THE ISLAND OF CUBA -45 



less than five hundred feet. The first of these is between 

 Moron and the south coast, in Puerto Principe, and the 

 second between Havana and Batabano. 



Cuba is famous for the beauty and fertility of its valleys, 

 some of which are wide plains through which rivers and 

 streams thread their way to the sea, and others circular 

 amphitheaters surrounded by a perimeter of picturesque 

 hiUs. 



In the more rugged eastern provinces there are many 

 valleys of the former class, of wide extent and great fer- 

 tility. The most extensive of these is that of the Rio Cauto 

 in Santiago de Cuba. It is situated in a protected position 

 between rugged mountains on the north and south, and 

 threaded by a navigable river, at the mouth of which is the 

 city of Manzanillo, the seaport of the region. This valley 

 is densely populated and has been one of the chief strong- 

 holds of the most recent uprising. It produces immense 

 crops of sugar and other Cuban staples. 



In Puerto Principe there are long grass-covered valleys 

 parallel to the central mountains and the rugged coasts, 

 which are the site of the cattle-raising industry of the 

 island. These are underlain by gravelly soils, less fertile 

 than those elsewhere found. 



It is in the provinces of Matanzas and Santa Clara, 

 however, that Cuba's most charming valleys are encoun- 

 tered. One of the most attractive features of Cuba, and 

 the Mecca of every tourist, is the peculiar circular basin 

 west of Matanzas, known as the valley of the Yumuri. 

 This comparatively level depression is some five or six 

 miles in diameter, and dotted with picturesque estates and 

 long avenues of royal palms. Through its center winds 

 the beautiful Yumuri River, which finds an outlet at 

 .Matanzas through the vertical walls of an exquisite 

 canon. It is inclosed on all sides by steeply sloping walls 

 rising some five or six hundred feel to the level of a 

 plateau out of which the valley has been cut. It has been 

 truly said that it is impossible to describe the charm of 



