PORTO RICO 



99 



of the island, and the Rio Grande, which rises twelve miles north 

 of Ponce, near Adjuntas, and empties into the sea near Arecibo. 



I 'asides the wide alluvial plains near their mouths, to be de- 

 scribed later, the lower stretches of these northeast streams pre- 

 sent somewhat large areas of bottom land extending for consid- 

 erable distances within the margin of the mountain area, rarely 

 broadening out into local circular mountain valleys, but their 

 upper portions are steep angular V-shaped gorges (quebradas), 

 where habitations are confined to the slopes and not the valleys. 

 There are other streams of the island which also present small 

 areas of bottom land indenting the mountainous area for a very 

 short distance from their coastal borders, notably the Portugues 

 near Ponce on the south and the Anasco on the west. 



The demarcation between the rugose-angular topography, the 

 soils, and the geologic features of the coastal belt of the central 

 mountain regions is well defined, and the most unobservant 

 traveler can but remark the radical natural differences which 

 take place upon passing from it into the lower-lying coastal 

 plains and foothills, especially upon the south side. 



On the west side of the north coast there are some exception- 

 ally high hills which extend back as far as Lares and San Sebas- 

 tian, and which might be considered truly mountainous, owing 



m>>i \i \ i\ i ri i i\ ITIOJ) si: \ii im m,i i.z 



