The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

Si
WEST AFRICA.
Santa-Maria is distinguistcd from all the other islands by tlie presence of
some limestone beds deposited in the shallow waters before the upheaval of the
coasts. These deposits, which date from the close of the Miocene epoch, are
utilised by the lime-burners, who export the product of the Idlns to Ponta-
Delgada, in .S;ui-Migucl. The red argillaceous clays are also used for the manu-
facture of pozzolana.
ViHa do Porto, capital of Santa- Maria, scarcely deserves its name, which means
the "harbour town." Its creek, a mere fissure in the south coast, is exposed to
the west and south winds, and the anchorage is so bad that the shipping has often
to keep to the roadstead, ready to take to the high seas at the approach of danger.
Few of the islands suffered more than Santa-Maria from the raids of the French
Fig. 13. Sax-Hiouel.
.Srale 1 : 950,000.
S5'55 West of" Greenw'cti 25"S
to 330
I'eet.
Depths.
£30 to 3,300
Feet.
3,300 Feet .ana
upwards.
18 Miles.
and Algerian corsairs in the sixteenth century. In dry seasons it is threatened
with scarcity, and at times with famine.
San-Miguel is the largest and by far the most important island in the archi-
pelago, containing nearly one-half of the entire population. It consists of two
really distinct islands, the channel between which has been filled up by a series of
eruptions. This intervening space rises above the rocky plain formed by the lava-
streams flowing from the two original islands. It is studded by a multitude of
volcanic cones, whose outlines present from a distance the appearance of a line of
giant molehills. The volcanic ashes mingled with the debris of these lavas, and
modified by the action of the rains, have developed an extremely fertile vegetable
humus, constituting the chief agricultural district in the island. Here, also, is
concentrated the great majority of the population.
The ca.stem part of San-Miguel, resembling Sauta-Maria in the aspect of its
raviued slopes and \\-cathered lavas, is dominated by the Pico da Yara, highest