Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/141

 January 1st of that year. It is the smallest of the group, with a superficial area of scarcely 7 square miles. This mass of fissured lavas rises in the central cone of Pico do Fogo to a height of 3,250 feet. Encircling the peak are some forest-clad lateral cones, and a small crater near the summit is flooded by a lake in whose

blue waters is mirrored the foliage of the surrounding orange-groves. The dense and sombre woods of the interior are contrasted lower down by a girdle of more delicate verdure, consisting of palms and bananas."

The verdant aspect al die island gives 'proof of a much more copious rainfall than in St. Helena, and if Annobon is drier than the more northern members 0: