the top of one of the ranges of “ Copper [Cobre]
Mountains ” is a huge mass of conglomerate, which
gives to that peak the name of L a Gran Piedra, or
Big Rock.
Beyond a wide depression that lies eastward from
these lo fty sierras, there is a mountainous region of
disordered masses, cut into groups or isolated peaks
by river valleys, and sometimes culminating in those
sharp crests called cuchillas, o r “ knives.” One of
these mountain masses, the Yunque (“ An vil ) de
Baracoa, is a grand truncated cone 3300 feet high.
Turning westward, we find these irregular elevations
running parallel to the northern coast until, near the
middle of the island, the whole upland structure falls
away into a depression, only forty-five miles across
from coast to coast, traversed in former times by a
trocha, or trail, and in recent years by a railroad.
This is a central plain bordered on both sides by low
marshes. West of this depression the land rises again
into hills, which are often broken b y precipices and
ravines into a mountainous aspect, but seldom reach
an elevation of 1000 feet. There is a culminating
point north-west of Trinidad, near the southern
coast, called the Potrerillo, which is said to reach an
altitude of 2900 feet. Near the northern coast, between
Matanzas and Havana, the Pan de Matanzas
is 1300 feet high, and west of Havana there is a
range, the Cordillera de los Organos, whose loftiest
height, Pan de Guajaibon, is 2000 feet. T h e terminating
headland is north of the Bay of Guadiana,
and across that is a low peninsula of swamps and
sand-dunes to Cape Antonio.
In the shell of limestone that covers much of the
great island are many caverns, some of vast extent,
“ measureless to man,” with tortuous labyrinths and
dark galleries, corridors, and vaults, and with pools
and streams into which the surface water disappears.
One of the caves most visited is near Matanzas; and
in the eastern peninsula north of Guantanamo are
those of Monte Libano, while near Cape Maisi is a
cavern distinguished for the prehistoric remains
found therein. There are also extensive caves in
the Cubitas Sierra and in the vicinity of Remedios,
Holguin, and Bayamo.
T h e rivers of Cuba are mostly insignificant in
length and volume, flowing north or south from
the interior highlands to the sea. T h e largest is
the Rio Cauto, draining the valley to the north
of the plateau that comes down from the Sierra
Maestra, and flowing westward into the large bay
on which Manzanillo is situated, the Bajo de Buena
Esperanza (Good Hope). I t has many affluents,
and the main stream is one hundred and thirty
miles long and navigable for small craft for nearly
half its length. The alluvial deposits brought
down by the river have produced a shifting delta
which has sometimes caused serious obstruction.
Once, in 1616, it closed the old mouth and opened
a new one in such a way as to leave several vessels,
including a man-of-war, shut in from the sea.
T he most considerable river on the northern coast
is the Sagua la Grande, a little west of the middle
of the island, but there is a multitude of small
streams which vary in volume with the seasons.