GUAKNERI. 334: GUATEMALA. Antonio (1C83-c.1745), who was a nephew of Andrea, and a pupil of the famous Stradivarius. The letters 'I. H. S.' were written on many of his labels, in conseiiucnce of which he was popu- larly Iviiown as Uuarneri del Gesit. ilany reasons have been given by historians for the variable character of his work; the violins of his later days being of veiy inferior workmanship, while those of his medium period are regarded by con- noisseurs as equal to those of Stradivarius. See Violin. GUASA, gwii'sa. One of the huge sea-bass or groupers of the tropical Atlantic, especially Promicrops guitatus. (See Jewfish.) The word 'guasa' or 'guaza,' of ten. corrupted in Florida into 'Warsaw,' is the Spanish name of a similar fish first known in the Mediterranean, where it is called "merou' by French fishermen ; and both these names are given in the West Indies to vari- OU.S groupers (q.v.). GUASTALLA, gwa-stal'la. A city in North Italy, in the Province of Reggio nell' Emilia, about 20 miles northeast of Parma, on the right bank of the Po, in the marshy, fertile plain .which is cut up by canals (Jlap: Italy, E 3). It markets rice, silk, cheese, and wine, and has a municipal theatre, a public library, and a bronze equestrian statue of Ferdinand I. of Gonzaga (died 15.59) by Leone I.eoni. Guastalla ■was founded in the sevenlli century l)y the Lom- bards, and the original form of its name was Wardastalla. Paschal II. held a council here in 110(i. The Duchy (now circondaria) of Guastalla, of which this city was the capital, came into the po.sscssion of the Gonzaga family in 1539. After the death of Giuseppe Gonzaga without heirs in 1746, the territory was annexed by the Empress Maria Theresa, as an unoccupied fief: in 1748 it was handed over to the Duke of Parma. In 1790 it was captured by the French, and the next year became part of the Cisalpine Republic. In 1805 it was given as a principality to Napoleon's sister Pauline, and in 1814 was assigned by the Con- gress of Vienna, together with Parma and Pia- conza, to Napoleon's wife, Marie Louise. Shortly after her death in 1847 it was annexed to Modena (q.v.). Population of eonunune, in 1881, 10,309; in 1901, 11.091. GUATEMALA, ga'te-mala, Sp. pron. gwji'- ta-ma'la. The largest and most important of the five Central American republics, containing nearly one-half of their collective population, and leading them in the extent of its domestic and foreign commerce. It has a frontage of 200 miles on the Pacific and of 70 miles on the Caribbean Sea (Gulf of Honduras). It extends from latitude 13' 54' to 17° 48' N.. and is bounded on the northwest and north by Mexico, on the east by Briti-sh Hondura.s and the Gulf of Honduras, on the southea-st by Honduras and Salvador, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean (Map: Central America, B 3), Its-area (esti- mated) is 48,300 square miles. Topograph y. The Pacific coastal plain is somewhat broad in the west and quite narrow in the east near the coast of Salvador. At the foot of the mountains its slope is very noticeable, but nearing the sea it is almost level. It is also ST low that in the rainy season lakes form which connect with the sea by channel, thus rendering their waters brackish (esteros). The Pacific ports, San Joso, Chamgerico, and Ocos, are mere- ly open roadsteads. The Atlantic ports are Liv- ingston and Puerto Barrios, the latter having a good natural harbor. Three distinct topographic features mark the interior, crossing the country east and west. In the north is the broad, low, hilly plain of Peten, of Tertiary and Cretaceous formation, covered with forests and grasses, and still largely un- explored. In the centre the plain rises to a high plateau surmounted by the sedimentary ranges of the Sierra JIadre system, which in their highest point attains an elevation of about 11,000 feet. The plateau is continued to the south, and is bordered along its southern edge by the volcanic mountains which skirt the Pa- cific coastal idaiii and are rouglily parallel with the Pacific shore-line. 'Diis southern part of the plateau is covered deep with the debris of erup- tive rocks and ash, forming plains of very rich and productive soil among the mountains. Ac- cordingly, the most important agricultural dis- tricts are among the uplands of the south, and much nearer the Pacific than the Atlantic. Most of the volcanoes ore extinct: but there have been recorded within the historic period severe eruptions of Tacana (upward of 13,000 feet high), Cerroquemado. Fuego (upward of 12,000 feet), and Pacaya. Other volcanic summits are Agua,' Atitlan, Tajumulco (seemingly the loftiest elevation of the land ) , Acatenango, and San- ta Maria. Earthquakes are very frequent in the neighborhood of the volcanic belt, and some of them have destroyed many towns. The eff'eets of a very destructive earthquake on April 18, 1902, which resulted in the partial destruction of the important city Quezaltenango. were re- corded by seismographs all over the world ; and the volcanic eruptions from the Santa Maria group that followed in late October buried a large area of coffee lands under several feet of the same volcanic ash that has contributed to make this southern portion of Guatemala one of the large cofl'ee jiroducers. The volcanic belt fomis the water part- ing between the Atlantic and the Pacific river systems. On the Pacific side the rivers descend the steep slopes as torrents to the narrow coastal plain, and there is no opportunity for the development of rivers useful for naviga- tion. The Atlantic rivers, on the other hand, have a long and gentle slope ; but they are of little consequence as water highways, though the Motagua, the most southern and important of the Atlantic group, is navigable for 100 miles. Other streams are the Polochic and the Usu- macinta (on the Mexican frontier). There are many lakes without visible outlet in the Cre- taceous rocks of northern Guatemala, the largest of which is Lake Peten, and among the eruptive rocks farther south are many beautiful moun- tain lakes. The largest lake of the Atlantic slope is Yzabal (the Golfo Dulce). It is shal- low, considering its large area, but is navigated by steamers. CLiir.VTE. Fr.0R., and Faina. Lying wholly within the tropics, Guatemala would have a uni- formly warm, moist climate if it were not for the great diversity of its surface in the central and southern parts. Here the differences in topog- raphy reach their maximum, with important effect upon climate, while the comparatively level areas of northern Guatemala and the Pacific coastal plain are under uniform tropical weather
