CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



at different times on the larger islands by the 

 English, French, and Spaniards, were successively 

 abandoned, till, in 1833, they were formally taken 

 possession of by Britain. They now constitute a 

 British colony under a governor. The settlement 

 is a place of call for whalers and vessels on the 

 route round Cape Horn, for refitting and provi- 



sioning. The soil consists of peat, and is covered 

 with tall palm-like nutritious grasses, which sup- 

 port great numbers of wild cattle. Barley, oats, 

 and turnips succeed, but not wheat. The only 

 settlement is at Port Louis. The population of 

 the colony is 803, and the area is 6500 square 

 miles. 



WEST INDIA ISLANDS. 



This important archipelago extends from lat. 10 

 to 28 north, and from long. 59 30' to 85 west, 

 studding that large indentation of the Atlantic 

 Ocean which lies between North and South 

 America. It is separated from the former by the 

 Strait of Florida, and from the latter by the Gulf 

 of Paria ; thus having the Caribbean Sea, the 

 Bay of Honduras, and the Gulf of Mexico, on the 

 south and west, and the Atlantic on the north and 

 east It is commonly divided into the following 

 groups : The Bahamas, consisting of 14 principal 

 islands, and upwards of 600 rocky islets or cays ; 

 the Greater Antilles, comprising Cuba, Haiti, 

 Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, with their subordinate 

 islets ; and the Lesser Antilles. The Lesser 

 Antilles are again divided into the Leeward Isles, 

 from Puerto Rico to Dominica ; the Windward, 

 including Martinique and the isles to the south of 

 it ; and a group lying along the coast of Vene- 

 zuela. The northern portion of the Leeward Isles 

 are sometimes called the Virgin Isles; while the 

 Caribbean Isles is a name embracing both the 

 Leeward and Windward groups. 



330 



SUPERFICIAL FEATURES PRODUCTS. 



The general aspect of the West India islands 

 is mountainous ; and they appear to belong to 

 one great axis of elevation. Many of them 

 exhibit proofs of volcanic origin ; and they are 

 all less or more subject to earthquakes. In the 

 larger islands the craters seem to be extinct ; 

 but in St Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Mont- 

 serrat, &c. several have thrown out smoke and 

 ashes since the middle of the last century. Various 

 degrees of elevation are exhibited in the great 

 chain : in San Domingo, the highest point is 9000 

 feet; in Jamaica, 7278; in Cuba, 7200; Dominica^ 

 5300; Guadeloupe, 5100; Puerto Rico, 4000 ; and 

 in St Lucia, 2700. Numerous streams descend 

 from these mountains, and water the plains and 

 valleys, whose fertility is mainly owing to their 

 influence. Several of the Lesser Antilles are not 

 much elevated above the sea ; while the Bahamas 

 are generally low, with a scanty soil, and inter- 

 spersed with coral reefs and shoals. The mineral 





