Southward from Monterrey the country rises along the valley of the Silla for a distance of 19 km., where the Silla is separated from the San Juan by a low divide, the former flowing northward to Monterrey and the latter southeastward toward Allende. The Silla Valley is bounded on the east and west by the steep ranges of the Silla and Sierra Madre Mountains. The floor of this valley is gently rolling, but is cut by many arroyos which carry little or no water during the greater part of the year. The chief feeder of the Silla River is the Estanzuela, a stream which derives its waters from several springs coming to the surface near the line of contact between the limestone and the shale, at elevations of about 800 and 900 m.[3] above datum. The water-shed of this stream is rich with abundant vegetation due to the precipitation being greater than on the Santa Catarina water-shed. To the south of the divide the country is well wooded, and El Porvenir, 35 km. from Monterrey, is the garden spot of the State of Nuevo León. Here the rainfall is much greater than at any other point near Monterrey, and there are many streams which are used for irrigation purposes. Monterrey is built on a plain, chiefly on the north side of the Santa Catarina River. This plain has a general fall toward the northeast, and beyond the city it slopes gently northward for several miles toward the Topo Grande River, and then southeastward to join the great coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico. The general elevation of the city lies between the 519- and 550-m. contours. The Plaza Zaragoza, in the center of the city, is 533.90 m. above sea level; the elevation of the highest part of the city, at the western boundary, is 550.05 m., and of the lowest part, at the northeastern boundary, 518.0 m. above sea level.
[3] Throughout this paper datum refers to the height in meters above the mean sea level of the Gulf of Mexico at the Port of Tampico.
[Illustration: PLATE III, FIG. 1.--GENERAL VIEW OF LINE, ESTANZUELA AQUEDUCT.]
The population of Monterrey has increased as follows:
Census of 1851 14,621 " " 1861 26,000 " " 1871 33,811 " " 1881 39,456 " " 1891 41,154 " " 1901 73,508 (Estimated) 1909 86,000 to 90,000