24 THE WATERSHED. 



the picturesque mountain scenery. In tlie Southern B^tsildo 

 country the grand and varied forms of the mountains filled 

 me with an exultant kind of delight. To the south was a 

 crowd of mountain-tops, peak beyond peak, with the greatest 

 variety of outline : one had the appearance of a colossal trun- 

 cated spire ; another had a jagged saw-like ridge ; another 

 was a pyramid with successive steps ; and another an enor- 

 mous dome. Their summits were never long free from clouds, 

 and many of the peaks must be at least 3000 feet above 

 the plain. 



Sections taken by the aneroid across this elevated region 

 from east to west, at the latitude of the capital, show that 

 it has a depression in the centre, the edges on either side 

 being considerably higher than the country between them. 

 At some points this height of 4000 or 5000 feet is gained 

 by a series of steps from the maritime plains, each range of 

 hills rising higher and higher ; while at other points it 

 descends almost at one steep slope for nearly 3000 feet. 

 The watershed is not near the centre of the island, but is 

 much more towards the eastern side. Through the eastern 

 wall many of the rivers cut their way by magnificent gorges, 

 amidst dense forest, finding their way to the sea by a suc- 

 cession of rapids and cataracts, and occasionally by stupen- 

 dous falls, as in the case of the Matitanana, which descends 

 at one plunge 500 or 600 feet. Some of the western rivers 

 also are said to form grand waterfalls, particularly that of 

 the Mania, whose sound is reported to be heard at a distance 

 of two days' journey, i.e., from forty to fifty miles. 



The largest river in Madagascar is probably the Bctsiboka, 

 which, with its affluent the Ikiopa, is the great drain of the 

 central province of Imerina, and falls into the Bay of Bem- 

 batoka. It is about 300 miles long. Many other rivers of 

 considerable size flow to the west, the Mania and Matsiatra 

 being almost as large as the Betsiboka, but few are navigable 

 for vessels of large size. The Betsiboka could be ascended 

 by steamers of light draught for about ninety miles from 

 its mouth, and perhaps also several others of those which 

 fall into the Mozambique Channel. The eastern rivers 

 are almost all blocked at their outlets by a sandy bar 



