The mountainous portion of Cuba evidently belongs to another region, which extends far to the east, comprehending the three other Larger Antilles and the Virgin Islands, so as to terminate near 64' W. long. In the most western parts the mountains rise to a great elevation. The Monts! o, del Cohn In Cuba rise to 7200 feet; the Blue Mountains iu Jsmaica to 7150 feet; and those of Cibao in His paniola to about 8000 feet. Farther to the east the mountains decrease in height. In Puerto Rico they do not attain 4000 feet, and in the Virgin Islands probably not 2000 feet. Those of Virgin Gorda perhaps do not much exceed 500 feet. These mountains exhibit the mixed formation of most mountains of Europe, but primitive rocks are prevalent in the highest ranges. Between them there are valleys of considerable width, and on their sides smaller ones, all of which aro very fertile. There are considerable plains, as iu Jamaica and His paniola. which however are destitute of trees and less fertile. The mountains, their declivities, and the valleys are thickly wooded in their untural state.
The strait which lies between Virgin Gorda and Anguilla, and is traversed by the meridian of 64° W. long., separates this region from the islands of volcanic origin, which extend from 18° 20' to 12° N. lat., and between 60° 50' and 63° 10' W. long., in a curved line. These islands consist either entirely or for the greater part of mountains and rocks of volcanic origin. Anguilla however, which lies at the most northern extremity, and Barbuda and Barbadoes, which lie farther to the east, are not much elevated, and they exhibit no traces of volcanic action, but consist mostly of limestone rocks. The greater number of the others are entirely composed of lava or other rocks of volcanic origin ; but in St. Martin, St. Bartholomew, Guadeloupe, Martiniqne, and Granada are tracts consisting of limestone or sand stone. Two of these islands, Guadeloupe and St. Vincent, have active volcanoes ; the others contain extinct craters, or solfataras, in different degrees of activity. The surface of these islands, like that of all countries consisting of volcanic rocks, presents great and sudden irre gularities. The mountains rise from 2500 to more than 5000 feet above the sea. The highest are the Mune Diablotin in Dominica (5318 feet) and the Souffriere in Guadaloupo (5113 feet), both of which lie nearly in the centre of the chain. Proceeding south and north they become lower, but Mount Misery in St. Christopher is still 4451 feet, and Borne Rouge in Grenada 3840 feet high. On the eastern shores of the islands, which are exposed to the strong currents from the Atlantic, the rocks rise with a vary steep ascent, and the indentations between them are generally too short and too much exposed to tho trade-wind to constitute harbours. On the western shores the mountains are less
elevated and their declivities gradual; and here the inlets are of greater extent, and form good harbours.
The islands of Tobago and Trinidad chiefly consist of primitive rocks, and resemble in their formation the north-eastern coast of Venezuela. There are no traces of volcanic action on them, except some mud-volcanoes on Trinidad.
All the islands of the Columbian Archipelago, with the exception of the most northern Bahamas, are within the tropic ; and their climate, as in other countries thus situated, is regulated by the progress of the sun, and the trade-winds, which depend on that progress. The year is divided into two seasons, the dry and wet. All the islands which are south of 18° N. lat. have two dry and two wet seasons, and this is also the case with the southern shores of the islands of Puerto Rico, His paniola, and Jamaica. The long dry season sets in when the sun approaches the southern tropic, about the end of November or the beginning of December. In this season the weather is generally very constant. Showers of rain indeed occur, but not frequently ; and the sky is cloudless for several weeks and even months in succession. This weather lasts till the sun approaches the equator. Towards tho end of March a change in the atmosphere takes place in the most southern islands, but it occurs about a month later iu those near 18° N. lat. The short rainy season begins, which in the southern islands lasts about six weeks, but in the northern only 15 or 20 days. Showers are then frequent, and sometimes several occur in one day, but they hardly over continue for an hour. When the sun passes over the zenith of the islands, the short dry season begins, and it lasts till the sun has reached the northern tropic. In July the long rainy season seta in, and continues to the month of November. These rains, which are ushered in by violent gusts of wind, and accompanied by terrific thunder-storms, are generally not heavy in July ; but they become so in August in the southern, and in September in the northern islands. They then descend in torrents, and sometimes continue for 24 hours without interruption ; but they usually fall in showers, several of which occur in one day, and sometimes as many as twenty. In the southern islands they begin to diminish in September, and in the northern in October. In November the showers are moderate and less frequent.