zone, cotton, sugar, coffee, and luxuriant tropical growths with flowers and orchids in endless variety. The forest products of the highlands embrace oaks, pines, palo-blancho, mesquite and huisachie, while the hot country supplies rubber, ebony, mahogany and other hard woods. Many stream beds are dry " arroyas" or "barrancas," except during brief intervals when flood conditions temporarily transform these into rushing torrents; while the discharges of other rivers are fairly maintained throughout the year, and most watercourses have carved rugged cations in the rocks or deep gashes in the alluvial plains.
The topographical features have interfered with close associations existing between different portions of Mexico, for the country may be divided into the " tierra caliente" and " tierra alto," the former comprising relatively narrow strips of hot lands bordering the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, the latter forming the main plateau botmded by the two sierras, Orientalis and Occidentalis. It is these mountain range~ 2OO