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consists entirely of limestone, with various table-lands and partly 

 covered with fragments of the other rocks, forming the foundation 

 of the island. 



Also the North and West margin of the Rincon plain and the 

 mountainous complex of Slagbaai is surrounded by a narrow 

 coral-limestone mass, which is particularly broad South of Rincon 

 and descends in terraces to the sea; in the West this mountain 

 ridge is repeatedly divided into isolated mountains by steep clefts. 

 The high chalk-terrace Langeberg determines the shape of the 

 island ; the next terrace extends from Langeberg in all directions to 

 about 2 kilometres from the sea, except in the South, where the 

 third terrace appears a little South of Lac, following aW. E. line. 

 The remaining part of the island consists, like the circumference 

 of Klein Bonaire, of a lower chalk formation. The mountain com- 

 plex in West Bonaire has its highest top in the Brandaris, 240 M. 

 From this mountain and the Karakao, 158 M., situated a little 

 more to the N. E., two mountainranges proceed in a S. E. direc- 

 tion, consisting of round cup-shaped hills with a few apices and 

 ending in the Joewa and Makakoe. 



Besides the large valley of Rincon, bordered to the West by the 

 Brandaris complex, to the South by the high chalk ridge and to 

 the North by the lower chalk ridge we find in East Bonaire a 

 large plain, extending from Karakao to the coast. 



General notes. 



On account of the occurrence of eruptive rocks in the islands 

 Curaqao, Aruba and Bonaire Sievers l ) is of opinion that these 

 islands must be considered to form one complex with Goajira, 

 which in its turn would cohere with the Sierra Neveda de Santa 

 Martha and extend over the first mentioned islands as far as Los 

 Rocques. When discussing the vegetation we shall see that a few 

 plants occurring in Santa Martha are found in the three islands, 

 forming the subject of this Flora. It should be noted that Aruba 

 is separated from the other islands by a sea-depth of 2000 M. and 

 falls quite within the coast line of Venezuela where the depth is 200 .M . 

 Also the isle of Margarita lies inside the coast line of 200 -M. 

 depth; contrary to the group Aruba, Curasao, Bonaire, it consists 

 of archaic rocks and corresponds entirely to the continental land 

 of Arya and Paria. 



*) W. Sievers: Karten zur physikalischen Geographic von Vencxula in Pr. A. 

 Petermanns Mitteilungen aus Justus Perthes' Geogr. Anst. 42. Band. 1896. Yi. p. l-~>. 



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