24 CUBA and POBTO BIOO 



reefs which have been slightly elevated above the sea. 

 These occur in many places, either singly or in clusters, 

 and by location arc not classifiable into a geographic 

 group, although they arc most numerous in the Honduras 

 Sea, in the western part of the Caribbean. 



Islands of this and kindred character in which, for pres- 

 ent purposes, may be included mangrove islets and other 

 lands not strictly reef rock, but dependent upon shallow 

 banks for a foundation border the end of Florida, Cuba, 

 and the Windward side of the Caribbee Islands. 



In addition to islands which can thus be grouped, there 

 are many standing alone, like Barbados, Aves, Navassa, 

 and Swan Island, which seem for the present to defy any 

 system of classification. There are also many islands and 

 islets off the Central American coast, which may mostly be 

 considered to be continental, so far as their natural rela- 

 tions are concerned. 



Only one of the smaller solitary islets of the American 

 Mediterranean is volcanic. This is the Old Providence 

 group, in latitude 13 N., standing in the western Carib- 

 bean, about one hundred and fifty miles off the coast of 

 Nicaragua. 



In general it may be stated that of these groups the 

 Great Antilles and South American islands are continental 

 in the diversity of their configuration, the Bahamas and 

 keys and solitary islets are composed of organic skeletal 

 debris, and the Caribbee Islands are of old volcanic 

 origin. 



Perhaps no equal area of the world is distributed among 

 the flags of so many nations. Only one island, Santo 

 Domingo, possesses free and independent governments. 

 The remainder are the property of many nationalities. 

 The political organizations of the whole are as follows: 

 independent : Santo Domingo, composed of two republics ; 

 Spanish islands : Cuba, Isle of Pines, Porto Rico, Vieques, 

 Mona, Culebra; British islands: Bermudas, Bahamas, 

 Jamaica, Turks, St. Christopher, Nevis, Antigua, Dominica, 



