DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA

A vast lowland region stretches northward for approximately 700 kilometers from the highlands of Guatemala to the Gulf of Mexico. The northern two-thirds of this low plain is bordered on three sides by seas and forms the Yucatán Peninsula. The lowlands at the base of the Yucatán Peninsula make up the Departamento El Petén of Guatemala. The area with which this report is concerned consists of the south-central part of El Petén.

Physiography

Immediately south of Chinajá is a range of hills, the Serrania de Chinajá, having an almost due east-west axis and a crest of about 600 meters above sea level. South of the Serrania de Chinajá are succeedingly higher ridges building up to the Meseta de Cobán and Sierra de Pocolha and eventually to the main Guatemalan highlands. The northern face of the Serrania de Chinajá is a fault scarp dropping abruptly from about 650 meters at the crest to about 140 meters at the base. From the base of the Serrania de Chinajá northward to the Río de la Pasión at Sayaxché the terrain is gently rolling and has a total relief of about 50 meters. North of the Río de la Pasión is a low dome reaching an elevation of 170 meters at La Libertad; see Stuart (1935:12) for further discussion of the physiography of central El Petén. The rocks in southern El Petén are predominately Miocene marine limestones; there are occasional pockets of Pliocene deposits. There is little evidence of subterranean solution at Chinajá, but northward in central El Petén karsting is common. The upper few inches of soil is humus rich in organic matter; below this is clay.

Climate

The climate of El Petén is tropical with equable temperatures throughout the year. Temperatures at Chinajá varied between a night-time low of 65° F. and a daytime high of 91° F. during the time of our visits. In the Köppen system of classification the climate at Chinajá and Toocog is Af. Rain falls throughout the year, but there is a noticeable dry season. To anyone who has traveled from south to north in El Petén and the Yucatán Peninsula, it is obvious from the changes in vegetation that there is a decrease in rainfall from south to north. There is a noticeable difference between Chinajá and Toocog. Although rainfall data are not available for Chinajá and Toocog, there are records for nearby stations (Sapper, 1932). At Paso Caballos on the Río San Pedro about 40 kilometers northwest of Toocog the average annual rainfall amounts to 1620 mm.; the driest month is March (21 mm.), and the wettest months are June (269 mm.) and September (265 mm.). At Cubilquitz, Alta Verapaz, about 35 kilometers south-southwest of Chinajá and at an elevation of 300 meters, the average annual rainfall is 4006 mm.; the driest month is March (128 mm.), and the wettest months are July (488 mm.) and October (634 mm.).

During the 18 days in February and March, 1960, that we kept records on the weather at Chinajá moderate to heavy showers occurred on seven days. During our stay there in June and July rain fell every day, as it did in Toocog. However, during the week spent at Toocog in March no rain fell.

Vegetation

The vegetation of northern and central El Petén has been studied by Lundell (1937), who made only passing remarks concerning the plants of the southern part of El Petén. No floristic studies have been made there. The following remarks are necessarily brief and are intended only to give the reader a general picture of the forest. I have included names of a few of the commoner trees that I recognized.

Chinajá is located in a vast expanse of unbroken rainforest. In this forest there is a noticeable stratification of the vegetation. Three strata are apparent; in the uppermost layer the tops of the trees are from 40 to 50 meters above the ground. The spreading crowns of the trees and the interlacing vines form a nearly continuous canopy over the lower layers. Among the common trees in the upper stratum are Calophyllum brasiliense, Castilla elastica, Cedrela mexicana, Ceiba pentandra, Didalium guianense, Ficus sp., Sideroxylon lundelli, Swietenia macrophylla, and Vitex sp. (Pl. 1, fig. 1). The middle layer of trees have crowns about 25 meters above the ground; these trees in some places where the upper canopy is missing form the tallest trees in the forest. This is especially true on steep hillsides. Common trees in the middle layer include Achras zapote, Bombax ellipticum, Cecropia mexicana, Orbignya cohune, and Sabal sp. The lowermost layer reaches a height of about 10 meters; in many places in the forest this layer is absent. Common trees in the lower stratum include Crysophila argentea, Cymbopetalum penduliflorum, Casearia sp., and Hasseltia dioica.

The ground cover is sparce; apparently only a few small herbs and ferns live on the heavily shaded forest floor. Important herpetological habitats include the leaf litter, rotting stumps, and rotting tree trunks on the forest floor and the buttresses of many of the gigantic trees, especially Ceiba pentandra (Pl. 2). Epiphytes, especially various kinds of bromeliads, are common. Most frequently these are in the trees in the upper and middle strata.

At Toocog there is sharp break between savanna and forest (Pl. 7, fig. 2). The forest is noticeably drier and more open than at Chinajá (Pl. 9). The crowns of the trees are lower, and there is no nearly continuous canopy between 40 and 50 meters above the ground. Although Swietenia macrophylla and other large trees occur, they are less common than at Chinajá. Especially common at Toocog are Achras zapote, Brosimum alicastrum, and various species of Ficus.