ableland, has a population of
somewhat more than 30,000 inhabitants. It stands upon a broad though
barren plain at the elevation of 6,350 feet above sea-level, and its
climate is subject to abrupt changes of heat and cold.

The culminating peaks of the mountain ranges of Durango are in some
cases singular and beautiful. Among these may be cited the splendid
granite uplift of legendary Teyra,[37] which rises to an elevation of
9,240 feet above sea-level. Its colossal crest towers upwards from the
tableland, riveting the attention of the traveller from all points of
the compass by its majesty. From this one gets a magnificent view over
a vast expanse of country. It does not, however, reach the perpetual
snow-line, although this is passed by Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre.
This remarkable peak shows the _flora_ of three zones--the hot, with
bananas and other fruits growing at the base of the mountain; the
temperate, where pines and other _flora_ of this zone flourish; and the
simple cryptogamous plant life of an arctic temperature, cooled by the
almost perpetual snow above it upon the mountain summit.

[Footnote 37: Visited by the Author.]

The plains of Durango, in common with some of those of its native
states, present the curious physical structure described in another
chapter--of having no hydrographic outlet. The rivers which flow
eastwardly from the Sierra, form lakes whose only means of exhaustion
is by evaporation. Of this nature is the great arid tract known as the
Bolson of Mapimi. The Mexican Nile, the River Nazas, the principal
stream of the state traverses this, and affords the means of irrigation
to the numerous cotton plantations of the region. These, which
constitute an important industry, are described in the chapter on
agriculture.

The climate varies much according to the topography of the region,
being temperate or hot according to the elevation. In addition to the
cotton various agricultural products are raised, whilst the mountain
uplands yield pine, oak, cedar, ash, and other classes of timber. The
_fauna_ includes leopards, bears, coyotes, peccaries, deer, eagles,
cranes, pheasants, &c.

The mining industry in Durango is important. Gold and silver are freely
found and worked. The great hill of iron has been described elsewhere
in these pages. Copper is abundant; tin, cinnabar, sulphur, and coal
exist. The numerous mining districts in this state have produced much
wealth in the past, and mines