other two having much wider
entrances and not extending so far inwards. Most important among the
smaller inlets are the bays of Amurang, Kwandang and Tontoli on the
north coast, Palos and Pare-Pare on the west, and Kendari or Vosmaer on
the east. Of the numerous considerable islands which lie north-east,
east and south of Celebes (those off the west coast are few and small),
the chief are prolongations of the four great peninsulas--the Sangir and
Talaut islands off the north-east, the Banggai and Sula off the east,
Wuna and Buton off the south-east, and Saleyer off the south. Including
the adjacent islands, the area of Celebes is estimated at 77,855 sq. m.,
and the population at 2,000,000; without them the area is 69,255 sq. m.
and the population 1,250,000.

The scenery in Celebes is most varied and picturesque. "Nowhere in the
archipelago," wrote A. R. Wallace, "have I seen such gorges, chasms and
precipices as abound in the district of Maros" (in the southern
peninsula); "in many parts there are vertical or even overhanging
precipices five or six hundred feet high, yet completely clothed with a
tapestry of vegetation." Much of the country, especially round the Gulf
of Tolo, is covered with primeval forests and thickets, traversed by
scarcely perceptible paths, or broken with a few clearings and villages.
A considerable part of the island has been little explored, but the
general character seems to be mountainous. Well-defined ranges prolong
themselves through each of the peninsulas, rising in many places to a
considerable elevation. Naturally there are no great river-basins or
extensive plains, but one of the features of the island is the frequent
occurrence, not only along the coasts, but at various heights inland, of
beautiful stretches of level ground often covered with the richest
pastures. Minahassa, the north-eastern extremity, consists of a plateau
divided into sections by volcanoes (Klabat, 6620 ft., being the
highest). Sulphur springs occur here. In the west of the northern
peninsula the interior consists in part of plateaus of considerable
extent enclosed by the coast ranges. Near Lake Posso, in the centre of
the island, the mountains are higher; the Tampiko massif has a height of
nearly 5000 ft., the chains south and west of the lake have a general
altitude of about 5450 ft., with peaks still loftier. In the southern
peninsula two chains stretch parallel with the west and east coasts; the
former is the hig