176 Mr. De la Beche on the Geology of Jamaica. 



tiful spot would be a lake but for the subterraneous channels the waters find 

 for themselves : it is on every side surrounded by mountains, broken into a 

 series of fine forms, and covered with forests, while the bottom of the Vale 

 presents a mixture of buildings and cane-fields, the brilliant green of the latter 

 contrasting finely with the other colours. The scenery of Jamaica is gene- 

 rally fine, varying from the beautiful to the grand, and such as can only be 

 seen in the tropics ; for there alone is found that vegetation, which gives such 

 a peculiar character to the landscape. 



The hills and mountains surrounding Luidas Vale are composed of white 

 limestone, the strata of which have various dips : among the small hills on the 

 north, the dip is gently to the S.E., while it will be found to the N. by E. at 

 an angle of from 45° to 50"^ among the mountains that bound the Vale on the 

 south, where the limestone joins the trap near Pleasant Hill. The same kind 

 of limestones appear from beneath diluvium near Worthy Park estate, which 

 is situated nearly in the centre of the Vale. 



The principal subterraneous water passage of Luidas Vale is to the east of 

 Thetford estate, where the river flows beneath a high mountain and re-ap- 

 pears on the other side of it, giving rise to the Black River (as it is denomi- 

 nated in Robertson's Maps) in St. Thomas-in-the-Vale. The waters lose 

 themselves in many places in this vale, among others close to the works of 

 Worthy Park, where the water, brought from a considerable distance, turns 

 the great wheel and is swallowed up close to it. 



It may here be remarked, that the white limestone formation of Jamaica 

 is characterized by being hollowed into innumerable holes and caverns, 

 among which the waters, which fall in the districts composed of it, are lost : 

 hence arises the general scarcity of springs in that part of Jamaica principally 

 composed of these rocks, and the necessity the inhabitants of such parts are 

 under of making tanks to preserve a supply of water. The portions of country 

 occupied by the white limestone formation are in a great measure shown 

 upon a good map of Jamaica (Robertson's small map for iAstance) by a great 

 want of rivers, while the latter are numerous in the districts composed of 

 other rocks. Some rivers will be found to flow for a short distance and then 

 sink, sometimes coming again to the surface and again sinking: several springs 

 flow only for a very short space, being received into some cavity. 



The white limestone of Luidas Vale is continued into the large parish of 

 St. Ann, which seems almost wholly composed of rocks of this formation, pre- 

 senting there a mixture of compact white limestones, earthy limestones, white 

 marls, and beds of red sandstone. Many large casts of bivalves are found in 

 this formation about a mile and a half from Green Park on the road to the 



