Vol.57'] PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OP ST. KITTS, ETC. 535 



soutli-east, is another island of more varying character along the 

 same axis. This submarine chain, which is about 100 miles long, 

 does not exceed a breadth of 10 miles, including the fringe. 

 The depression between Nevis and St. Kitts has a depth of less 

 than 30 feet, with a rugged bottom; while the shelf between 

 St. Kitts and Statia is a somewhat undulating plain, commonly 

 covered by 100 to 180 feet of water. The St. Kitts ridge is 

 separated from Montserrat by a depression reaching to a depth of 

 2000 feet, out of which rise Eedonda, an isolated volcanic rock 

 having a height of 600 feet, and an adjacent bank. But this 

 depression is traversed by a channel 600 feet deeper (2592 feet). 

 From the Statia end of the St. Kitts range to the Saba Banks, 

 the connecting ridge is probably sunk not more than 1200 feet, 

 but it is indented by an embayment trending northward, which 

 reaches down to more than double this amount, so that, in a 

 direct line between Statia and Saba, the sea attains a depth of 

 2748 feet. 



St. Kitts, 19 miles long, is principally a volcanic ridge, sur- 

 mounted by several peaks, the highest of which is Mount Misery, 

 rising to an elevation of 4319 feet. The lip of the crater is 700 

 feet lower, and, according to Dr. Christian Branch, the bowl has a 

 further depth of 700 feet, with a diameter of a quarter of a mile, 

 which is occupied in wet seasons by a lake. But the south- 

 eastern extension of St. Kitts, almost separated from the main 

 part of the island, forms the remnant of older igneous forma- 

 tions, which have not been buried by the volcanic eruptions of later 

 date. The mountain-ridge of St. Kitts is bordered by gently-sloping 

 surfaces or glacis covered with volcanic soil. 



Nevis, nearly circular, with a diameter of 7 or 8 miles, is similar 

 to the main part of St. Kitts, but it is composed primarily of one 

 volcano, rising to 3596 feet above the sea, with some adventitious 

 prominences. 



Statia, an island with a length of about 5 miles, is characterized 

 in its northern part by denuded ridges of old igneous rocks, the 

 highest point of which is 960 feet. The central portion is a pene- 

 plain, or remnant of an old land-surface ; while the southern 

 portion is surmounted by a crater, called 'The Quill,' which reaches 

 a height of 1950 feet. 



Saba is an isolated peak, 2820 feet high, with no other crater 

 (according to Mr. Cleve) than the circular space, from 700 to 1000 

 feet above the sea, now occupied by the town of ' Bottom.' 



The Saba Banks constitute a large remnant of the coastal plain 

 upon the Caribbean side of the mountain-chain just described. 

 They have a length of about 35 miles and a breadth of 20 to 25 

 miles, making an area of about 800 square miles. These banks 

 form a submerged tableland rising 3000 feet or more above the 

 floor of the Antillean plateau. Its surface, traversed by shallow 

 channels, is covered by only 80 to 150 feet of water. 



