these extended corners the island would be nearly
rectangular and not far from square. In its actual
form the Spaniards likened it to an ox-hide. It has
an area of 1754 square miles, which is about half that
of Puerto Rico, and nearly three times that of Guadeloupe,
the largest of the Caribbees. The northern
coast is abrupt and craggy, and parallel to it runs a
mountain range with a general altitude of 1500 to
3000 feet, the culminating peak, Tucutche, being
3100 feet high, and the Cerro de Aripo, in the northeast,
2644. This ridge is composed of metamorphic
masses of argillaceous schist with steep escarpments
toward the sea, and is continued through the islands
of the Dragon Mouth into the ranges of the mainland.
The principal islands of the north-west angle
are Mono (Monkey), Huevos (Eggs), and Navios
(Ships). The adjacent channels, or “ bocas,” have
the same names as these islands, and the outer and
widest one is Boca Grande. T he cape at the northeast
corner of Trinidad is Point Galera, that at the
south-east Galeota, and the long projection of the
south-west is Cape Icacos. Some of the outlets of
the Orinoco delta fall into the Gulf of Paria, discolouring
its waters with m u d ; and the channels of
the Boca Sierpe are shifted and obstructed by alluvial
deposits. There are some islets here, and the rock
Soldado, white with sea-birds. Besides the rocky
mountain range of the north, there is a solitary mass
in the interior, Mount Tamana, 1028 feet high, and
near the west coast Mount Naparima. Parallel with
the southern coast is a low range of dunes an4
wooded elevations, mingled with tertiary rock, while
the eastern shore has been filled out with sand and
mud deposited from the vast volume of the Orinoco.
The mountains of Trinidad are covered with dense
forests, and in the interior are wide, grassy plains
and savannas, like the llanos of Venezuela, with
intervening tracts of woodland like those of Guiana.
T he land is distinctly South American in its aspect,
in the vast variety of its trees, and in its general
vegetable and animal life. Many of the trees afford
valuable timber, and a large number have bark with
poisonous or medicinal qualities. The great ceiba,
with its shoots falling to the ground and taking root,
and with a profusion of clinging parasites, is held in
reverence by the superstitious bla cks; some of the
palms, with their smooth columns and great tufts of
broad leaves, grow to one hundred and fifty feet in
height; and everywhere the rich soil and warm,
humid climate produce a rank luxuriance of vines
and plants, some with brilliant flowers, which overrun
the face of the earth,save where the vigorous Para
grass takes possession and monopolises the ground.
A characteristic of Trinidad in its physical aspects
is its mud volcanoes, and a unique peculiarity is the
asphalt lake in the south-west. There is a mud volcano
near the middle of the island, one hundred and
thirty-five feet high, rising above a morass, locally
called the Lagon Bouffe, but those near Cape Icacos
and the asphalt lake are low conical hills surrounded
by mangrove swamps. While mud gushes out,
bringing lumps of bitumen and sulphur, and there
is an appearance of boiling, the temperature is not