times stops suddenly in overhanging cliffs at the
verge of the sea. Westward of an elevation of 4460
feet, called Catherine Hill, there is a depression,
comprising a region of variegated uplands, beyond
which again spring ridges and broken plateaus,
sometimes reaching 3000 feet above the sea-level.
Again the surface falls away, and the widest areas
of level country are in the west. There is a depression
across the island where the valley of the Black
River opens to the south and that of the Great River
to the north, and beyond that are more highlands
which end in a bold promontory called the Dolphin’s
Head, 3500 feet high, at the very extremity of the
island. Traces of volcanic action in remote ages
have been found near Spanish Town.
T h e central uplands are mostly rugged and broken
with ravines and hollows. There are wild amphitheatres
and secluded gullies sometimes called
“ cockpits.” On the northern slope for s ix ty miles
eastward from Great River is a region of gorges and
caverns from which the surface water often disappears
into ‘ ‘ sightless chasms,” to well up again at
widely separated places, and tumble in cataracts or
gush and flow in quiet springs. Sometimes the
course of subterranean streams can be traced by
these outlets in a manner to show that the interior
slopes vary from those of the surface. There are
many lakelets among the hills, but often the water
makes its way through clefts in the limestone shell
into underground reservoirs. Of the many streams
which flow from the mountains and hills to the sea,
few are entitled to be called rivers. T he largest is
the Black, which may be navigated for thirty miles
b y flat-bottomed craft. T he Minho, or Dry River,
comes down from the central uplands to the southern
coast, but most of its course is too steep or too shallow
for useful navigation, and all streams are liable
to become torrents in the wet season and to disappear
almost entirely in the dry. T he Cobre,
which flows into the lagoon on which Kingston is
situated, has little depth of water, and in a part of
its course runs out of sight. T h e principal streams
on the north are the Great, the Martha Brae, and
the White. T h e eastern end of the island is drained
toward the north by the Rio Grande and toward the
south by the Plantain Garden River, both small
streams, with numerous rivulets running into them.
There are some flat spaces on the island described
as plains or vales. T he largest of these is the
‘ ‘ Plain of Liguanea, ” which includes the region of
Kingston and Spanish Town. On the north of the
mountains is the plain of “ Thomas in the V a le ,”
and in the east the “ Vale of B a th .”
Minerals have been found concealed within the
rocky structure of Jamaica, but no systematic examination
of their whereabouts or their extent has ever
been made. There have been unprofitable efforts at
mining of copper, iron, and le a d ; traces of gold and
silver have been found, and there are deposits of cobalt
and antimony; but whether there are riches to
be dug from the earth is y e t to be ascertained. There
is plenty of ungarnered w.ealth on the surface. Much
of the mountain region is covered with forests, containing
mahogany, rosewood, lignum-vitse, ebony,