20 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



Tlie Disappearing River Ariguanabo. 



Rivers and Caves in Cuba. 



One peculiarity of the water courses in 

 Cuba is that many streams sink into the 

 earth and follow subterranean passages, 

 never to appear again, or to reappear at 

 some distance and then again perhaps once 

 more to disappear outright. 



Rocks have been worn into caverns, 

 arches, alcoves and honeycombed forma- 

 tions by the action of water for centuries. 

 The soft limestone beneath the surface of 

 Cuba in many portions of the islands has 

 been hollowed out, tunneled and formed 

 into caves by the tremendous downpour 

 and wash of tropical rains. The sea has 

 hollowed caves under Moro Castle, in 

 Havana, as well as under the Moro in 

 Santiago harbor. 



There are also great caverns near Matan- 

 zas and Jaruco, and in the Cubitas hills, in 

 Camaguiey province. This frequency of cav- 

 erns, in which rains accumulate and brooks 

 disappear, sometimes causes great disasters. 

 In most of the mountains of Cuba are ex- 

 tensive caves ; that illustrated on these pages 

 is in t\ie. mountains of Camaguey province. 

 The great Bellamar caves in Matanzas are 

 well known, and annually visited by tourists. 

 They are lighted by electricity and there are 



stairways and guides for the visitors' com- 

 fort and convenience. At San Diego, sit- 

 uated in the Vuelta Abajo, on the banks of 

 the Caiguanabo River, are the caves known 

 as the Arcos de Caiguanabo. 



Near San Antonio de los Banos, in Ha- 

 vana province, is the disappearing river, 

 illustrated above. It is the Ariguanabo 

 River, and plunges into the earth never to 

 be seen again. There are extensive subter- 

 ranean streams in all parts of Cuba which 

 do not appear on the surface at all. One 

 of this kind was discovered on the lands of 

 the Stewart sugar plantation in Camaguey 

 province when borings for a well found a 

 large underground river. 



It may be noted also that some of the 

 keys on the north and south coast have a 

 plentiful supply of fresh water bubbling up 

 in the form of large springs. In the bay 

 of Jagua, ofT Cienfuegos and in Cardenas 

 Bay fresh water springs are found in the 

 salt water, also in the cays around the Isle 

 of Pines. Some scientists believe that they 

 arise from a submarine communication be- 

 tween or with these underground sources, 

 or with the limestone caves of the shore, in 

 which the water collects and rises further 

 away by hydrostatic pressure. 



