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EXTENT AND GEOLOGY OF CUBA. 301 
perpendicularly, and curved at the point. Nume- 
rous country-houses of light and elegant construc- 
tion surround the bay, to which the proprietors re- 
treat when the yellow fever rages in the town. 
The island of Cuba is nearly as large as Portu- 
gal; its greatest length being 7834 miles, and its 
mean breadth 513 miles. More than four-fifths of 
its extent is composed of low lands; but it is tra- 
versed in various directions by ranges of mountains, 
the highest of which are said to attain an altitude 
of 7674 feet. The western part consists of gra- 
nite, gneiss, and primitive slates ; which, as well as 
the central district, contains two formations of com- 
pact limestone, one of argillaceous sandstone, and 
another of gypsum. The first of these presents large 
eaves near Matanzas and Jaruco, and is filled with 
numerous species of fossils. The secondary forma- 
tions to the east of the Havannah are pierced by 
syenitic and euphotide rocks, accompanied with ser- 
pentine. No volcanic eruptions, properly so called, 
have hitherto been discovered. 
- Owing to the cavernous structure of the limestone 
deposites, the great inclination oftheir strata, the small 
breadth of the island, and the frequency and naked- 
ness of the plains, there are very few rivers of any 
magnitude, and a large portion of the territory is sub- 
ject to severe droughts. Yet the undulating surface 
of the country, the continually renewed verdure, 
and the distribution of vegetable forms, give rise to 
the most varied and beautiful landscapes. The hills 
and savannahs are decorated by palms of several 
species, trees of other families, and shrubs constant- 
ly covered with flowers. Wild orange-trees ten or 
fifteen feet in height, and bearing a small fruit, are 
common, and probably existed before the introduc- 
