GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. 47 



by the river Moruga. It rises again after that river, lowering- 

 after wards to the gently undulating land of Siparia. The 

 maximum elevation appears to be at the back of Punta Tablas, 

 where are to be found the Three Sisters — those very moun- 

 tains which were seen from Columbus's vessel on the 31st 

 July, 1498, as united into one. The appearance struck the 

 great navigator as a singular coincidence, and he gave to the 

 island the name it bears. The highest peak was measured, 

 and ascertained to be 718 feet. The hilly surface may be 

 calculated at 555 square miles. The northern and southern 

 ranges are parallel. 



The middle or central range runs W.S.W. from Point Man- 

 zanilla to Pointe-a-Pierres. This range measures about thirty- 

 five miles from E. to W., on an average breadth of three and a 

 half miles, its area being represented by 122 square miles. The 

 highest peaks are Tamana, nearly in the centre of the island 

 (1,025 feet) ; Maharabe, to the westward (952 feet) ; Mount 

 Harris (903 feet) ; Lebranche, to the eastward (718 feet) ; and 

 Carata (532 feet). "The view from Tamana/'' say Messrs. 

 Wall and Sawkins, " possesses a peculiar charm ; it is by far the 

 most comprehensive in the island. The eye luxuriates in every 

 shade of the richest greens. A vast extent of woodlands, from 

 eastern to western sea, from northern to southern hills, without 

 the slightest perceptible trace of cultivation, save where the 

 scarlet flowers of the ' Madre del Cacao ' mark the winding 

 course of the Caroni, testifies the supremacy of nature. Scenery 

 more sublime may be readily obtainable ; but for loveliness of 

 hues, for exuberance of vegetation, this is a prospect which can 

 scarcely be surpassed." 



The distance which separates the northern from the central 

 range is about twelve miles. That tract is flat and rather low 

 to the W. ; to the E. it is undulating. From the central to the 

 southern range the distance is eighteen miles, and the inter- 

 vening country may be described as highly undulating, sometimes 

 cut by precipitous ravines. 



Between these three ranges are comprised two basins or 

 drained tracts, extending from E. to W., and which may be 

 denominated the northern and southern basins; the former is 

 generally more level than the latter. Each of these superior 

 basins is by nature subdivided into two secondary basins or plains 



