With a short littoral zone upon the Pacific, the State of Michoacan
stretches far inland towards the Great Plateau. From the burning sun
which beats upon its shores to the cold mountain regions on the borders
of Queretaro this state has a wide range of climate and temperature,
with a _flora_ and agricultural products of corresponding diversity,
such as described for its sister states of this zone. The area is about
22,600 square miles, and the population 931,000 inhabitants
approximately.

The state, in certain portions, is exceedingly well-timbered, and
provides material for sleepers for the railways throughout the
Republic. Agriculture is the chief industry, among which coffee, wheat,
sugar, and rice are prominent, whilst the wild rubber-tree which
abounds on the hot zone might be made a source of profit. Mining is not
neglected. High-grade silver ores are produced and sent to the smelting
works at Aguascalientes, and copper mines are being actively worked, as
well as gold ores. Coal beds exist also, and will be of importance to
the state.

Several railways enter this territory, and give outlet to the produce
of its eastern side, but none reach the coast, although such a line has
long been projected, to terminate at the port of Manzanillo in Colima.
The great Balsas river traverses a portion of the state, emptying
thence into the Pacific Ocean. Morelia, the capital of this rich zone
of Mexican territory, stands at an elevation of 6,500 feet above
sea-level, and with its handsome cathedral and square is a typical city
of Mexico.

In Guerrero we are reaching the narrow portion of Mexico, and the
coast-line has turned more in east and west direction. Consequently the
southern side of this state is bathed by the Pacific. Remote from the
railways and isolated from the rest of the Republic by the great
Southern Sierra Madre, Guerrero, notwithstanding its varied natural
resources, has remained in a comparatively undeveloped condition.

The area of this state is 28,200 square miles, with a population of
480,000 inhabitants. The long coast-line of 310 miles affords various
ports, and the famous bay of Acapulco is classed among the finest
harbours in the world. Indeed, it has been placed second. The state is
mountainous almost throughout its entire area, with narrow valleys
between the spurs of the Sierra Madre--which approaches near to the
coast here--with small plains upon the margins of the streams. The
highest peak