Managua is a beautiful sheet of water, not far from fif ty miles long by twenty-five broad, and with an average depth of five fathoms. It approaches, at the nearest point, to within twenty miles of the Pacific Ocean, from which it is separated, on the south, by a range of low volcanic hills; but between its northern extremity and the sea there are only the magnificent plains of Leon and El Conejo, in the midst of which rise the regular cones of the volcanoes of El Viejo, Telica, and Axusco. The gigantic volcano of Momotombo stands out boldly into the lake, its bare and blackened summit, which no human foot has ever pressed, crowned with a light wreath of smoke, attesting the continued existence of those internal fires which have seamed its steep sides with burning floods, and which still send forth hot and sulphurous springs at its base. Upon the northern and eastern shores of the lake, lifting their blue, rugged peaks one above another, are the mountains of Matagalpa, gradually merging into those of Segovia, rich in metallic veins. Upon the south and west are fertile slopes and broad plains, covered with luxuriant verdure, and of almost unlimited productiveness; while in the lake itself stands the island of Momotombita, an almost perfect cone in outline, covered with a dense forest, in the deepest recesses of which are still found gigantic idols, the rude relics of aboriginal superstitions. The town of Leon was first built on the northwestern shore, at a place now called Moabita, which was subsequently abandoned for its present site, in the midst of the great plain of the Marabios. From this circumstance the lake is sometimes called Lake Leon. The great feature of Nicaragua, however, is the lake of the same name, the Cocibolca of the aborigines, which is, unquestionably, one of the finest bodies of water on the

American continent. It is upward of one hundred miles in greatest length by about forty in average width. Upon its southern shore, near the head of the lake, stood the ancient city of Granada, once the rival of Leon, and the most important commercial town in the republic. A few miles below Granada, and projecting boldly into the lake, is the extinct volcano of Mombacho, five thousand feet in height. Studding the lake at its base is a cluster of innumerable small islands, called Los Corales, of volcanic origin, rising in the form of cones to the height of from twenty to one hundred feet, and covered with verdure. Upon the same shore with Granada, but forty miles distant, is the equally ancient city of Rivas, or Nicaragua, the capital of a large, fertile, and comparatively well-cultivated district. Flowing into the lake at its extreme southern extremity, nearly at the same point where the Rio San Juan (the ancient El Desaguadero) commences its course, is the considerable Rio Frio, which has its origin at the base of the great volcano of Cartago and Terralbia, in Costa Rica. It flows through an unexplored region, inhabited by an unconquered and savage tribe of Indians, called Guatusos, of whose ferocity the most extraordinary stories are related. The northern shore of the lake, called Chontales, for the most part is undulating, abounding in broad savannas, well adapted for grazing, and supporting large herds of cattle. There are a number of considerable islands in the lake, the largest of which are El Zapatero, Solentenami, and Omotepec. The two former are deserted, but the latter has a considerable population of Indians, of the pure Mexican or Aztec stock. This island is distinguished by the two high conical mountains, or volcanic peaks, called respectively Omotepec and Madeira, which are

visible from every part of the lake, and from a distance of many leagues on the Pacific. The name of the island, in the Nahuatl or Mexican language, signifies two mountains, from ome, two, and tepec, mountain. The water of the lake in most places shoals very gradually, and it is only at a few points that vessels of considerable size may approach the shore. Still its general depth, for all purposes of navigation, is ample, except near its outlet, where for some miles it does not exceed from five to ten feet. There are points, however, where the depth of water is not less than forty fathoms. The prevailing winds on the lake, as, indeed, of the whole state, are from the northeast; they are the Atlantic trades, which here sweep entirely across the continent, and, encountering the conflicting currents of air on the Pacific, form those baffling, revolving winds, detested by navigators, under the name of Papagayos. When the winds are strong the waves of the lake become high, and roll in with all the majesty of the ocean. At such times the water of the lake is piled up, as it were, on its southern shore, occasionally producing overflows of the low grounds. As the trade-winds are intermittent, blowing freshly in the evening and subsiding toward morning, the waters of the lake seem to rise and fall accordingly; and this circumstance gave rise to the notion, entertained and promulgated by the ancient chroniclers, that the lake had a regular tide, like that of the Some of them imagined, in consequence, that it communicated with the ocean by a subterranean channel. As already observed, the sole outlet of the great Nicaraguan basin, and of the lakes just described, is the River San Juan, debouching into the Caribbean Sea at the well-known port of the same name. This river is a magnificent stream, but its capacities have been

sea.

much exaggerated, as will be seen in the paragraphs re

extremity of Lake Nic-
aragua, nearly due east,
to the ocean. With
its windings, it is 128
miles long. The body
of water which passes
through it varies much
at different seasons of
the
year. Of course it
is greatest during what
is termed the "rainy
season;" that is to say,
from May to October.
To this variation, in
some degree, may be
ascribed the wide dif

ference in the statements of the depth and capacity of the river made by different observers. Several considerable streams enter the San Juan, the largest of which are the San Carlos and Serapiqui, both rising in the highlands of Costa Rica. The streams flowing in from the north are comparatively small, indicating that the mountains are not far distant in that direction, and that upon that side the valley is narrow. The Serapi

qui is ascended by canoes to a point called El Meulle, about twenty miles above its mouth, where commences the road, or rather mule-path to San José, the capital of Costa Rica. About midway between the lake and

the ocean, on the south bank of the river, are the ruins of the old fort or castle of San Juan, captured by the British in 1780. The expedi tion against it was commanded by Col. Polson, with Captain, afterward Lord Nelson, as second in command. Of 200 men under Nelson, taken from his vessel, the Hinchinbrook, but ten returned to the coast. At one time, besides this fort, one at the head of the river (San Car los), and another at its mouth, the Spaniards

kept up not less than twelve military stations on its

banks.

The width of the river varies from one hundred