234 The National Geographic Magazine 



border of this area between the long 

 peninsula of Caravelle on the north and 

 Portes-d'Enfer is cut into hundreds of 

 shallow bays and inlets by the strong 

 action of the heavy surf which every- 

 where on that side prevents free naviga- 

 tion, and the contour and topography of 

 the adjacent sea border shows that this 

 land once extended to the outer margin 

 of the islands which now border it. 



All the country north of the Bay of 

 Fort de France and to the west of this 

 line, geologically speaking, may be con- 

 sidered a newer configuration — a later 

 geologic addition to the island — which 

 preserves much of its original volcanic 

 constructional form, dominated by two 

 commanding subcircular central vol- 

 canic mountains, the northernmost of 

 which is Montagne Pelee and the other 

 the Pitons du Carbet. 



The topograph}^ of this northwestern 

 area is chief!}' constructional, the peaks 

 of Pelee and Carbet being original vol- 

 canic cones, while many of the sloping 

 salients between the streams radiating 

 from them to the sea are old cuestas of 

 ejecta. Destructional processes, how- 

 ever, are also strongly evident in the 

 erosive dissection of the old craters and 

 of the valleys or fonds. 



While Pelee and Carbet are appar- 

 ently twin volcanoes, the latter is the 

 older of the two, and, judging from the 

 broken nature of its surrounding crater 

 bowl, has been extinct from time imme- 

 morial. Its altitude is 3,960 feet. 



Montagne Pelee, at the north end of 

 the island — a little to the west of its 

 north-south axis — is a conical circular 

 peak surrounded on three sides by water 

 as if it had risen parasitic from the sea 

 and had been united to the mainland by 

 the debris of its southern flank. Of 

 Pelee more anon. 



The cone of Carbet, rising to a height 

 of 3,960 feet, is undoubtedly the rem- 

 nant of a high cinder cone now dis- 

 sected into several peaks. Besides the 

 major peaks mentioned, there are hun- 



dreds of rugged wooded hills, called 

 mornes, some of which may have been 

 old volcanic vents, while others are re- 

 sults of erosion. 



Besides these major features of the 

 configuration, there are several minor 

 details which are of importance. The 

 first of these is the rugged configuration 

 of the mountains and fonds and the ab- 

 rupt nature of the coast line, consisting 

 everywhere, especially on the leeward 

 side, except at the mouths of the rivers, 

 of steep vertical cliffs. It is singularly 

 ill adapted for safe harbors convenient 

 to its population, and there are none 

 except the superb bay of Fort de France, 

 perhaps the best in the Windward Isl- 

 ands. On the windward side the coast 

 line is rugged ; but everywhere it is 

 plainly to be seen that the work of the 

 sea is constantly restricting the area of 

 the island by the action of its waves. 



Not only the eastern coast, but the 

 entire perimeter of Martinique is being 

 restricted by this destructional process. 

 The horizontal action of the waves, 

 which are everywhere undermining the 

 coasts at water line, results in steep cliffs 

 along the northern and western sides 

 and many bights upon the eastern shore. 

 Furthermore, this action has clearly left 

 around the island a shallow submarine 

 bench, which is especially marked along 

 the southern and eastern coasts. 



Another feature are the little elevated 

 deltoid valleys of alluvium at the mouths 

 of the rivers on the west, which con- 

 stitute the plain upon which Fort de 

 France is built. These, with the ele- 

 vated reefs off the east coast, indicate 

 uplifts as having taken place. Still a 

 third feature are the evidences of an 

 older and higher level of erosion back 

 of the city of Fort de France. 



The surface of the island is deeply 

 scored by nearly 200 strearnways, fol- 

 lowing the bottoms of deep V-shaped 

 canyons which radiate from its summits 

 to the sea. Seventy little perennial 

 rivers descend from the mountains, but 



