Cartographic Sketch of Mountainous Region and the Chacalapa River

This is a partial sketch showing a stretch of land surrounded by hills on two sides. The Río Chacalapa runs through the sketch diagonally, seemingly connecting to another stream flowing along the bottom of the page. Toward the bottom of the page is a lagoon, revealing this area to be rich in water, at least for part of the year. There is also a landmark drawn near the center of the sketch; these sorts of markers were used to demarcate boundaries between haciendas and/or municipalities. The notes on the sketch discuss the geographic features and the arability of the land. This is a fascinating yet incomplete document that seems to let the viewer into a brainstorming session about the land and its uses.

Chacalapa is a name used throughout Latin America and there are towns or rivers with the name in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Veracruz, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, Mexico. Although it is hard to tell, this is likely the Chacalapa in Oaxaca, based on the topography.