THE TOPOGRAPHY OF CUBA
Topographically the surface of Cuba may be divided into five rather
distinct zones, three of which are essentially mountainous. The first
includes the entire eastern third of the province of Oriente, together
with the greater part of its coast line, where the highest mountains of
the Island are found. The second includes the greater part of the
province of Camaguey, made up of gently rolling plains broken by
occasional hills or low mountains, that along the northern coast, and
again in the southeast center of the Province, rise to a height of
approximately 1500 feet above the general level.
The next is a mountainous district including the greater part of eastern
Santa Clara. The fourth comprises the western portion of this province
together with all of Matanzas and Havana. The surface of this middle
section is largely made up of rolling plains, broken here and there by
hills that rise a few hundred feet above the sea level.
The fifth includes the province of Pinar del Rio, the northern half of
which is traversed from one end to the other by several more or less
parallel ranges of sierras, with mean altitudes ranging from 1,000 to
2,000 feet, leaving the southern half of the Province a flat plain, into
which, along its northern edge, project spurs and foothills of the main
range.
The highest mountains of Cuba are located in the province of Oriente,
where their general elevation is somewhat higher than that of the
Allegheny or eastern ranges of the United States. The mountainous area
of this province is greater than that of the combined mountain areas of
all other parts of the Island. The mountains occur in groups, composed
of different kinds of rock, and have diverse structures, more or less
connected with one another.
The principal range is the Sierra Maestra, extending from Cabo Cruz to
the Bay of Guantanamo, forty miles east of Santiago. This chain is
continuous and of fairly uniform altitude, with the exception of a break
in the vicinity of Santiago where the wide basin of Santiago Bay cuts
across the main trend of the range. The highest peak of the Island is
known as Turquino, located near the middle of the Sierra Maestra, and
reaching an altitude of 8,642 feet.
The hills back of Santiago Bay, separating it from the Valley of the
Cauto, are similar in structure to the northern foothills of the main
sierra. In the western part of the range, the mountains rise abruptly
from the depths of the Caribbean Sea, but near the City of Santiago, and
to the eastward, they are separated from the ocean by a narrow coastal
plain, very much dissected. The streams which traverse it occupy valleys
several hundred feet in depth, while the remnants of the plateau appear
in the tops of the hills.
East of Guantanamo Bay there are mountains which are structurally
distinct from the Sierra Maestra, and these continue to Cape Maisi, the
eastern terminus of Cuba. To the west they rise abruptly from the ocean
bed, but further east, they are bordered by terraced foothills. Towards
the north they continue straight across the Island as features of bold
relief, connecting with the rugged Cuchillas of Baracoa, and with “El
Yunque” lying to the southwest.
Extending west from this eastern mass are high plateaus and mesas that
form the northern side of the great amphitheatre which drains into
Guantanamo Bay. Much of this section, when raised from the sea, was
probably a great elevated plain, cut up and eroded through the ages
since the seismic uplift that caused its birth.
The most prominent feature of the northern mountains of Oriente
Province, west of “El Yunque,” is the range comprising the Sierras
Cristal and Nipe. These extend east and west, but are separated into
several distinct masses by the Rio Sagua and the Rio Mayari, which break
through and empty into harbors on the north coast. The high country
south of these ranges has the character of a deeply dissected plateau,
the upper stratum of which is limestone.
The character of the surface would indicate that nearly all the
mountains of the eastern part of Oriente have been carved through
erosion of centuries from a high plateau, the summits of which are found
in “El Yunque” near Baracoa, and other flat topped mountains within the
drainage basins of the Mayari and the Sagua rivers. The flat summits of
the Sierra Nipe are probably remnants of the same great uplift.
Below this level are other benches or broad plateaus, the two most
prominent occurring respectively at 1500 and 2000 feet above sea level.
The highest summits rise to an altitude of 2800 or 3000 feet. The 2000
foot plateau of the Sierra Nipe alone includes an area estimated at not
less than 40 square miles. It would seem that these elevated plateaus
with their rich soils might be utilized for the production of wheat, and
some of the northern fruits that require a cooler temperature than that
found in other parts of Cuba.
In the province of Oriente, the various mountain groups form two
marginal ranges, which merge in the east, and diverge toward the west.
