BENGUELLA, MOSSAMEDES, AND HUILLA 309 



other geological change occurs near Lepi (5300 

 feet), where there is a choco' ate- coloured soil 

 (olivine dolerite), and a formation of quartzite 

 and especially cherty greywackes. 



The similarity of the geological picture 

 along the line of the railway is due to the fact 

 that from Lengue to near Chinguar the traveller 

 follows the grain of the country. The plateau is 

 a granite bed hidden by the overlying Oendolongo 

 and Lepi formations, but which outcrops con- 

 stantly, rendering the landscape picturesque with 

 boulder and monolith. 



The altitude of the plateau at Huambo 

 (5000 feet, temperature 54 to 80, rainfall 40 

 inches) and Bella Vista (5500 feet, temperature 

 52 to 77) have produced a climate suitable for 

 European settlement, and its healthiness is re- 

 flected in the complexions and physique of the 

 numerous Boer and Portuguese settlers in these 

 districts. 



In the high central plateau there may be frost 

 near the streams but rarely on dry ground, and 

 the screen temperature never falls to freezing- 

 point. 



The next and most southerly districts are those 

 of Mossamedes and Huilla, of which the former 

 portion lies along the coast and the latter stretches 

 east and south-east to the interior. 



The coastal geological formation is marine 

 cretaceous : sand-dunes, and occasional clay and 

 sandstone deposits. The ports of Mossamedes and 

 Port Alexander are cool (mean annual tempera- 

 ture 70), owing to the effect of the cold Antarctic 



