310 In the Upper Sierra 
The distant panoramic views from some of these sierras are 
magnificent beyond description. Even from the Hacho of Gaucin, 
the summit of the conical mountain above that town and only 3,280 ft. 
above the sea-level a superb view is obtainable on a clear day. 
From this point and from many others like it the various streams 
that join the Guadiaro can be seen sparkling as they wind through 
undulating hills far below, their courses marked by bright yellow 
sand-banks and by sinuous lanes of crimson oleander which fade 
away into the distance. 
The Mediterranean and Straits of Gibraltar have the appear- 
ance of a great lake, the Rock rising near the hither shore like 
a small grey cone against a background of blue water. The 
great height and size of the opposite Pillar of Hercules, Ape’s 
Hill, comes home when thus viewed at a distance from a height, 
also the vastness of the great tumbled mass of mountains which skirt 
the Straits towards Tangier and extend southward to Tetuan and 
beyond. Beyond Ceuta the distant outline of the Riff Coast can 
be discerned and far, far beyond this, the magnificent chain of 
blue mountains—the Atlas—capped with snow, which rear their 
heads above the heat mist shimmering over the intervening region, 
which, to this day, is a sealed book to Europeans. 
