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eastward to the north of Surabaya, as already described. The 

 gap spoken of is at Ngawi, a town of considerable importance 

 built on the peninsula formed by the two streams. This is in the 

 province of Madiun, of which Madiun itself may be said to be 

 the capital, There is no other gap in the range ; but at the 

 termination to the eastward the river Brantas flows around the 

 end into the Surabaya, The river is in reality the higher waters 

 of the Surabaya River. A singular fact connected with the 

 physical gf-ograpliy and river system of this part of Java is that 

 the three largest rivers of the island all have their sources within 

 a few miles of the south coast. The sources of the Brantas are 

 absolutely scarcely three miles from it. The island therefore may 

 be described as an inclined plane from south to north, diversified 

 by many large isolated volcanic cones and ash ranges, which may 

 be said to run almost in every direction ; but in the centre of the 

 island there are two conspicuous east and west ranges which n< t 

 as a barrier to the waters flowing down the inclined plane to the 

 north until a gap is found, when they are thrown otY towards the 

 east, and disembogue into the large alluvial delta already spoken of. 



Between the sources of the Solo, Madiun, and Surabaya Rivers 

 there are two lofty volcanoes whose slopes and dependent ridges 

 cover a very large extent of country: Mount Wilis to the east, 

 7,086 feet above the level of the sea ; and Mount Iawu to the 

 westward, which is very little lower than Seineru, or about 

 10,100 feet. Both these mountains contribute largely to the 

 sources of the Madiun and Solo ; while on the northern slopes of 

 Gunong Wilis two tributaries, one of the Madiun and the other 

 of the Surabaya, are separated only by a narrow ridge of scoriae. 



Solo.— The whole of this mountainous and volcanic region is as 

 wildly picturesque as any country in the world. The immense 

 height of the mountains and their volcanic activity, the marks of 

 nature's convulsions on a truly gigantic scale would alone give a 

 sublime interest to such a territory ; but when we add the grandeur 

 as w T ell as the beauty of the vegetation, it truly presents aspects 

 to the traveller which baffle description. The forests of teak and 



