14 FEEGUSON. 



part heavily wooded, and little idea could be gained of the general 

 topography. Occasional onterops of the same dark limestone and rare 

 outcrops of a dark slate underlying the limestone, are found near the 

 headwaters of the Lanang basalt and basalt conglomerates are prominent. 

 The streams cut deep canyons and the topography is generally younger 

 than it is nearer the sea. 



The country southeast of the town of Masbate was not visited, but as 

 far as can be seen from an examination of the charts, Port Palanoc, 

 with the transverse trough already mentioned, forms the last important 

 northeasterly lineament. The entrance to this bay is through a narrow 

 channel less than 300 meters in width and about 60 meters in depth. On 

 the northeast the deep water is close to the shore, but on the opposite 

 side a coral reef extends out for about 600 meters. This narrow channel 

 is nearly a kilometer long, and at the end of it the bay suddenly widens 

 and there is a small, but deep, branch to the southwest. The town of 

 Masbate is situated at the junction of this branch with the main bay. 



THE SOUTHEASTERN PEISriNSULA. 



I was unable to visit this part of the island, so that all my informa- 

 ■ tion is derived from a study of the charts. These, while complete as to 

 coast line and soundings, are sadly lacking in interior topography, only 

 the most prominent peaks being shown. According to the map pub- 

 lished in the "Atlas de Pilipinas" the streams flowing into the Gulf of 

 Asid are much longer than those flowing northeast, thus implying that 

 the crest of the range as a whole fronts the northeast side. Peaks .383, 

 514, and 403 meters high are shown between Mobo and Uson. Two peaks 

 are situated near Cataingan, height not given; these are termed the Tetas 

 de Cataingan. Deposits of coal have been worked between Cataingan and 

 Palanas, and the Spanish records show that there is here a coal-bearing 

 formation of considerable extent. Reentrants, following the northwest- 

 southeast trend, are shown in Uson and Naro Bays and Port Cataingan. 

 On the southwest coast the land is generally low, except for the single 

 peak of Mount Vigia on the coast midway between Milagros and Point 

 Caduran. 



The changes of level for western Masbate seem to have been as 

 follows: An old land surface, which itself contained sedimentary rocks, 

 as is shown by the red slates found in various places, was probably rather 

 maturely dissected and the streams given something like their present 

 courses. Depression followed, during which the black limestone was 

 deposited, and reelevation, during which the same limestone was largely 

 eroded. It is probable that during this period Masbate and Panay 

 were connected, and the Panay River flowed through what is now 

 the Jintotolo Channel. Another period of depression separated the 

 islands and allowed the formation of the later white coralline limestone 



