Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/741

CUBA. 641 CUBA. miles, and it has an area of 35,994 square miles, iiichuiing its small islands and the Isle of Pines. ToroGRAPUY. Tlio coast of Cuha is exceed- ingly broken, being indented b_v numerous gulfs or bays. The chief of these on the south coast, commencing at the west, are the following: Cor- rientes, Cortez. JIataniana, C'azones, and Ciuaca- nabo. There are many line harbors, «ith nar- row, tortuous entrances opening within into broad expanses — as at Havana. The north coast is in great ])art bordered by coral islands or reefs, which stretch from Nuevitas to Car- denas, and render approach to this part of the coast extremely difficult and dangerous. On the south is the large Isle of Pines (Isla de Pinos), with man.v small islets associated with it, and, further eastward, a group of many islets, known as the .Jardines de la Eeina. The Aestern pari of Cuba is traversed by a mountain range. Sierra de los Organos, 2500 feet high. The celebrated tobacco region, Vuelta Abajo. is on its south slope. The middle part of the island has an undulating surface, broken only here and there by hills, such as the group near Trinidad, on the south coast. The land rises eastward, and the eastern province, Santiago, consists in the main of an elevated plateau, 1000 to 2000 feet high, deeply scored by streams. Along the south coast of this province, stretching from Cape Cruz eastward, is the Sierra llaestra, much the highest land of the island, its highest peak, Turquino, being 8320 feet in height. JIuch of the coast west of Cape; Cruz is low and marshy. The great Zapota swamp borders this coast. The rivers are numerous, but short, and in general unfitted for navigation : the river Cauto, in the southeastern part, is about 150 miles in length, and is navigable for a distance of 50 miles to Cauto I'hnlia iv'adero. Climate. The climate of Cuba on the coast is extremely equable, but less so inland. The aver- age temperatures for .January vary from 72° F. at the north, to 75° F. at the south, and the July temperatures average about 82° F. ; the coast temperatures seldom exceed 90° F. in summer, nor go below Go" F. in winter. In the mountain regions, however, the tem])crature goes lower than 50°. The rainfall is excessive in the north- eastern section, reaching over 100 inches in some places ; at Havana it is over 50 inches ; the south- ern coast region has, howe'er. much less rainfall. The chief rajny season is in summer, but rain falls throughout the year. The prevailing winds are the Trades, from the northeast. Cuba lies within the jiath of the West Indian hurricanes, which are liable to occur during August, Sep- tember, and October. The unhealthful conditions formerly prevalent were largely due to the ab- sence of sanitary precautions. Yellow fever, the local scourge, was an amiual e])idcniic. Since 1901, however, the energetic administration by the military authorities of the sanitary measures recommended by a eonnnission of American sci- entists has resulted in vellow fever being con- fined to a few isolated cases. See Havana; Yel- low Fever. Floha. The vegetation of Cuba is tropical in its species and luxuriance, although, strangely enough, trees usually found only in colder cli- mates are also found even in the Cuban lowlands. Thus, the pine grows side by side with the ma- hogany tree. Palms are plentiful. The majuga. with its fibrous bark and beautiful hard- wood trunk, and the granadillo, the baria, Cuban eb- ony, lignum vita>, Cnl)an cedar. Cuban mahogany. the acana, jiqui, cottonwood, logwood, rosewood. and tli.e odd jagiiey, are all indigenous. Amonj; the economic fruit and vegetable products may be mentioned the banana, eocoanut, pineapple, orange, lemon, lime, fig, date, tamarind, mango, guava, zabote, pomegranate, anona, melon, bean, cassava, and sweet potato. Fauna. The fauna of Cuba includes rabbits, the liutia (q.v.), and bats; the domestic hog, dog, and cat (which have run wild an<l becymc very numerous) ; over 200 species of birds, including scavenger buzzards and vultures, grouse, quail, snipe, and wild turkeys; alligators, chameleons, iguanas, small lizards, and tree-toads. Few species of snakes are found, although some, like the majfl, grow to large size (16 to 18 feet). The land- crabs, which move over the coimtry in countless numbers, and grow in size up to eight inches in diameter, are very annoying, as are also the flying cockroaches. Scorpions, centipedes, and tarantulas are plentiful. Insects are nuiiu'rous in species and limitless in numbers; among these are ants, beautiful fireflies, and what has been described as the 'worst pest on the island,' the nigua or jigger. Nearly 050 species of fish have been found in Cuban waters, among which are large sharks, the giant aguja (weighing some- times 500 jiounds), the snoring ronco. gallego, garfish, and the parego or red snapper. The por- poise and manatee are also found in numbers in the coast waters. Geology. Cuba was largely formed in late Tertiary times. The rocks composing it are nuiinly recent stratified deposits. There are ir- regular areas of granite, serpentine, and eruptive rocks near the middle of the island, surrounded by Tertiary beds extending over most of the island to the coast. The Sierra de los Organos is composed mainly of Triassic sandstones, and the Sierra Maestra of Cretaceous and Tertiary beds. iliNERAL RESOURCEn. The mineral deposits of Cuba are confined chiefly to the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, and are exploited almost exclusively by American companies. The chief mineral, iron, was first worked on a large scale in 1S8-I, and the outi>ut has since then grown at a steadv rate, increasing from 23,977 tons in 1SS4 to 452,559 tons in 1897, The total production of iron ore for that period amounted to 3,443,444 tons, of which the United States took 3,401.077 tons. The ore is of a good quality and especially adapted for the manufacturing of Ressemer steel. In the last war with Spain, the mining industry, like all economic activities of the island, sulVered greatly, in some of the mines work being com- pletely .suspended. Another mineral iiroduct of importance is manganese, which is also found in the Province of Santiago de Cuba and exported to the United States. Copper was mined' in Cuba as early as the sixteenth century in the Sierra del Cobre, Santiago de Cuha; and prior to the discovery of copper in the United States the latter imported most of the copper for its domestic use from Cuba. With the increased cost of production, owing to the exhaustion of the surface deposits, and the discovery of copper in the United States, copper-mining ceased on the island. Cold, silver, and lead are found in small deposits. In general, the mining industries of the island are little developed.