The southern range is far more continuous, while the northern is
composed of irregular groups separated by numerous river valleys.
Between these divergent ranges lies the broad undulating plain of the
famous Cauto Valley, which increases in width as it extends westward.
The northern half of this valley merges into the plains of Camaguey,
whose surface has been disturbed by volcanic uplifts only by a small
group known as the Najassa Hills, in the southeast center of the
province, and by the Sierra Cubitas Range, which parallels the coast
from the basin of Nuevitas Bay until it terminates in the isolated hill
known as Loma Cunagua.
The central mountainous region of the Island is located in the province
of Santa Clara, where a belt of mountains and hills following
approximately northeast and southwest lines, passes through the cities
of Sancti Spiritus and Santa Clara. Four groups are found here, one of
which lies southwest of Sancti Spiritus, and east of the Rio Agabama. A
second group is included between the valleys of the Agabama and the Rio
Arimao.
The highest peak of Santa Clara is known as Potrerillo, located seven
miles north of Trinidad, with an altitude of 2,900 feet. A third group
lies southeast of the city of Santa Clara, and includes the Sierra del
Escambray and the Alta de Agabama. The rounded hills of this region have
an altitude of about 1,000 feet although a few of the summits are
somewhat higher.
The fourth group consists of a line of hills, beginning 25 miles east of
Sagua la Grande, and extending into the province of Camaguey. The trend
of this range is transverse to the central mountain zone as a whole, but
it conforms in direction with the general geological structure of the
region.
East of the city of Santa Clara the hills of this last group merge with
those of the central portion of the province. The summits in the
northern line reach an altitude of only a thousand feet. The principal
members are known as the Sierra Morena, west of Sagua la Grande, Lomas
de Santa Fe, near Camaguani, the Sierra de Bamburanao, near Yaguajay,
and the Lomas of the Savanas, south of the last mentioned town.
In the province of Pinar del Rio, we find another system, or chain of
mountains, dominated by the Sierra de los Organos or Organ mountains.
These begin a little west of Guardiana Bay, with a chain of “magotes,”
known as the “Pena Blanca,” composed of tertiary limestone. These are
the result of a seismic upheaval running from north to south, almost at
right angles with the main axis of the chains that form the mountainous
vertebrae of the Island.
Between the city of Pinar del Rio and the north coast at La Esperanza,
the Organos are broken up into four or five parallel ridges, two of
which are composed of limestone, while the others are of slate,
sandstones and schists. The term “magote,” in Cuba, is applied to one of
the most interesting and strikingly beautiful mountain formations in the
world. They are evidently remnants of high ranges running usually from
east to west, and have resulted from the upheaval of tertiary strata
that dates back probably to the Jurassic period.
The soft white material of this limestone, through countless eons of
time, has been hammered by tropical rains that gradually washed away the
surface and carved their once ragged peaks into peculiar, round,
dome-shaped elevations that often rise perpendicularly to a height of
1,000 feet or more above the level grass plains that form their base.
Meanwhile the continual seepage of water formed great caverns within
that sooner or later caved in and fell, hastening thus the gradual
leveling to which all mountains are doomed as long as the world is
supplied with air and water. The softening and continual crumbling away
of the rock have formed a rich soil on which grows a wonderful wealth of
tropical vegetation, unlike anything known to other sections of Cuba, or
perhaps in the world.
The valley of the Vinales, lying between the City of Pinar del Rio and
the north coast, might well be called the garden of the “magotes,” since
not only is it surrounded by their precipitous walls, but several of
them, detached from the main chain, rise abruptly from the floor of the
valley, converting it into one of the most strangely beautiful spots in
the world.
John D. Henderson, the naturalist, in speaking of this region, says:
“The valley of the Vinales must not be compared with the Yosemite or
Grand Canon, or some famed Alpine passage, for it cannot display the
astounding contrasts of these, or of many well-known valleys among the
higher mountains of the world. We were all of us traveled men who viewed
this panorama, but all agreed that never before had we gazed on so
charming a sight. There are recesses among the Rocky Mountains of Canada
in which one gazes with awe and bated breath, where the very silence
oppresses, and the beholder instinctively reaches out for support to
guard against slipping into the awful chasm below. But the Valley of
Vinales, on the contrary, seems to soothe and lull the senses. Like
great birds suspended in the sky, we long to soar above it, and then
alighting within some palm grove, far below, to rejoice in its
atmosphere of perfect peace.”
