126 



humboldt's cuba. 



ed to my request, and found (in June, 1825), the 

 superficial area of Cuba, without the Isle of Pines, 

 to be 3,520 square maritime leagues, and 3,618 with 

 that island. 1 



By this calculation, which has been twice made, 

 it appears that the Island of Cuba is one-seventh 

 smaller than has been hitherto supposed ; that it is 

 one-third larger than St. Domingo, and only one- 

 eighth smaller than England exclusive of Wales. If 

 the entire archipelago of the Antilles possesses an 

 area equal to one-half that of Spain, Cuba alone 

 nearly equals in superficial extent all the other Greater 

 and Lesser Antilles together. Its greatest length 

 from Cape San Antonio to Cape Maysi (on a line 

 running from W. S. W. to E. N. E., and then from 

 W. 35P-.W. to E. S. E., through the island,) is 227 leagues. 

 Its greatest width, from Maternillo point to the mouth 

 of the river Magdalena, near Tarquino peak (from 



1 The official " Cuadro Estadistico " of 1846 states the area as 

 follows : 



Cuba 



Isle of Pines 



Small islands adjacent 



Which exceeds Sefior Bauza's calculation for Cuba by 2,553 square 

 miles, and is five times greater than Massachusetts, and more than 

 one-half the area of all the New England states. 



34,233 square mi es. 

 810 " " 

 970 " " 



36,013 square miles. 



