he surface of these is covered with the small pines, scrubby
palms and undergrowth found only on poor soil.

From the Mulato River east, along the north coast, the character of the
lomas changes abruptly. Here we have deep rich soil covered with
splendid forests of hard woods, that reach up into the Organos some ten
miles back from the coast. Along the southern edge of the Organos, from
Herredura east, lies a charming narrow belt of rolling country covered
with a rich sandy loam that extends almost to the city of Artemisa.

Extensions, or occasional outcroppings, of the Pinar del Rio mountain
system, appear in the Province of Havana, and continue on into Matanzas,
where another short coastal range appears, just west of the valley of
the Yumuri. This, as before stated, has its continuation in detached
ranges that extend along the entire north coast, with but few
interruptions, until merged into the mountain maze of eastern Oriente.

Outside of the mountainous district thus described, the general surface
of Cuba is a gently undulating plain, with altitudes varying from only a
few feet above the sea level to 500 or 600 feet, near El Cristo in
Oriente. In Pinar del Rio it forms a piedmont plain that entirely
surrounds the mountain range. On the south this plain has a maximum
width of about 25 miles and ascends gradually from the shores of the
Caribbean at the rate of seven or eight feet to the mile until it
reaches the edge of the foothills along the line of the automobile drive
connecting Havana with the capital of Pinar del Rio.

North of the mountain range, the lowland belt is very much narrower and
in some places reaches a height of 200 feet as a rule deeply dissected,
so that in places only the level of the hill tops mark the position of
the original plain.

The two piedmont plains of Pinar del Rio unite at the eastern extremity
of the Organos Mountains and extend over the greater part of the
provinces of Havana and Matanzas and the western half of Santa Clara.
The divide as a whole is near the center of this plain, although the
land has a gradual slope from near the northern margin towards the
south.

In the neighborhood of Havana, the elevation varies between 300 and 400
feet, continuing eastward to Cardenas. The streams flowing north have
lowered their channels as the land rose, and the surface drained by them
has become deeply dissected, while the streams flowing toward the south
have been but little affected