204 CUBA 



of these hills, which, as remarked by Humboldt, afford some of 

 the most beautiful scenic prospects in the world. The occurrence 

 of these lower timbered summits in a region which is generally 

 level plain has afforded a safe retreat for bands of insurgents, 

 who make them a base for frequent incursions upon the out- 

 skirts of Habana and Matanzas. 



For a brief interval these hills die out in eastern Matanzas, but 

 upon crossing into Santa Clara, and from thence on into Santiago 

 de Cuba, they reappear as longcrest lines and flat-topped plateaus, 

 following a line near and parallel with the north coast, including 

 the Sierras Zatibonico and Cubitas. The last-named ridge has 

 been an impregnable insurgent stronghold during the present rev- 

 olution and was for a time the seat of the insurgent government. 



The third group of high mountains occupies a limited area 

 between Cienfuegos and Santo Espiritu, on the south side of the 

 central portion of the island, and to the northward of the city of 

 Trinidad, and entirely south of the axial group above described. 

 These are less angular than the eminences of the Sierra Maestra 

 and consist of central summits with radiating slopes, the highest 

 of which is El Potrerillo, 2 900 feet. They are composed of semi- 

 crystalline limestones and shales which have been doubtfully 

 considered of Paleozoic origin, flanked by highly disturbed Cre- 

 taceous and Tertiary beds. Interspersed between these moun- 

 tains are numerous fertile valleys, giving to this part of Cuba a 

 diversified landscape. 



THE LIMESTONE PLAINS 



The three dominant groups of mountains above described 

 are topographic irregularities surviving from earlier epochs or 

 pushed up with the great sheets of Tertiary limestone which in 

 all the intermediate and coastal areas comprise the dominant 

 formation of the island. This limestone crust, gently warped 

 and undulated in many directions, has great variation in alti- 

 tude. Its maximum elevation is in the extreme east, and 

 gradually decreases to the center of the island, rising again to 

 the west. In the eastern and northern parts of the province of 

 Santiago de Cuba it constitutes an elevated plateau, attaining a 

 height of nearly 1,800 feet and embeds the base of the Sierra 

 Maestra. Here it is so dissected by drainage that it gives a 

 most rugged relief to the district which it occupies, and presents 

 on the seaward side a remarkable series of terraced cliffs, repre- 



