Longitude Elevation N. east from above the Names of places. Latitude Mexico. level of the ocean. Ameco a village 19° 7´ 40´´ 0° 23´ 30´´ 8,216 Eng. feet. St. Nicolas de los Ranchos 19° 4´ 21´´ 0° 32´ 30´´ 8,087 do. Tochimilco 6,930 do. Superior limit of pines 12,544 do. Limit of all vegetation 12,693 do. Picacho de S. Guliermo[55] 16,895 do. The most elevated border of the crater of the volcano of Popocatepetl 17,884 do. Rancho de la Vaqueria 10,784 do. REMAINS OF ANTIQUITY IN THE STATE OF PUEBLA. THE PYRAMID OF CHOLULA. The vast plain of Puebla, separated from the Valley of Mexico by its gigantic chain of bordering mountains, is full of interesting associations and studies for the antiquarian; but, among all of the sites signalized in the history of the Aztecs or of the Spanish Conquest, no one is more generally sought by the traveller than the Pyramid of Cholula. Its lofty remains lie about three leagues westward from the city of Puebla, and are easily reached by a pleasant ride over the plain. The pyramid was originally built of sun dried bricks, or, _adobes_, rising in four stories connected by terraces. Many years ago, in cutting a new road from Mexico towards Puebla, it became necessary to cross a portion of the base of this pyramid, and, in the course of the excavation, a square chamber was opened, which was found to be constructed of stone with a roof supported by cypress beams. Some idols, carved in basalt, a number of painted earthen vases, and two bodies were found in this cavity, but as no care was taken of these relics by the discoverers, and as their explorations were not prosecuted deeper into the bowels of the gigantic mound, the world is now quite as ignorant of its ancient uses as it was during the possession of the country by the Spaniards. The most recent publication upon the subject of Cholula by Señor Gondra, the Curator of the National Museum, in the University of Mexico, merely repeats the thrice told tales of the last century. The top of this pyramid is reached by paths that climb its sides amid masses of _debris_ and groves of bushes which have driven their roots deeply between the fissures of the bricks. The level summit protected by a parapet wall,--and once the shrine of Quetzalcoatl--the "Feathered Serpent," or "God of the Air,"--is now adorned with a small dome-crowned chapel, surrounded with cypresses and dedicated to the Virgin of Remedios; while, from all parts of the eminence, a magnificent panorama of the fruitful plain spreads out at the feet of the spectator. * * * * *