EXTENT AND GEOLOGY OP CUBA. 257 



sandstone, and another of gypsum. Tlie first of these cilAP.Xxi 

 presents large caves near Matanzas and Jarucu, and is _ — 

 filled with numerous species of fossils. The secondary 

 foiinations to the east of the Ilavannah are pierced by 

 syenitic and euphotide rocks, accompanied with serpen- 

 tine. No volcanic eruptions, properly so called, have 

 hitherto been discovered. 



Owing to the cavernous structure of tlie limestone Limestone, 

 deposites, the great inclination of their strata, the small 

 breadth of the island, and the frequency and nakedness 

 of the plains, there are very few rivers of any magnitude, 

 and a large portion of the territory is subject to severe 

 droughts. Yet the undulating surface of the country, 

 the continually renewed verdure, and the distribution of 

 vegetable forms, give rise to the most varied and beautiful 

 landscapes. The hills and savannahs are decorated by 

 palms of several species, trees of other families, and 

 shrubs constantly covered with flowers. Wild orange- 

 trees ten or fifteen feet in height, and bearing a small 

 fruit, are common, and probably existed before the in- 

 troduction of the cultivated variety by Europeans. A 

 species of pine (^Piniis occidentalis) occurs here and in 

 San Domingo, but has not been seen in any of the other 

 West India Islands. 



The climate of Havannah, although tropical, is marked Climate, 

 by an unequal distribution of heat at different jjcriods 

 of the year, indicating a transition to the climates of the 

 temperate zone. The mean temperature is 78'3°, but in 

 tlie interior only 73'4°. The hottest months, July and 

 August, do not give a greater average than 83-8°, and 

 the coldest, December and January, present the mean 

 of 69'8°. In summer the thermometer does not rise 

 above 82° or 86°, and its depression in winter so low as 

 50° or 53'5° is rare. When the north wind blows several 

 weeks, ice is sometimes formed at night at a little dis- 

 tance from the coast, at an inconsiderable elevation above 

 the sea. Yet the great lowerings of temperature which 

 occasionally take place are of so short duration, that 

 the palm-trees, bananas, or the sugar-cane, do not suffer 