A mountain maze of high, round-topped lomas dominates almost the entire
northern half of Pinar del Rio. It is the picturesque remnant of an
elevated plain that at some time in the geological life of the Island
was raised above the surface 1500, perhaps 2000, feet. This, through the
erosion of thousands of centuries, has been carved into great land
surges, without any particular alignment or system.
Straight up through the center of this mountainous area are projected a
series of more or less parallel limestone ridges. These, as a rule, have
an east and west axis, and attain a greater elevation than the lomas.
They are known as the Sierras de los Organos, although having many local
names at different points. Water and atmospheric agencies have carved
them into most fantastic shapes, so that they do, in places, present an
organ pipe appearance. They are almost always steep, often with vertical
walls or “paradones” that rise 1000 feet from the floor or base on which
they rest.
The northernmost range, running parallel to the Gulf Coast, is known as
the “Costanero.” The highest peak of Pinar del Rio is called Guajaibon,
which rises to an altitude of 3000 feet, with its base but very little
above the level of the sea. It is probably of Jurassic limestone and
forms the eastern outpost of the Costaneros.
The southern range of the Organos begins with an interesting peak known
as the Pan de Azucar, located only a few miles east of the Pena Blanca.
From this western sentinel with many breaks extends the great southern
chain of the Organos with its various groups of “magotes,” reaching
eastward throughout the entire province. At its extreme eastern terminus
we find a lower and detached ridge known as the Pan de Guanajay, which
passes for a few miles beyond the boundary line, and into the province
of Havana.
Surrounding the Organos from La Esperanza west, and bordering it also on
the south for a short distance east of the city of Pinar del Rio, are
ranges of round topped lomas, composed largely of sandstone, slate and
shale. The 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
ridges that extend along the entire north coast, with but few
interruptions, until merged into the mountain maze of eastern Oriente.
Outside of the mountainous districts 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 rule is near the center of this plain, although the land
has a gradual slope from near its 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 by the elevation and remain generally in
very narrow channels.
East of Cardenas the general elevation of the plain is low, sloping
gradually both north and south from the axis of the Island. Considerable
areas of this plain are found among the various mountain groups in the
eastern half of Santa Clara province, beyond which it extends over the
greater part of Camaguey and into Oriente. Here it reaches the northern
coast between isolated mountain groups, extending as far east as Nipe
Bay, and toward the south merges into the great Cauto Valley.
From Cabo Cruz the plain extends along the northern base of the Sierra
Maestra to the head of the Cauto valley. Its elevation near Manzanillo
is about 200 feet, whence it increases to 640 feet at El Cristo. In the
central section of Oriente, the Cauto River and its tributaries have cut
channels into this plain from 50 to 200 feet in depth. In the lower part
of the valley these channels are sometimes several miles across and are
occupied by alluvial flats or river bottoms. They decrease in width
towards the east and in the upper part of the valley become narrow
gorges.
A large part of this plain of Cuba, especially in the central provinces,
is underlaid by porous limestone, through which the surface waters have
found underground passages. This accounts for the fact that large areas
are occasionally devoid of flowing surface streams. The rain water sinks
into the ground as soon as it falls, and after flowing long distances
under ground, emerges in bold springs, such as those of the Almandares
that burst out of the river bank some eight miles south of the City of
Havana. Engineers of the rope and cordage plant, just north of the City
of Matanzas, while boring for water, found unexpectedly a swift, running
river, only ten feet below the surface, that has given them an
inexhaustible supply of excellent water.
Most of the plains of Cuba above indicated have been formed by the
erosion of its surface, and are covered with residual soil derived from
the underlying limestones. Where they consist of red or black clays they
are exceedingly fertile. Certain portions of the plains, especially
those bordering on the southern side of the mountains of Pinar del Rio,
are covered with a layer of sand and gravel, washed down from the
adjoining highlands, and are inferior in fertility to soils derived from
the erosion of limestone. Similar superficial deposits are met in the
vicinity of Cienfuegos, and in other sections of the Island, where the
plain forms a piedmont adjacent to highlands composed of silicious
rocks.