218 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY—THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 
The order in which the several regions are described below is 
necessarily somewhat arbitrary, for they cannot very well be classi¬ 
fied by age like geological formations, and they do not form par¬ 
allel bands like climatic zones. But as far as possible the western¬ 
most ones will be taken up first and the southernmost last. For 
each of the major divisions the topography, vegetation and other 
prominent features will now be briefly sketched, and the character 
and extent of the peat deposits described in a general way. 
WEST FLORIDA COAST REGION. 
(fig. 22) 
This extends from about the mouth of the Ocklocknee River 
westward beyond the limits of the State, forming a belt only a few 
miles wide. Its dominant features are narrow beaches, islands or 
peninsulas parallel with the general shore-line, with sounds, bays or 
estuaries behind them, and ancient (stationary) dunes on the edge 
of the mainland, or on some of the peninsulas. The soil is prac¬ 
tically all sand (overlaid in a few places by recent alluvium, etc.), 
and there is no clay or limestone near enough to the surface to 
have any perceptible effect. Long-leaf pine (Pinus palustris) and 
spruce pine (Pinus clausa) are characteristic trees. 
Peat of good quality but rather limited quantity occurs in numer¬ 
ous hollows among the old dunes, characterized by a dense growth 
of tyty bushes and other evergreens. Larger peat deposits are 
found in the estuaries of the Blackwater, Apalachicola, and other 
rivers, but these contain such a high percentage of mineral matter 
as to be almost worthless. 
Analyses of peat from this region can be found in a subse¬ 
quent chapter, under localities numbered 7, 36, 37 and 38. 
WEST FLORIDA PINE HILLS. 
(fig. 18) 
The region thus designated covers most of West Florida, 
passing northeastward into the Altamaha Grit region* of Georgia, 
and westward into the “Grand Gulf” region of Alabama and 
Mississippi. It is a non-calcareous region, with sandy soil and 
clay subsoil throughout. There is doubtless limestone under it, as 
in all other parts of Florida, but so far below the surface in 
most places as to have very little effect on the topography, which 
*For definition and description of this region see Annals N. Y. Acad. 
Sciences, vol. 17, part 1. igo6. 
