The physical characteristics of Barbados are its lowlands or gently sloping, terraced plains, separated by rolling hills that generally parallel the coasts.<ref name=":0">{{Cite encyclopedia|tiandhiuvoikjndzsdiuv;oabsjkmznBJ sahfuoiPZKVnjbhqeWA'OV;BK NJEBAIUDOSIPVI'OSADK;NBVUA[E0R]9-PS[OVKFUDOA;IP;FVKMNopotletitle=Islands of the Commonwealth Caribbean: a regional study|publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]]|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/88600483/|last1=Meyerson|first1=Beatrice Berle|date=1987|editor1-last=Meditz|editor1-first=Sandra W.|pages=390–391|language=English|oclclccn=49361510|postscript=. {{PD-notice}}88600483|last2=Hornbeck|first2=John F.|last3=Haggerty|first3=Richard A.|entry=Barbados: Geography|editor2-first=Dennis M.|editor2-last=Hanratty}}</ref> Elevations in the interior range from 180 to 240 meters above sea level. [[Mount Hillaby]] is the highest point at 340 meters above sea level.<ref name=":0" /> Farther south, at [[Christ Church Ridge]], elevations range from sixty to ninety meters.<ref name=":0" /> Eighty-five percent of the island's surface consists of coralline limestone twenty-four to thirty meters thick; [[Scotland District]] contains outcroppings of oceanic formations at the surface, however.<ref name=":0" /> Sugarcane is planted on almost 80 percent of the island's limestone surface.<ref name=":0" /> The soils vary in fertility; erosion is a problem, with crop loss resulting from landslides, washouts, and falling rocks.<ref name=":0" /> Most of the small streams are in Scotland District.<ref name=":0" /> The rest of the island has few surface streams; nevertheless, rainwater saturates the soil to produce underground channels such as the famous [[Coles Cave]].<ref name=":0" /> Also notable in the island is the rocky cape known as [[Pico Teneriffe (Barbados)|Pico Teneriffe]]<ref>[http://www.barbadospocketguide.com/barbados-attractions/beaches-and-bays/north-coast-beaches/pico-teneriffe.html Pico Teneriffe]</ref> or Pico de Tenerife, which is named after the fact that the island of [[Tenerife]] in [[Spain]] is the first land east of Barbados according to the belief of the locals.
