Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 11.djvu/578

544 Samana on the east to the Sella de Caballo (3900 high) on the west, near Point Fragata. The highest peak in this chain is Mount Diego Campo, near the middle part, which has an of about 4000. The central begins near Point Macao on the east, extends west to about 70° 20' long., with an average height of about 1000, and then divides into two distinct chains, the northernmost of which pursues a north-westerly course to Cape St Nicolas, while the other turns south-west to Mount Ocoa, and then curves westward to the sea, which it reaches near St Marc, Near the west end of the  these two chains are connected by a secondary S-shaped ridge. The northern limb of this central chain is called the Sierra del Cibao, and is the backbone of the. The name Cibao is properly limited to the middle part, where, though there are occasional peaks more than 1000 higher, the average height is 7000. At the east end are still higher s, Loma Tina and Pico del Yaqui being each more than 9000 high. These are the two highest points on the. The third or southernmost of s begins near the Bay of Neiba, and runs due west to Cape Tiburon, forming the backbone of the south-west. This has no general name, but is called Baburuco at the east end, La Sella in the middle, from the peak of that name (nearly 9000  high), and La Hotte towards the west end. The largest and finest of the great s is La Vega Real (Royal Plain), as it was named by Columbus, which lies between the middle part of the Cibao and the Monte Cristi s. It stretches from Samana Bay to Manzanillo Bay, and is about 140 long, with an average breadth of 14. This is now commonly called the  of Cibao, the name La Vega being confined to the eastern half, while the western is distinguished as the  of Santiago. It is ed by the North or Gran Yaqui and the Yuna  and their affluents. The of Seybo stretches eastward from the  Ozama about 95, with an average breadth of 16 , and is abundantly ed by the Ozama, Soco, Macoris, Quiabon, and Yuna s. Most of the large s and s are in a state of nature, part savanna and part wooded, and well adapted for cattle raising. Of the s, the Gran Yaqui rises in the Pico del Yaqui, arid after a tortuous course in a generally north-westerly direction falls into the Bay of Manzanillo. Its mouth is obstructed by shallows, and it is navigated only by canoes. The South Yaqui, called also the Neiba or Neiva, rises in the Pico del Yaqui and the Entre del Rios, and flows south into the bay of Neiba. The Yuna rises on Loma Tina, and flows east into Samana bay; it is navigable by vessels of light draught as far as its junction with the Camu, and above that as far as Concepcion de la Vega by loaded canoes. The Ozama also is navigable for small vessels for 3 or 4 above its mouth. The largest lake is that of Enriquillo or Xaragua, which is 27 long by 8 broad. Though about 25 from the sea, its  is salt, as indicated in its French name Étang Salé, and has the same specific gravity as the ocean. It swarms with fish and with caymans. Other lakes are Lago de Fondo or Étang Saumâtre, 16 long by 4 broad, which has brackish ; Icotea de Limon, 5  long by 2 broad, which has fresh  and no visible outlet; and the smaller Rincon and Miragoane. The -line of Hayti forms a portion of a considerable area of. There are no active volcanoes in the, but earthquakes are not infrequent. Rocks of earlier than Secondary date have not yet been discovered; the most ancient, consisting of slates, conglomerates, and s, and forming as it were the core of the, have been disturbed and intersected by intrusive masses of a syenitic character. Flanking the slates and other s of the Sierra there is in the northern and in part of the southern side of Hayti a broad development of Tertiary deposits, which are skirted by more recent s and gravels. The Sierra, forming the central mass that runs the length of the eastern republic, and constituting in the main the of Samana, and also a small outlier near Porto Plata, is throughout composed of much-uptilted and usually strongly-folded metamorphic s, which appear to have originally been clay-shales, sandstones, sandstone-conglomerate, and. These are most disturbed in the western two-thirds of the, where they are broken in places by dykes. The quartz veins occurring in the slates near eruptive masses are auriferous, as also are the sands of streams running through the metamorphic s, if in the neighbourhood of syenite. Thus the s of the Nigua, Jaina, Nizao, Ocoa, and most of the tributaries of the Yaqui that descend from the northern flank of Cibao carry gold, though rarely in any notable quantity. The lignite found in the Upper Miocene beds is exceedingly impure, and nowhere more than 3 or 4 inches in thickness. The mineral products include gold, platinum, silver, mercury, copper, iron, tin, manganese, antimony, sulphur, marble, opal, calcedony, lazulite, -salt, and bitumen; and mineral springs—ferruginous, sulphurous, and of other kinds—abound. The fossil forms of the Miocene strata are allied to those of the west of South America, and forcibly suggest the conclusion that during some portion of the Miocene period the Pacific and Atlantic freely intercommunicated. For details concerning the geology of Hayti see Professor Gabb, Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc., xv. 49, and, on the Miocene fossils, Guppy, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lond., xxxii.,, p.516. The fauna of Hayti is not extensive. The agouti is the largest wild mammal. Birds are few, excepting and pigeons. Snakes abound, though few are venomous. Lizards are numerous, and insects swarm in the low parts, with tarantulas, scorpions, and centipedes. Caymans are found in the lakes and s, and the s teem with fish and other sea food. Wild cattle, hogs, and dogs, descendants of those brought from Europe, roam at large on the s and in the forests. The wild hogs furnish much sport to the natives, who hunt them with dogs trained for the purpose. In richness and variety of products Hayti is not excelled by any other country in the world. All tropical s and trees grow there in perfection, and nearly all the s and fruits of temperate climates may be successfully cultivated in its highlands. Among its indigenous productions are cotton, rice, maize, tobacco, cocoa, ginger, native indigo (indigo marron or sauvage), arrowroot, manioc or cassava, pimento, banana,, pine-apple, artichoke, yam, and sweet potato. Among its important s and fruits are sugar-cane, coffee, indigo (called indigo franc, to distinguish it from the native), melons, the legumes, cabbage, lucerne, guinea grass, bamboo, and the breadfruit, mango, caimite, orange, almond, apple, grape, mulberry, and fig. Most of the imported fruits have degenerated from want of care, and the bamboo has been attacked by an insect which prevents its wide diffusion; but the mango, now spread over nearly the whole, has become almost a necessary article of food; the bread fruit has likewise become common, but is not so much esteemed. Hayti is also rich in woods, especially in cabinet and dye woods; among the former are mahogany, manchineel, satinwood, rosewood, cinnamon wood, yellow acoma, and gri-gri; and among the latter are Brazil wood, logwood, fustic, and sassafras. On the s are extensive forests of pine and a species of oak; and in various parts occur the locust, ironwood, cypress or Bermuda cedar, palmetto, and many kinds of palms.