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MORELOS

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Originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 831 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MORELOS , an inland See also:

state of See also:Mexico on the See also:southern slope of the See also:great Mexican See also:plateau, lying S. of the Federal See also:District, with the states of See also:Puebla on the E. and S.E., See also:Guerrero on the S., and Mexico on the W., N. and N.E. Pop. (19oo), 161,697, including a large percentage of See also:Indians and mixed bloods. See also:Area, 2773 sq. m. Its See also:surface is roughly broken by See also:mountain ranges extending southward from the Sierra de Ajusco, forming numerous valleys opening southward. It is drained by the Amacusac See also:river, a See also:northern tributary of the Mescala, or Balsas. There is a wide variation of See also:climate for so small a territory, the higher elevations of the Sierra de Ajusco being See also:cold and humid (the Mexican Central crosses the range at an See also:elevation of 9974 ft.); the See also:lower spurs mild, temperate and healthy, the lower valleys subtropical, hot and unhealthy. The rainfall is See also:light in the lower regions and See also:irrigation is generally employed. Notwithstanding its mountainous See also:character, Morelos is one of the most flourishing agricultural states of Mexico, producing See also:sugar, See also:rice, See also:Indian See also:corn, See also:coffee, See also:wheat, See also:fruit and vegetables. Although the state is supposed to have several of the minerals found in this See also:part of Mexico (See also:silver, See also:cinnabar, See also:iron, See also:lead, See also:gold, See also:petroleum and See also:coal), its See also:mining See also:industries continue undeveloped and neglected. See also:San See also:Antonio, a suburb of Cuernavaca, is noted for its pottery, which is highly attractive in See also:form and See also:colour, and finds a ready See also:market among the visitors to that See also:city. Morelos is traversed by two railway lines—the Interoceanic from N.E. to S.W., and the Mexican Central almost N. and S., the latter affording See also:direct communication between the See also:national and state capitals.

The See also:

capital, CUERNAVACA (pop. 9584 in 1900), 47 M. S. of the city of Mexico on the Mexican Central railway, is one of the most picturesque towns in Mexico. It See also:dates from the See also:time of See also:Cortes, who built for himself a See also:residence there, and had the See also:town included in the royal See also:grant to himself in 1529. See also:Maximilian had a See also:villa there, and many of the public men of Mexico, natives of the lowlands, have made their homes there rather than in the national capital. The See also:palace of Cortes is now occupied by the state legislature and by various public offices, and Maximilian's villa by a school. After the capital the largest city in the state is Cuautla Morelos, or See also:Ciudad Morelos (pop. 6269 in 1900), 27 M. See also:east by See also:south of Cuernavaca, on the Interoceanic railway, and in a See also:rich sugar-producing district. Some of the largest and most See also:modern sugar-See also:mills of Mexico are in the Cuautla district. There are hot See also:sulphur springs here. The town is celebrated in Mexican See also:history for the intrepid See also:defence of the See also:place by Jose Maria Morelos (1765-1815), the patriot See also:leader, against a greatly See also:superior royalist force, from the 19th of See also:February to the 2nd of May 1812, when he cut his way through the attacking See also:army and escaped. Other important towns are Yautepec (6139 in 1900), 16 m. east of Cuernavaca, on the Interoceanic See also:line; Tetecala, 13 M. south-See also:west of the capital, a characteristic Indian town near the See also:pyramid of Xochicalco, and Jojutla, 21 M. south of the capital, on the Interoceanic railway near the southern boundary of the state.

An interesting See also:

local phenomenon is that of See also:lake Tequesquiten, which was formed by the subsidence of a large area of ground about the See also:middle of the 19th See also:century, carrying with it an old town of the same name. The hollow filled with See also:water, and the See also:spire of the old See also:church is still to be seen in the middle of the lake.

End of Article: MORELOS

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