Topographically, the territory of Cuba comprises five distinct divisions, three of them distinctly mountainous, and two in which the surface is low, or of moderate relief. The easternmost of these divisions coincides closely to the boundaries of the Province of Oriente and is for the greater part mountainous. The second, corresponding approximately with the Province of Camaguey, is made up of plains or open rolling country, relieved by occasional hills. The third division includes the mountainous and hilly sections of Santa Clara. The fourth consists of a long stretch of flat or undulating country, accentuated here and there by elevations of several hundred feet; it includes the western portion of Santa Clara Province and the whole of the Provinces of Matanzas and Habana, as well as about one-fourth of the Province of Pinar del Rio at its eastern end. The fifth division takes in the greater part of the last-named Province, and is characterized by a well defined mountain range, with numerous detached hills and mesas. A clearer conception of the surface conformation of Cuba may be gained by a more detailed survey of its mountains and plains, without regard to the natural topographic divisions described. The Province of Oriente contains a greater mountainous area than is to be found in all the rest of the Island. The system consists of several groups having diverse constructures, but more or less closely connected with one another. Here many peaks exceed five thousand feet and one, Pico Turquino, rises to an altitude of over eight thousand feet. The principal range is the Sierra Maestra, extending from Cape Cruz to Guantanamo Bay. Along its western end, this chain rises abruptly out of the seas, but as it approaches Santiago, recedes somewhat from the shore, leaving a narrow coastal plain. East of Guantanamo there is a range, much less unbroken and uniform than the Sierra Madre, which continues to Cape Maisi and thence along the north coast until it meets the rugged Cuchillas at Baracoa. Extending westward from this mountain mass are strings of high plateaus and mesas, forming the northern wall of the great amphitheatre which drains into Guantanamo Bay. In this northern section the most prominent feature of the system is the range comprising the Sierras Cristal and Nipe, whose general trend is east and west. To the south is a country having the character of a deeply dissected plateau. The broad, flat topped summits of so many elevations in the eastern part of Cuba lead to the belief that all the mountains in this section have been carved from a huge lofty plateau. Considered as a whole, therefore, the mountains of Oriente form two marginal ranges which merge at the east end of the Province and diverge toward the west. Between these divergent ranges lies the broad, undulating expanse famous as the valley of the Cauto, which widens as it stretches westward and ultimately merges with the more extensive plains of Camaguey.