 One large river, the Chixoy or Salinas River, escapes northwards towards the Gulf of Mexico.The relief of the mountainous country which lies north of the Highlands and drains into the Atlantic is varied by innumerable terraces, ridges and underfalls; but its general configuration is compared by E. Reclus with the appearance of "a stormy sea breaking into parallel billows".The parallel ranges extend east and west with a slight southerly curve towards their centres.